Qualcomm has tried to make ARM based laptops earlier, but failed. However, with Windows 8 supporting ARM chips from the ground up, Qualcomm is going to try its hand at an ARM based laptop again.
This time around, with the performance of ARM based chips coming closer to its x86 brethren, it is not far-fetched to see an ARM based laptop running Windows 8 in the distant future. That is exactly what Qualcomm is planning, it says that laptops based on its Quad Core S4 Snapdragon chipset will be lighter and thinner than the Intel based Ultrabooks, as well as the MacBook Air. Also, considering the performance of the Krait chipset, the Quad Core S4 based chipset will be powerful enough to run Windows 8 along with all the necessary apps.
However, it’s obvious that such laptops will be Metro UI based only, the desktop interface of Windows 8 runs only on x86 based processors, and will not be accessible on ARM-based machines.
Head over to The Verge to see some of the interviews it has with Qualcomm’s employees.
