Windows 10 is coming to Qualcomm's ARM processors in 2017. And this means interesting times ahead for Microsoft, the OEMs, and consumers.
See also: How to make the rechargeable battery in your smartphone, tablet or laptop last for years
From the information we have so far we can start to get a picture of what Microsoft has in mind. From Microsoft's blog post announcing the move, there are three phrases stand out:
Right here we see Microsoft innovating, and changing what a PC is, but just as with the Surface Studio, doing it in small steps so as not to scare or confuse the market. This is far more innovative than Touch Bars and the "thinner and lighter" mantra that Apple is pushing.
We're looking at a true 21st century PC.
Additionally, according to my ZDNet colleague Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft will "offer Windows 10 on Qualcomm to OEMs across a variety of categories, including 6-, 10-, and 14-inch categories." This again gives us an idea of the types of systems this is being aimed at. Normally that 14-inch screen size is the cut-off between mixed-use and high-end laptops, so this again fits in with the "power-efficient PCs" theme.
Microsoft does have a video of Windows 10 running on a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip running at 1.59GHz, and things do seem to be running pretty smoothly. And there are some interesting tidbits in the video worth noting.
First, here are the system specs:
This shows the system connecting to a domain controller, a key enterprise feature:
Here we get a look at system performance under the load of running Microsoft Edge:
Here's the system running Photoshop CC:
Despite being a mixed-use system, the Qualcomm 820 silicon seems to have enough power to handle basic tasks in Photoshop (be aware that opening a single-layer file consisting of only a PNG and applying a filter isn't all that demanding a Photoshop task).
Three things will play a pivotal part in whether Windows 10 on Qualcomm will be a success:
See also: