New ARM-based Windows laptops could offer 20+ hour battery-life

MICROSOFT AND QUALCOMM TEAM UP FOR SECOND-STAB AT ‘BEST OF BOTH WORLDS’ PORTABLE PCS.

AT CHIP-MAKER QUALCOMM’S annual Tech Summit in December, ASUS and HP showed off the very first Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 notebooks, signalling the second attempt at a Microsoft and ARM team-up. Microsoft first tested the ARM waters back in 2012 with the Surface RT tablet, although that venture ultimately proved unsuccessful due to the locked-down Windows RT operating system and inability to run anything outside of Windows Store apps — where the selection was lacklustre.

These new ARM devices could finally deliver on the concept, with the 2-in-1s ASUS and HP demoed promising over 20-hours of battery life, the ability to instantly wake with an always-on state and, most significantly, operate on a full version of Windows 10 that can still run all Windows apps.

While Microsoft has partnered with Qualcomm for these initial Windows devices, the move away from Intel’s x86 processor technology could potentially open up the market for a much wider array of ARM-based devices, with manufacturers like Samsung, Nvidia and even Apple all currently producing their own ARM-based chips. And speaking of the iPhone-maker, there have been rumours floating around that the company has been considering its own ARM-powered MacBook for some time... although it seems like Microsoft may have beaten them to the punch.