I'm impressed with Snapdragon X but… Native and emulated app support isn't there yet. We all knew that the third coming of Windows on ARM, thanks to Microsoft, was going to be starkly different from what came before. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips were built from scratch to truly make Windows on ARM happen like never before. Whatever roadblocks that prevented widespread adoption in the past — lack of native apps, inferior performance, and poor familiarity with ARM chips — Qualcomm and Microsoft have prepared to overcome them this time around.
Intel Might Pull Ahead with Lunar Lake
Both performance and battery life are set to be upgraded. Qualcomm may have managed to deliver on its performance and battery life claims, but Intel isn't sitting idly by. Team Blue has promised to "bust the myth" that ARM is more efficient than x86 — with its next-gen Lunar Lake laptop chips, the company is making some big changes. Firstly, where Meteor Lake CPUs didn't even qualify for Copilot+ due to their 11.5 TOPS NPU, Lunar Lake will feature up to 48 TOPS.
AMD's Ryzen AI 300 Chips Are Also on the Way
Ryzen has served me well on my desktop. With the AI PC era truly upon us, AMD is obviously coming out with its own AI processors. The Ryzen AI 300 chips, code named Strix Point, will be available somewhere in the second half of July. While this launch is rumored to be relatively limited compared to Snapdragon X and Lunar Lake, I think it's worthwhile to see what AMD can deliver, especially since it's promising up to 50 TOPS of AI performance and a big boost in overall performance.
I Have Half a Mind to Switch to Apple Silicon
Being a lifelong Windows user, that's saying something. I know switching to macOS after 24 years of using Windows might be a big transition, but I feel the transition won't be as harsh for me as for many others. I've occasionally used macOS on my partner's MacBook Air M1 and iMac M1, so I have a surface understanding of what I'm getting into. I've also tried to use my iPad as a laptop (with disappointing results), so I also know some challenges that will carry over from iPadOS to macOS.
It Is the Best of Times, It Is the Worst of Times
It's great that the laptop space is abuzz with so many exciting developments that I can't decide whether to take the plunge or wait for something better. But it also makes life tough for consumers who are looking for something to buy right now. No one wants to regret their purchase just a few months later. If you're firmly tied to Apple and looking for an upgrade, the decision might be fairly simple for you. However, if you're after a new Windows laptop and just as confused between x86 and ARM as I am, I think waiting is the right decision for now.
