For my formative years as a teenager, I was a Windows PC user. It started with a Dell desktop running Windows 98 as the only computer in our house, complete with ADSL dial-up modem, MSN messenger, and the entire suite of possible antivirus programs. As I delved deeper into the world of the internet, I learned of the Mac and it became my dream to own a Mac. Achieving that dream would take many years, and in the meantime, the household desktop was replaced by one running Windows NT, Windows Vista, and then Windows 7. Each new release of Windows brought me to yet another round of frustrations, not least with the sheer amount of viruses and blue screens of death caused by driver issues (amongst many things). Safe to say, my frustrations boiled over and I jumped at the chance to buy my first Mac.
It’s been about 15 years since I used a Windows PC as my main computer, and while I’ve dabbled with a few – either when reviewing them or when fixing my late father’s computer – I’ve always felt a level of relief when I moved back to the Mac. This changed a few weeks ago. I’ve been hearing about Windows on ARM for a long while, having been in the room when smart people like my former colleague Rich Woods would ask the question of when. When would Windows on ARM finally be a thing? When would the next generation of Windows PCs launch that could finally compete with the Mac? It’s taken years, but they’re finally here. Powered by the Snapdragon X platform, the next generation of Windows PCs has arrived. I’ve been using the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x for several days and I’m blown away by just how transformative this experience has been. Welcome to the CoPilot+ era: it’s one that I’m ever more excited about.
Diving deeper into the Snapdragon X platform
If you don’t know the history of Microsoft and Intel’s relationship, I highly recommend you listen to the Acquired FM podcast episode dedicated to Microsoft’s PC years. It taught me a lot about the history of Microsoft, and how Intel is deeply woven into the foundation of Microsoft. Learning this makes it even more stunning that the next generation of Windows experiences are all powered by one company, and that company isn’t Intel. In January 2021, Qualcomm made an acquisition that – 3.5 years later – has transformed the fabric of computing. The new Snapdragon X platform features the Oryon CPU, which was built by the team at Nuvia (whom Qualcomm acquired).
The co-founder of Nuvia happens to be Gareth Williams, who oversaw the design of Apple’s mobile processors, and was likely involved in the design of the M-series chips that power Apple’s laptops and some of its iPads. This chipset transformed computing by offering phenomenal battery life and performance in a way that Intel chips hadn’t, and after Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia, the company’s focus switched from data centers to the next generation of desktop-class processors.
