Why Arm chips pose a threat to Intel and AMD's PC dominance

The Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips are making a fresh push into the PC market through Qualcomm. These chips are designed to challenge Intel and AMD's dominance in the laptop space.

Key features of the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips include:

1. Oryon Cores: These chips are the first to use Qualcomm's new Oryon cores, which come from Nuvia, a startup that Qualcomm acquired back in 2021 for $1.4 billion. The Snapdragon X Elite has 12 cores running up to 3.8 GHz, while the Snapdragon X Plus has 10 cores running up to 3.4 GHz on all cores.

2. Qualcomm Adreno GPU: The GPU promises up to 4.6 TFLOPS (TeraFLOPS, a measure of computer performance).

3. Neural Processing Unit (NPU): Each chip carries an NPU capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS), which Qualcomm is calling "the world's fastest NPU for laptops". This is a significant advantage over Intel's Lunar Lake and AMD's 8040-series "Hawk Point", which support 10 TOPS and 16 TOPS respectively.

4. Power Efficiency: Qualcomm's chips are being touted as artificial intelligence powerhouses. The company claims that the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus are faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS and can match peak performance at less power.

5. Compatibility: Microsoft, Arm, and Qualcomm say they've worked out the kinks with app compatibility, and that Arm-based PCs will be as reliable as Intel and AMD-based offerings.

These features, combined with the promise of high performance and power efficiency, make the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips a compelling offering in the PC market. The first devices with these chips are expected to ship in mid-2024.

The first Copilot+ PCs are expected to be available for sale on June 18, 2024. This timeline has significant implications for market competition, as it marks the entry of Arm-based processors into the PC market, posing a threat to the dominance of Intel and AMD. Arm-based chips, designed by Qualcomm, are set to power a new range of high-end laptops from various manufacturers, including ASUS, Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo4. These laptops are part of Microsoft's new Copilot+ PC standard, which focuses on running native artificial intelligence apps.

The entry of Arm-based PCs into the market brings a new level of competition, as they promise improved performance and battery life compared to Intel and AMD-based offerings. Arm CEO Rene Haas believes that Arm will control 50% of the market for Windows PCs in the next five years. In response, Intel and AMD have launched their own chips, the Lunar Lake chip and the Ryzen AI 300 line of processors, respectively, to compete with Qualcomm's Arm-based processors.

As the first Copilot+ PCs hit the market, it remains to be seen how well Qualcomm's Arm-based processors will perform and what impact they will have on the market share of Intel and AMD. The success of these new devices could potentially reshape the PC market and redefine the standards for performance, battery life, and AI capabilities in laptops and desktops.