Just before the end of 2016, Qualcomm and Windows announced that 2017 will see the launch of Snapdragon 835-powered notebooks. At the Computex event currently holding in Taipei, Microsoft and Qualcomm have announced partner manufacturers that will launch notebooks powered by the SD835 running full Windows 10.
These notebooks will take advantage of the chip’s Gigabit LTE modem for constant connection to the internet hence the tag “always connected PC”. The small size of the chip will allow for a better designed laptop. Since the chip is no larger than a penny, the PCB is smaller, allowing for larger batteries or other additional components.
The notebooks will also be able to enjoy superior battery life thanks to the chip. Qualcomm claims that battery life will last up to 4 or 5 times longer when in standby mode compared to other laptops. Aside that, when your device is in standby mode, emails and other data will still sync just like a smartphone.
All Snapdragon powered notebooks will come with LTE built-in via a technology called e-SIM (embedded SIM). AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone and a number of international carriers will support the technology. Data plans can be simply added from the Windows Store.
There was a demo on display and a number of office programs like Excel, Word and PowerPoint were tested out. There was also a video download test from YouTube to show how fast Gigabit LTE is. The 1080p video downloaded at a speed of 370Mbps and took roughly 30 seconds. The highlight was the download and installation of a 32-bit legacy app, 7-Zip.
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There were questions about the support for VR and AR since the Snapdragon 835 chip is what Google used for its Daydream Standalone VR headsets. Microsoft is working on mixed reality headsets, so there might be a chance the SD835 will play a part. However, no details were provided regarding that.
Lenovo, HP, and ASUS are the three partner companies announced to release laptops powered by the Snapdragon 835.
