For Qualcomm, dominating the smartphone processor market isn't enough — it needs to start laying the groundwork for much bigger plans, and that starts with gradually entering the PC market.
Its latest processor aimed at notebooks, the Snapdragon 850, is based around the Snapdragon 845 that's primarily for smartphones but clocked at a higher rate to accommodate the more intensive tasks PCs require.
It's a nice first attempt, but if Qualcomm really wants to make a splash in the PC market, it's got to come out with something bigger.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 1000
It will, new rumors now say, with the speculated Snapdragon 1000, the company's first chip specifically designed for PCs. WinFuture has obtained details about that alleged chip, currently known as "SDM1000," claiming three crucial things: it'll match Intel Core processors performance-wise, it'll be much larger than 20 mm x 15 mm, and it'll use 12 W of power — significantly more than a smartphone processor.
Rumors add that the Snapdragon 1000 will use ARM's next-generation Cortex-A76 architecture, with a 35 percent increase in speed. It'll support up to 16 GB in RAM and up to two 128 GB storage modules, which, if true, would place the chip perfectly within Intel's notebook turf as a potential threat.
There's no word, however, on when Qualcomm plans to announce the chip, let alone if it's actually being developed. For now, the most concrete information we have are rumors and speculation, and even if they're true, there's always the possibility of Qualcomm changing plans.
Even still, it would make a lot of sense for Qualcomm to expand its portfolio. Ask BlackBerry, Nokia, or any company who grew too complacent and confident about its product line. In the fast-moving technological landscape, one of the greatest pitfalls is stagnation because things change and trends come and go.
The Future Of Qualcomm
Qualcomm, it seems, is thinking about its future. It might have a solid grip on the smartphone chip market at present, but the company must have a backup plan in the event that bubble explodes. Not to mention the fact that Apple is slowly trying to phase out all Qualcomm components on iPhones, and because Apple sells millions upon millions of iPhones yearly, Qualcomm's absence on those devices is a huge blow to its business.
To be sure, a backup plan that involves investing in the PC market doesn't seem that logical. After all, Who knows? Smartphones could be so powerful in the future that there would be no need for casual consumers to get full-fledged computers. By then, Qualcomm's PC efforts would yield no significant gains. Time, however, will tell.
