Qualcomm processors will now be able to run Windows 10 giving the ability to run high powered Win32 apps. Qualcomm making the big announcement at WinHEC (Via Qualcomm)
Qualcomm made headlines a few months ago for making the biggest semiconductor deal ever. Now, they have another big announcement in store. Qualcomm and Microsoft are teaming up to bring Windows 10 to Qualcomm’s mobile processors. Thanks to this, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors will be the first ARM-based processors to fully support Windows 10. The announcement was made at WinHEC where attendees got to see a demo of the full desktop version of Photoshop running on a Snapdragon CPU via emulation. So why is this such a big deal?
Qualcomm’s chips, such as the Snapdragon, are high powered and are supposed to offer the best experience when it comes to streaming, watching movies, and even making phone calls. Most of the company’s processors are found on mobile devices and though they are powerful, most chips found in smartphones still aren’t strong enough to run energy consuming apps, like Photoshop and other Win32 apps. Bringing Windows 10 to these processors changes that. Qualcomm’s next generation of processors have the ability to run Win32 apps via x86 emulation on Windows 10. As they showed in the demo, these chips will now be able to handle such high powered apps, bringing a desktop experience to your mobile device and stronger processors to standard PCs.
Both Qualcomm and Microsoft believe Windows 10 PCs powered by Snapdragon will be available as early as next year. Not only will the new devices fully support Windows 10, but they’ll also include Gigabit LTE, and superior Wi-Fi housed in a fanless design that’s meant to provide a long battery life. This is also big news for Microsoft because it may allow them to build a smartphone with the ability to run Win32 apps along with other UWP apps. Microsoft tried breaking into the smartphone game with its Windows phone, but it couldn’t compete with Samsung and Motorola. With Qualcomm on their side it could allow them to create something better and more powerful that the Surface Phone.
This isn’t the first time Windows attempted to run ARM devices. They previously gave it a shot with the OS Windows RT, but the results were not so successful. The biggest issue was ARM-based Windows programs were not synonymous with the standard 32 bit programs. Because of this, developers were forced to rewrite their programs to be compatible with Windows RT. Though some are still suspicious that the processor will run the apps via emulation, it’ll still be interesting to see if this will give Microsoft the break they need to finally create a successful smartphone. It could also give Qualcomm the support it needs to give Intel a run for their money.
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