Qualcomm is teaming up with Microsoft in a big way at Computex
If there was something that I'm excited for at Computex 2017 beyond my addiction to GPU technology with AMD showcasing their Radeon RX Vega graphics card at the show, it would be the curious party invitation from Qualcomm.
The invitation I received is to a joint Qualcomm + Microsoft shindig, where they're asking the press to "join us under the stars at Computex 2017". The rest of the invite reads: "munch, mingle, and raise a glass to celebrate the growing ecosystem that will bring an out-of-this-world mobile PC experience to the masses". Interesting. Very, very interesting.
It would seem that Qualcomm and Microsoft could reveal the next big thing in mobile PC technology, with a Snapdragon-powered full Windows 10 system, all in the palm of your hand. We do know that Qualcomm is working with major PC makers on Snapdragon 835-powered Windows 10 devices, and thanks to leading edge tech like Bluetooth 5, and a GbE-class modem inside of the best Snapdragon processors, we could expect a truly new wave of portable technology that Qualcomm powers.
Better yet, these devices are not going to be all that expensive, where we will find prices falling between mid-range smartphone pricing, right up to a semi-decent laptop. These new 'cellular PCs' are a new breed of systems that will be pushing into the market later this year, but will have a much bigger impact in 2018-2019, and beyond.
I'm expecting to see the likes of Dell, HP, and Samsung push into this new world order on mobile computing powered by Qualcomm, with all of the Windows 10 apps being run from an emulator that Microsoft is collaborating with Qualcomm on. I'm guessing this emulation process is nearing completion, and the big reveal will go down on May 31.
But it won't just be mobile PCs that will be used as portable desktops, but we'll see VR headsets working on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835-powered PCs. Oh, and I should add that Microsoft's own HoloLens should work on it, but Google are already showing off Snapdragon 835-powered Daydream headsets, so we're kind of already there.
Qualcomm's shift into the mobile PC market is a big stomp down into the ground right next to its rival Intel, who has dominated the low-power CPU game for a while, and its smaller rival in AMD with its new Ryzen processors. Qualcomm would not be winning the market, they'd be creating it.
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