Microsoft shows off Windows PCs that run on Qualcomm chips

▤ Summary

This isn’t entirely earth-shattering given that these are mobile chipsets running on what are still just laptop convertible 2-in-1s or tablets, but the fact that Windows 10 — albeit a more lightweight “Windows 10 S” — can run on Qualcomm 835 chips should still worry Intel quite a bit.Qualcomm obviously won’t be competing with Intel on the performance of its higher-end chips, but one thing the company highlighted today was just how long its power-saving technologies will extend the battery life of your device.They referred to this tech as “beyond all-day battery life,” which, as the name implies, suggests that the power efficiency of these PCs will push battery life into a second day of full usage, something that isn’t too likely to be had on most laptops that are powering a full work day.The main catch is that performance will suffer on apps that aren’t UWP apps, so programs like Google Chrome or Firefox will be emulated on the machines, definitely reducing performance.The idea of a computer that lasts 18-24 hours per day, as Qualcomm promises, is obviously attractive, especially given how much PC usage is often confined to web browsing, whether the battery life gains make up for the performance sacrifices will be the ultimate question.

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