The Qualcomm Computex 2024 Keynote Live Blog (10:30pm PT/05:30 UTC)

01:55AM EDT – Now, a Microsoft rep says that the company has redesigned Windows to take advantage of the Snapdragon X Elite.

01:54AM EDT – ‘A great moment for Microsoft and Windows,’ says Amon,

01:53AM EDT – Microsoft and Qualcomm worked as one team to deliver the new Windows platform, Amon says.

01:52AM EDT – A thermal image demonstrated by Qualcomm confirms this to a certain degree.

01:52AM EDT – Hexagon NPU is 2.6X more power efficient than Apple’s M3 and 5.4X more power efficient than Core Ultra 7.

01:51AM EDT – Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU not only delivers 45 INT8 TOPS performance, but does it very power efficient.

01:50AM EDT – Qualcomm focuses on the Hexagon NPU and its capabilities. AI should run all the time all day long,

01:49AM EDT – Windows Copilot+ PCs are the fastest Windows PCs ever, according to Amon. Of course, when it comes to AI.

01:48AM EDT – Or translate different languages in real time.

01:47AM EDT – Qualcomm is showing a video how a Snapdragon-based PC can make negotiations using AI.

01:46AM EDT – AI is poised to become indispensable from modern PCs.

01:45AM EDT – Now, Amon is talking about generative AI revolution.

01:44AM EDT – Satya Nadello video is now playing. Of course, he is talking about Copilot+ PCs. He says over 20 Snapdragon-powered PCs are incoming. Quite a significant number of design wins, I would say.

01:43AM EDT – Windows with Snapdragon is a platform where innovation is happening, says Cristiano Amon.

01:42AM EDT – Also, desktops and tablets with Snapdragon are incoming.

01:41AM EDT – Apparently, there are 16 PCs based on Snapdragon X Elite SoCs in the first wave.

01:41AM EDT – Amon says Snapdragon Elite X processors will enable PCs with ‘multiple’ days battery life.

01:40AM EDT – AI promises to transform interface and workflows and do a lot of other things that fundamentally change PC experience.

01:39AM EDT – The Snapdragon X Elite is ‘built for the new generation’ of PCs that will adapt to its user providing ultimate personalization.

01:38AM EDT – AI is one of the key focuses of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Elite X, so the company is highlighting this fact.

01:37AM EDT – Qualcomm’s chief executive says that the company is redefining PCs in terms of what is possible in productivity, creativity, and entertainment.

01:35AM EDT – Qualcomm is changing from ‘communication company’ to a ‘leader in compute’, connected compute, of course.

01:34AM EDT – I guess, with Snapdragon processors for PCs, Qualcomm will have to do many more keynotes at Computex.

01:34AM EDT – Apparently, this is Cristiano’s first Computex keynote.

01:33AM EDT – Cristiano Amon is entering the stage.

01:33AM EDT – Qualcomm is demonstrating a funny video with a laptop that runs out of battery. Well, the company is implying that Snapdragon Elite-based PCs will last much longer.

01:32AM EDT – The show begins with a recap of what Qualcomm is: a maker of SoCs for smartphones. Which is of course expanding its business with PC processors.

01:30AM EDT – The Qualcomm Computex 2024 keynote is about to begin. The company has 15 PCs running Windows on the display.

01:30AM EDT – The Qualcomm Computex 2024 keynote is about to begin. The company has 15 PCs running Windows on the display.

For our second keynote of the day for Computex, we have the 4th Musketeer of the great PC powers, Qualcomm. Slated to be the most PC-focused of the four keynotes, company CEO Cristiano Amon will be presenting a keynote entitled “The PC Reborn.” And while Amon is no stranger to giving keynotes, this is slated to be his most PC-centric keynote yet, giving Computex attendees a clearer idea of how focused Qualcomm will be on the PC market with their new Windows-on-Arm SoCs.

The big focus for today’s keynote is expected to be the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus SoCs, which Qualcomm announced over half a year ago, and has been touting ever since. Now, the first consumer devices based on these chips are just a couple of weeks away from shipping, so Qualcomm is in their final promotional push for their new Windows-on-Arm platform. As a result, Qualcomm should have a lot more hardware to show off, with final silicon and shipping SKUs already defined.

While Snapdragon X is not Qualcomm’s first effort to ship an Arm-based SoC for Windows devices – there are 3 generations of 8cx Gen 3 platforms that everyone is happy never to mention again – the Snapdragon X is Qualcomm’s most serious effort yet. At its core is the new, high-performance/high-efficiency Oryon CPU core, which combined with the rest of Qualcomm’s tried-and-true mobile hardware experience, the company is hoping to mold into a revolutionary Arm-based SoC for Windows laptops. The company is also counting on a decade of software development on Microsoft’s part to make the Windows-on-Arm ecosystem whole, not to mention as frictionless as possible.

Besides energy efficiency, Qualcomm’s other big push is on the burgeoning field of NPUs. The Snapdragon X NPU is rated to deliver 45 TOPS of INT8 performance, which makes it the first PC NPU to meet Microsoft’s hardware requirement for Windows 11 Copilot+ AI functionality. So Qualcomm is looking to leverage this time-limited opportunity to be the first to offer new functionality in the Windows space – a privilege normally reserved for Intel or AMD.

Come join us at 10:30pm PT / 01:30am ET / 05:30 UTC to get all the details.