Apple M1 is the boost the Windows ecosystem needs: Qualcomm

With recent tests showing that putting Windows on Apple Silicon absolutely spanks the performance currently available on processors made by Qualcomm, one could be forgiven for thinking that Qualcomm feared for its future desktop prospects.

However, Alex Katouzian, senior vice president of Qualcomm and general manager for mobile, computing and infrastructure, told reporters on Wednesday that Apple’s new chip was a validation to put mobile chips in laptops.

“As we saw during the age of pandemic and I think this will continue for many years to come, video conferencing and remote workplaces are going to become more and more important which means you have to have the capacity of a great video conference, you have to have the capacity of the camera, you have to have the longevity of the battery, you should be able to work from any wherever you are, inside your home or outside your home, and reach your work environment in a safe manner, ”he said.

“All of these things validate what we have preached and I think the strength will come from the fact that our partnership with Microsoft will be much stronger and extended into the future.

“I think there are many, many parties realizing that the Windows ecosystem needs a boost like this, and we’re the partner of choice to make it happen – so it’s a great opportunity and a great validation for Qualcomm. ”

A few hours earlier, Qualcomm unveiled its new Snapdragon 888 chip, which will support 5G at millimeter frequencies and below 6 GHz on “all major bands in the world”. It will also support carrier aggregation, autonomous and non-autonomous modes and dynamic spectrum sharing.

The company said it has “completely redesigned” its Hexagon processor, which can now perform 26 tera operations per second, and updated its detection hub to enable always-on, low-power AI processing.

On the image front, the chip can capture photos and videos at 2.7 gigapixels per second, a 35% increase over the previous generation.

One notable absence from the list of Android phone makers who said they would use the 888 was Samsung. Those on the list included Asus, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, Nubia, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo, Sharp, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.

Last month, it was reported that the United States had authorized Qualcomm to sell 4G chips for mobile phones to Huawei.

Speaking on Wednesday, Qualcomm chairman Cristiano Amon said the company was in the privileged position of being able to “achieve goals on both sides” of the trade war.

“We probably see ourselves as a company that offers a lot of stability … in our technology sector between the two countries, so I think if you look into the essence of our business model, we have a licensing business model. . We do not need to transfer the technology. We license this technology and we respect intellectual property, which is consistent with some of the claims of the United States, ”said Mr. Amon.

“I think all of our customers in China are licensed, and when we see the intellectual property being respected, we are providing semiconductor exports which, in my American perspective, is in the direction of a trade in the United States. growing export to China.

“We are enabling the Chinese ecosystem with the Belt and Road initiative, which leverages our platform, the Chinese mobile ecosystem not only to support China’s domestic transition to 5G, but also to s’ expand to other markets. ”

Related coverage