What can you expect from “the most extreme Snapdragon” ever to be found in a notebook? Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx reference designs may not stand out at first
What can you expect from “the most extreme Snapdragon” ever to be found in a notebook? Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx reference designs may not stand out at first glance – think sober Lenovo Yoga-esque convertibles, fanless and unobtrusive with their metallic grey casings – but make no mistake, this is a big deal in connected, ultra mobile computing.
Qualcomm isn’t shy about talking up the Snapdragon 8cx’s potency, certainly. Twice as powerful as before, despite also being 60-percent more power efficient, it checks all the existing Windows on Arm boxes of multi-day battery life and always-on connectivity. However it also marks a tipping point from the consumer-centric focus we’ve seen so far, to aggressively courting enterprise customers with deep pockets.
That makes sense in a lot of ways. Consumers traditionally blanch at spending money – or even signing up to a commitment – for integrated cellular connectivity in a laptop. Business buyers are far more comfortable, if it means their employees can be more productive in turn.
Meanwhile the Snapdragon 8cx’s support for Windows 10 Enterprise and straightforward deployment features like remote eSIM provisioning will make managing a fleet of devices more straightforward. The fact that the 8cx will be Qualcomm’s higher-tier, premium option, coexisting – and more expensive than – Snapdragon 850-based notebooks should also be more readily accepted by enterprise users.
