PCWorld reports that the Qualcomm is promising ARM-based laptops. The company is preparing a quad-core version of its Snapdragon S4 for thin and light Windows 8 laptops. The S4 chips will go into laptops that are thinner and lighter than Apple’s MacBook Air or today’s ultrabooks, according to Rob Chandhok, senior vice president at Qualcomm. Ultrabooks are being promoted by Intel as a new category of thin and light laptops. “We think much lighter than what Intel calls an ultrabook,” Chandhok said.
The lines between high-end smartphones, where Qualcomm’s chips are normally found, and laptops has started to blur, Chandhok said. The S4 chips will enable smaller laptops with high-resolution screens, longer battery life and always-on connectivity, he said. The S4 will be manufactured with a 28-nanometer process, improving power efficiency and performance compared to earlier Snapdragon chips, Chandhok said. While ARM chips often provide longer battery life, they generally pack less performance than Intel’s Core processors.
