Qualcomm has a new chip brand

Summary

Qualcomm has announced a new subbrand of CPUs for its Snapdragon family of products, called Oryon. The new CPU will be released in 2023 and available to manufacturers to use in devices such as Windows PCs, smartphones, and other applications. The company has made Snapdragon-branded chips for Windows and Chrome OS computers for a few years now but has had slow traction getting them into many Windows devices. The few ultraportable computers that have used Qualcomm’s Arm chips have been niche, premium devices that appeal to a specific subset of PC buyers, but not the broader market. The Snapdragon line has been behind Apple’s Arm-based M processors when it comes to raw performance, but hasn’t been the main reason that Windows on Arm devices haven’t taken off. Rather, the issues stem from Windows on Arm itself, which has trouble running apps built for traditional Windows PCs and doesn’t offer many apps optimized specifically for the platform. Microsoft’s recent Surface Pro 9 is available with a Qualcomm Arm processor, but as we saw in our review, it falls far behind the Intel-equipped version due to these app issues. Qualcomm’s next generation of chips for Windows computers will likely have better performance than its current crop — in the brief press release touting the new brand, it claims to provide “a new level of performance.” But unless the platform matures more and gets wider support from the application ecosystem, it’s unlikely to move the needle much.

Q&As

AI Comments

👍 Qualcomm's new Oryon chip brand shows promise for the future of Windows on Arm devices. The company claims the new CPUs will provide "a new level of performance," which could help to address some of the platform's current shortcomings.

👎 Qualcomm's new Oryon chip brand is unlikely to solve the problems with Windows on Arm. The company has had slow traction getting its Snapdragon-branded chips into many Windows devices, and the issues with the platform stem from Windows on Arm itself, which has trouble running apps built for traditional Windows PCs.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about a new chip brand that Qualcomm is releasing.

Friend: What are the implications of the article?

Me: The implications are that the new chip brand might not solve the problems with Windows on Arm, and that Microsoft's recent Surface Pro 9 is available with a Qualcomm Arm processor, but it falls far behind the Intel-equipped version due to these app issues.

Action items

• Follow Qualcomm on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest news about the Oryon CPU.
• Research other Arm-based processors to compare against the Oryon.
• If you are in the market for a new Windows PC, consider waiting to see if any manufacturers release models with the Oryon CPU.

Technical terms

Snapdragon

a family of mobile system on a chip (SoC) made by Qualcomm for use in smartphones, tablets, laptops, 2-in-1 PCs, smartwatches, and cars.

Oryon

a new subbrand of CPUs for Qualcomm's Snapdragon family of products, set to be released in 2023.

Windows on Arm

a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system designed to run on devices with Arm processors.

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