14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Windows 10 on ARM is now a real thing and the first devices are projected to launch in just a few months, and now it looks like they won’t compete only against each other, but also against a new series of Chromebooks.
XDA has found evidence that a Chromebook powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips might be in the works, making Chrome OS a powerful rival to Microsoft’s own Windows 10 S.
While at this point there’s no confirmation of a Snapdragon-powered Chromebook, both Chrome OS and Windows 10 S devices could soon be powered by the same Snapdragon 845 processor.
ARM chips have already been used on Chromebooks, but performance has been well below expectations, mostly because of using Rockchip or similar processors whose specs are substantially below those of Qualcomm’s. On the other hand, Chromebooks running on Intel’s Atom or Celeron chips have been fairly praised, though embracing ARM could bring a series of advantages, including support for new features and longer battery.
New features in Chrome OS
Microsoft itself claims that Windows 10 on ARM can go to as high as one full week of battery life, with the majority of devices to offer approximately 20 hours of active use per time.
While the Snapdragon 845 could indeed be coming to Chromebooks, Google has a lot of work to do on the software side, as Chrome OS needs to feature support for all the new features, regardless this means biometrics, VR, or AR.
The first Windows 10 on ARM devices, officially referred to by Microsoft as Always Connected PCs, will make it to the market in the first quarter of 2018 with a Snapdragon 835 chip. Snapdragon 845-powered devices will most likely go live one year from now, as the mobile processor needs several tweaks before being released on PCs.
The Snapdragon 845 chip will make its debut in late February on the Samsung Galaxy S9 series.