Dec 16, 2024 11:15:00

Intel claims that Snapdragon X Elite laptops have a high return rate

Intel co-CEO Michelle Johnston stated that laptops equipped with Qualcomm's SoC '

Snapdragon X Elite ' have a high return rate. The Snapdragon X Elite is a chip that meets the requirements of Microsoft's ' Copilot + PC ', but since it uses 'Arm architecture' while the mainstream chips these days are 'x86 architecture', there are cases where existing software cannot be used as is.

Snapdragon X Elite laptops have high return rates, claims Intel co-CEO - NotebookCheck.net News
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Snapdragon-X-Elite-laptops-have-high-return-rates-claims-Intel-co-CEO.932646.0.html

Qualcomm: Return Rates For Snapdragon X PCs Are 'Within Industry Norm'

https://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/2024/qualcomm-return-rates-for-snapdragon-x-pcs-are-within-industry-norm

The largest supply channel for the Snapdragon X Elite is the category of PCs called 'Copilot+ PCs' announced by Microsoft. Copilot+ PCs are a group of PCs specialized for AI processing, and to be certified in this category, they must meet three requirements: 'Microsoft-certified SoC and NPU with 40 TOPS or more,' '16GB or more of DDR5 memory,' and '256GB or more of SSD.' One of the Microsoft-certified SoCs is Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite.

Microsoft announces 'Copilot+ PC', equipped with Arm processor 'Snapdragon X Elite' for local AI execution - GIGAZINE

When it was announced, the Snapdragon X Elite was advertised as having performance far exceeding that of Intel and AMD chips, but when it actually began to be delivered, it became apparent that there were problems that went beyond performance, such as the lack of compatible software due to the use of the 'Arm' architecture, which is different from the 'x86' used by Intel and AMD.

Speaking at the Barclays Global Technology Conference, Intel co-CEO Johnston made the bold statement that Snapdragon X Elite laptops have 'high return rates, which is a major concern for retailers.'

However, there is no data to back up Johnston's claims, and the actual return rate is unknown. Technology media Notebookcheck pointed out that 'it is difficult to verify her claims, but it is unlikely that the head of a major company would make unfounded statements, so there may be some truth to her criticism.'

Technology media Digital Trends cited

a survey by research firm Canalys that found Qualcomm will sell 720,000 PCs in the third quarter of 2024, giving it a market share of about 0.8%, and said , 'It seems unlikely that retailers will be too concerned about return rates for such a relatively low-sales product.'

A Qualcomm spokesperson also denied Johnston's claims, saying, 'Our devices consistently receive four-star or higher ratings in consumer reviews and our products have received numerous accolades across the industry. Our device return rates are within industry standards. ' The spokesperson also touched on the topic of mainstream architecture, adding, 'We expect 30% to 50% of laptops to move to non-x86 platforms over the next five years.'

Although many popular software programs have native Arm-based versions, not all of them officially support Arm. To address this gap, Microsoft and Qualcomm developed a compatibility layer called Prism , but it still doesn't seem to be able to handle all x86-based software.

Notebookcheck said, 'The era of the Snapdragon X Elite has just begun, and it seems that only tech-savvy people know the many benefits that Arm-based computers bring. The majority of people who just want to get their work done will probably look elsewhere if they find that there is a lot of software that is not optimized for Arm. However, Arm compatibility in Windows is definitely better than it was before, and once the software reaches a stage where it does not hinder users' entry, there is a good chance that the adoption of the Snapdragon X Elite platform will increase.'