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Specs of Qualcomm's First ARM Processor Capable of Running Windows 10 Leaks (mspoweruser.com)

Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 835's specs have leaked ahead of its CES reveal. An anonymous reader writes: According to the leaked press release, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 sports the Qualcomm Kryo 280 CPU (quad-core), Qualcomm Adreno 540 GPU, and Qualcomm Hexagon DSP to manage the different workloads. All of this combined together will result in a 27% increase in performance when compared to the previous generation. Qualcomm is also making significant improvements with the Snapdragon 835 when it comes to power consumption. To be precise, the Snapdragon 835 consumes 40% less power than the older generation which is supposed to offer the following: "1+ day of talk time, 5+ days of music playback, and 7+ hours of 4K video streaming. Should your phone need more power, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 provides five hours of battery life for five minutes of charging." Qualcomm stated in the press release that the Snapdragon also comes with substantial improvements to the graphics rendering and virtual reality. According to the company, the Snapdragon 835 includes "game-changing" enhancements to improve audio, intuitive interactions, and vibrant visuals. The processor also offers 25 percent faster 3D graphic rendering and produces 60X display colors than the Snapdragon 820.

107 comments

  1. INTEL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So much for that Intel monopoly people were complaining about in the other ./ post. And they were serious!

  2. Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Windows 10 IoT has supported ARM for more than a year.

    1. Re: Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And it's absolutely useless.

    2. Re:Title is wrong by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      That's not what it's about basically it's an ARM processor with built in X86 emulation. Why they are banging on about W10 I don't know the people who should be worried about this are Intel & AMD.

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  3. Microsoft calls now "Windows 10" the phone version by itsme1234 · · Score: 2

    ... too.

    If you don't believe me just visit for example: https://www.microsoft.com/en/m...

    So we really have now for a while many Snapdragon products running Windows 10. Is just not the Windows 10 that's hard to run...

    I don't know what the marketing apes were thinking.

  4. Samsung Galaxy 8? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will this power Samsung's new non-exploding beast?

  5. Re:Microsoft calls now "Windows 10" the phone vers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Marketing types don't think.

    They just turn the drivel sputed by their PHB into acceptable lies for the rest of us

  6. Other way around by Henriok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There doesn't seem to be anything in particular with this SoC that's been tailored to run Windows, so the premise of the article is turned upside down. It isn't the SoC that's capable of running Windows, it's Windows capable of running on this particular SoC. If they can get Windows running on this, then they could get Windows running on about any ARMv8 based device, given device specific drivers.

    --

    - Henrik

    - when the Shadows descend -
    1. Re:Other way around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look for the next Microsoft Surface Phone to be running desktop Windows 10.

    2. Re:Other way around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If they can get Windows running on this, then they could get Windows running on about any ARMv8 based device

      Maybe not. They're going to be running x86 emulation on it to support Win32 desktop applications.

    3. Re:Other way around by Streetlight · · Score: 1

      This (...emulation, ....32 bit apps...) sounds like a step backwards. Aren't the latest ARM chips 64 bit? What are all those "unused 32 bits" doing to make the emulation work? Sounds like a kluge to me.

      --
      In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
    4. Re:Other way around by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      If they can get Windows running on this, then they could get Windows running on about any ARMv8 based device, given device specific drivers.

      And HAL

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    5. Re:Other way around by unixisc · · Score: 1

      So will people run Steam on a Surface Phone?

    6. Re:Other way around by Luthair · · Score: 1

      Perhaps this chip has additional registers for performance? Not really much to go on at this point.

  7. Title is right by stooo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Windows 10 alwas leaks, phone or not phone.
    The title is right :
    "windows 10 leaks"
    After the home and pro edition, the Leaks edition, for everybody.

    Leaks ought to be okay for everybody.

    --
    aaaaaaa
    1. Re:Title is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Title is right but a comma was missed.
      Specs of Qualcomm's First ARM Processor Capable of Running, Windows 10 Leaks

    2. Re:Title is right by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      Can confirm, am running Insider builds of Windows Home. However, the Home and Pro versions are also leaks versions.

  8. Oh wow! by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    Wow, that REALLY would be a trick considering Windows 10 runs on x86 nor ARM architecture. That'd actually pretty much be magic.

    1. Re:Oh wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That'd actually pretty much be magic.

      Or just good software engineering. They have an x86 emulator to support Win32 desktop applications.

    2. Re:Oh wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows 8 RT supports ARM and it's 4 years old. Do you think a build of Windows 10 for ARM is really that big of a deal, especially since the Windows 10 IoT Core platform has been freely available for low-end ARM systems like Raspberry Pi for several months now and Windows 10 Mobile has been shipping since late 2015.

      You should not be surprised that Microsoft is spreading brand confusion in order to move product.

    3. Re:Oh wow! by itsme1234 · · Score: 2

      I'm surprised they don't learn. Spreading brand confusion worked so well with Windows RT and with Windows Mobile->Phone->Mobile-> "just Windows"

    4. Re:Oh wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't any turing complete microprocessor be capable of running windows whatever?

    5. Re:Oh wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not if memory and/or time are/is limited.

    6. Re: Oh wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No, must be twos complement little endian.

    7. Re:Oh wow! by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Microprocessors aren't Turing complete. Programming languages can be. But to answer your question- yes, you can emulate any machine on any machine, if you have enough time and space. Those are very real constraints, though, and to get good performance you usually have to do other tricks to make it work correctly, and those tricks are not always generally extensible. Here's an example: find an emulator for Radiant Silvergun. Then tell me if you are having a great time playing it on that emulator.

  9. Windows 10 leaks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In order to run all those nasty windows memory leaks, the new CPU has a 256bit address space...

    1. Re:Windows 10 leaks? by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      And I bet I can get apps to claim "Out of memory" errors just like I can on Windows 10 64-bit, though I'm fairly certain it's due to Windows using "resource pools".

  10. I bet.. by Z80a · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It can run much better OSes as well.

    1. Re:I bet.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Such as? The only thing that might come close is Android, but there are already plenty of ARM powered Android devices.

    2. Re:I bet.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      like any x86_64 bit OS. linux distro of your choice?

      the emulator is 64 bit, the video shows 64 bit windows 10 running on a snapdragon, that is what this will use... an emulator.

      the performance on that video looks pretty good for emulation, can't tell the difference actually.

    3. Re:I bet.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > the emulator is 64 bit, the video shows 64 bit windows 10 running on a snapdragon, that is what this will use... an emulator.
      > the performance on that video looks pretty good for emulation, can't tell the difference actually.

      You are confused. The video shows Windows 10 compiled for ARM 64 bit. The only emulator bit is when they run Photoshop x86 32bit version.

  11. 64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by xororand · · Score: 1

    Do you know of any 64-bit ARM single-board computers with 4 GiB of RAM or more?

    1. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by fnj · · Score: 0

      No, and even if I did, it still wouldn't have SATA, USB3, and the other things that would be necessary for it to be of any use.

    2. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by KiloByte · · Score: 1

      Here's one. 4GB RAM, SATA, USB3, DP+HDMI that can do real multi-head, 2*PCIe (only M.2 connectors but compatible with adapters to regular PCIe), and so on.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    3. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      How is the kernel support in Linux-land? This is commonly a problem for both allwinner and rockchip

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    5. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    6. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      already done. It has been working every since 64 bit ARM has been around.

    7. Re:64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      already done. It has been working every since 64 bit ARM has been around.

      I'm not asking if it works. I'm asking if all the drivers necessary to use the system have been mainlined yet, or if one depends on closed binary drivers just to boot. I own a PineA64+ so I am hip to just how bad the situation is with Allwinner, but I have not yet tried to put Linux on my MK908 so I'm not up on rockchip.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re: 64-bit ARM SBC with 4 GiB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only $600? What a steal. No thanks.

  12. So it's capable of Win10 leaks by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Does it run the rest of the software, too? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's actually amazing that it can handle all the bullshit baggage Win10 comes along with, usually malware doesn't run nicely on systems it wasn't designed for, so it's generally a good sign for compatibility if the leaky shit runs, but ... I don't know, I still wouldn't use it as advertising material.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:So it's capable of Win10 leaks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the CPU's name, "835" stands for the number of bits of the addressable space. You can add enough RAM to run the many leaks of windows...

  13. Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartphone! by DrYak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    After decades of /. geeks announcing the coming of the "Year of the Linux Desktop !", any time soon !
    2017 has finally brought us a new meme : It's going to be the "Year of the Windows smartphone/tablet !" any moment now !

    ---

    Seriously : Microsoft has completely and definitely lost this battle ages ago, about the time that Google's Android and Apple's iOS acheived a critical mass in their respective apps online stores.
    They are now the dominant eco-systems, on what has been becoming the most used platforms around.

    And unlike all the other Linux alternatives on portable devices (e.g.: Jolla's Sailfish OS) that can also run Android apps (in this example, using the official commercial Alien Dalvik, or the community SFDroid) and thus tap into one of the dominant apps eco-system,
    Microsoft nearly completely failed at these attempts (at least they managed to save something that was salvageable and give "Windows Service for Linux", a.k.a. "Bash on Windows" a.k.a. GNU/Windows) and is left with a platform that no end user is interested in using, because there's nearly no apps on it, because no developer is interested to develop on an extra 3rd platform that currently has no user base at all.

    Hey, Microsoft, how is it to be at the receiving end of the "network effect" that you've been abusing for so many years ?

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  14. Why would I... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...want to run a leak?

  15. If it can run Windows 10, it can run *ANYTHING* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hell, the bloatware has pustules of bloat in it.

    Next, the acid test: can it run systemd.

  16. Maybe a Tegra Dev Board? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But they are like 200+ dollars (K1 or X1 Jetson board was 400+ dollars.)

    None of the lower end Pi-esque dev board/SoC computers seem to be coming with more than 2 gigs of RAM even today however. Which seems utterly ludicrious that there are cellphones at under the 300 dollar pricepoint with 6+ gigs of ram but not a single 150 dollar dev board with similiar memory/cpu specs.

    A Qualcomm board at this point could completely smash a Pi3 and any other competitor if it didn't have a signed bootloader and had more than 4 gigs of RAM, and it has comparable open source driver support to the Tegra K1/X1 and the VC4 in the Pi1-3.

    1. Re: Maybe a Tegra Dev Board? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would a Qualcomm SBC that smashed the Pi3 also cost $30 for a fully functioning unit that you need to just add input and display devices?

      I think not.

      The RPi's trick isn't just being an SBC, it's the price point.

  17. Re: If it can run Windows 10, it can run *ANYTHING by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Soviet Redhat, systemd runs YOU!

  18. Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this SoC by the_crowbar · · Score: 4, Informative

    The headline mentions Windows 10, but the posts here seem to look toward Windows 10 Mobile (the phone version). What seems to be missed is that this SoC has x86 emulation baked in. According to this this article (linked from the story), this new ARM chip is capable of running regular, desktop Windows 10 applications.

    Thanks,
    the_ crowbar

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    Have you read the Moderator Guidelines
  19. Worthless POS worse than Atom CPU's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yea, this isn't going to work out to well from my experience with Windows 10. Sadly, even the Celeron CPU's don't run Windows 10 that well. Heck even Chrome OS doesn't run that great on a ARM CPU. Can't get a more low impact OS than Chrome OS. Android runs like shit on my Snapdragon 650 on my Asus tablet. Even if Microsoft trims Win 10 down to help, I don't see it performing that well on any ARM platform.

  20. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

    The headline mentions Windows 10, but the posts here seem to look toward Windows 10 Mobile (the phone version). What seems to be missed is that this SoC has x86 emulation baked in. According to this this article (linked from the story), this new ARM chip is capable of running regular, desktop Windows 10 applications.

    Good points. Running Photoshop shows it is at least decent emulation. The article at the end mentioned this might mean Win Phones can run regular Win10 programs, the question is why? Photoshop on a phone? Word or Excel? I would think this is initially aimed at the tablet market. Given the persistent rumors that Apple is also working on OS X/ARM compatibility it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  21. ARM != ARM by CptLoRes · · Score: 2

    Initially the whole point of ARM that made it so successful on the mobile platform, was simple and energy efficient architecture. Lately it seem that ARM is more about fitting as much complexity as possible into a single chip..

    1. Re:ARM != ARM by Kormoran · · Score: 1

      Of course ARM had simplicity (=cheap) and energy efficiency goals when it ran for mobile. But, of course, you go for more goals if the run change. IMHO the next big thing, the goal Qualcomm is running for, are desktop-capable phones. You come home, attach your smartphone to a docking station with mouse/kb/monitor/whatever and there you go. No PC anymore. Microsoft already went this way some time ago, so it's hardly a surprise that they collaborate with Qualcomm on it.

    2. Re:ARM != ARM by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      Initially the whole point of ARM that made it so successful on the mobile platform, was simple and energy efficient architecture.
      Lately it seem that ARM is more about fitting as much complexity as possible into a single chip..

      Yes, but if useful functionality/complexity can be added without using more power, that's a good thing isn't it? Seems that ARM (et al) so far are doing a pretty good job of increasing performance and decreasing power usage with each new iteration. Simplicity doesn't not automatically mean efficiency, indeed more performant chips can go back to sleep quicker than slower ones.

  22. Yeah but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are there specs for the chip that can run windows 10 releases too?

  23. Lame by backslashdot · · Score: 1

    It can't do x86 win64 apps. It can only run 32 bit x86 windows applications. That makes it useless. Who is going to run 32 bit autocad? LOL.

    1. Re:Lame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would. Not interested in this chip though.

    2. Re:Lame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a program has both Win32 and a Win64 version the only thing stopping it from being compiled to ARM is that it requires a Windows API.
      For modern software it is not out of the question to expect native ports if the userbase is significant enough.
      Widows strength have always been compatibility with legacy programs, for that 32bit works just fine.

    3. Re:Lame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the sort of person who's trapped into using windows by legacy applications, 16 bit x86 is sufficient.

    4. Re:Lame by doconnor · · Score: 1

      The main things stopping it is the willingness for the software supplier to release a ARM version. WIn64 was wide spread years before most closed source software supported it.

    5. Re:Lame by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      If you have a program that needs to be 64bit to run, then I doubt this CPU would have the grunt to run it. If you want to run AutoCAD without having to twiddle your thumbs while waiting for the screen to draw, then you should just buy a real Intel or AMD CPU.

    6. Re:Lame by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      RAM limit may be a bigger problem. If the phone has 6GB RAM and no swap, you aren't free to run absolutely anything.
      32bit has a nice built-in 2GB limit, at least for a program that runs in a single process (or 3GB limit, but if I'm not mistaken that's optional and 32bit Windows defaulted to not allow it)

      Also a decent reason to run 32bit Windows or Linux on PC with 1GB, 2GB or 3GB RAM.

  24. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by swb · · Score: 1

    You would think they would be trying to get to the phone-as-desktop-computer stage.

    Running Photoshop on a phone as a standalone device makes no sense, patched into a full-size monitor it makes complete sense.

    It almost looks like phones as portable computers capable of being both mobile devices and (at least lightweight) desktop devices with peripherals seems within reach, and sharing the ability to run the legacy code base.

  25. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartpho by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except that Microsoft literally owns a significant share of Android, and gets paid every time an Android device is turned on.

    You are a fucking moron, and sound like a massive asshole as well.

  26. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They get paid for licensed patents, but that won't last forever. Well, the patent probably will because patent law is horribly broke, but companies find ways to maneuver around them over time.

  27. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

    You would think they would be trying to get to the phone-as-desktop-computer stage.

    Running Photoshop on a phone as a standalone device makes no sense, patched into a full-size monitor it makes complete sense.

    It almost looks like phones as portable computers capable of being both mobile devices and (at least lightweight) desktop devices with peripherals seems within reach, and sharing the ability to run the legacy code base.

    While that may be true it currently makes little sense to me for several reasons. First you either have to carry the dock everywhere if you want portability which negates the advantage of carrying just a phone. Second, either phones start coming with a lot more storage or they are just the CPU, so essentially all you have is a desktop that has all the programs and files with a detachable CPU. Cloud storage can be an alternative but then you have no offline capability and still need storage for Win10 sized programs or use stripped down alternatives. Data caps would also come into play. There may come a time this model is a viable alternative but as Motorola's attempt provided it's not yet ready for prime time; which is why I think it makes more sense in tablets near term.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  28. Reading Comprehension Class Slashdot Ed Requires by CCarrot · · Score: 1

    ...to be fair, there are waaay too many words in English that function as either noun or verb depending on context, but that's why sentence structure is so damn important!

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  29. The end of Lin-sux cannot happen soon enough. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally we'll be able to start to retire the plethora of unreliable, buggy, and just generally shitty embedded Lin-sux implementations that have caused so much trouble with IoT. It will be nice to have a consistent platform that is secure, managed by competent developers with a proper profit motive rather than the massively oversold "open source", "DIY" bullshit that has made the internet of things utterly suck. Lin-sux and open sores is great if all you need to do is run a basic web server, but for anything more complicated proprietary software is simply better.

    1. Re:The end of Lin-sux cannot happen soon enough. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this some sort of ironic hipster-esque trolling technique where you use a tired trolling meme that's been in use for at least ten years and hope that now is the time it sounds cool to repeat it again?

  30. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the endgame of the Continuum feature in Windows Phone. Next stop... Surface Phone!

  31. Android is dying at the top end by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well except for one thing, Android is dying at the top end. Try to buy an Android tablet and the market has been crushed by 2-in-1 Windows tablets. You can't get a >=11 inch tablet with Android on it now. You won't find an Android tablet with a spec of the likes of a Samsung Note Pro 12.2 now, but that was 3 years ago, you should be able to get something a lot better/bigger/faster. But they've all gone.

    Google failed to deliver multiple windows on Android for years after Samsung introduced them. They failed to implement all the pen features like handwriting for years. *Now* Google have finally delivered those APIs (sort of, the pen support is partial) but then Pichai just had to slap his Chrome OS crap into it, pre-announcing a merged OS that effectively undermines Android multi-windows. So Android is dead for yet another year in the top end while manufacturers wait for the next OS to turn up. And the next OS, adds nothing to Android 7 which already supports multiple windows.

    So Microsoft have hacked away at the price till you can get a Windows tablet for $50 more than an Android one. And the price difference is the processor, Intel are overpriced for the performance. And so Microsoft are undermining Intel to encourage them to drop the price of chips. Intel are afraid to give away cheap an 8 core 2Ghz 64 bit processor and undermine their desktop processors, but Qualcomm have no desktop market share to undermine.

    And now Microsoft owns the top end mobile again that once was only Apple and Android.

    As they push downwards, we'll likely see another smartphone attack, this time Phablets from the top end.

    It's not that Microsoft are doing things right, its that Google are doing things wrong. Their own tablet, the Pixel C, has no stylus (mid range Samsung devices have), it was their mid-range device too, with a 12 inch Chrome device better than it. Pixel C *still* switches to portrait for apps designed for phones, instead of running them in a vertical window. It still will only run software pre-designed to run in windows in windows, making no attempt to run the apps in a window (yet skins regularly wrap the same apps in a window for overlays etc.). Since 5.0 they've taken the choice to break software, lots of 4.4 software crashed on 5.0 as they force removed every app from memory and adding extra requirements to stay in memory (like raising a notify to warn them you're still running). So imagine corporate apps, they get a new device, and have to rework all their bestope software each version or Google will do something to break their app. Obviously the wrong mindset for business.

    Google think they'll finally crack the desktop market with Android merged with Chrome OS, when Chrome OS brings fuck all to the party and they clearly don't have clue. So they make something that looks like an old Window version and somehow that will sell why??

    1. Re:Android is dying at the top end by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well except for one thing, Android is dying at the top end. Try to buy an Android tablet and the market has been crushed by 2-in-1 Windows tablets. You can't get a >=11 inch tablet with Android on it now. You won't find an Android tablet with a spec of the likes of a Samsung Note Pro 12.2 now, but that was 3 years ago, you should be able to get something a lot better/bigger/faster. But they've all gone.

      I don't think Google/Android cares about a niche market segment for the 3 people with freakishly large hands. If I (temporarily) want a bigger screen for my tablet I hook up an HDMI cable to it.

  32. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by swb · · Score: 1

    First you either have to carry the dock everywhere if you want portability which negates the advantage of carrying just a phone.

    Unlike the laptop many people carry with them along with a phone?

    If you assume something like this gains traction, then I foresee a lot of situations where docking setups just become ubiquitous or people that need truly portable docking simply carry a laptop-like device which the phone slots into.

    I'm less bothered by the storage side of it, my years-old iPhone has 128 GB flash now, two years out what will a typical phablet potentially have? 512 GB? Which means local data storage will be a lot less of an issue, and combined with cloud based storage and docking points having access to at least wifi if not wired bandwidth means you're less hobbled by access to bulk data storage not local to the device.

    I'm most curious how carriers will manage to string along the glacial growth in data caps. A neighbor is a city manager for a local suburb and he was explaining the discussions they were having with cell carriers now for what I assume is 5G tower siting, which from his description involves many more micro-cells vs. larger towers we see now.

    It may be that carriers are more or less planning for 5G networks which overcome issues of spectrum and bandwidth via smaller cell sites and will ultimately push up caps to where they're less of an issue than they are now. I'm willing to believe caps are mostly a profit system for carriers now, but I'm also guessing they're also used somewhat to manage congestion issues with the existing large-cell model.

    Another idea I haven't seen mentioned much in the phone-as-computer world is the notion of applications running as VMs or containers; perhaps docking your phone with a physical computer will make it another node in small VM cluster and you'd merely live migrate your app container to the bigger machine node for access to more compute/storage/RAM when docked for extended periods of time.

  33. DOOM by hduff · · Score: 1

    But can it run DOOM?

    --
    "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
    1. Re:DOOM by tepples · · Score: 1

      ARM devices have been running the PrBoom source port for over a decade. The only thing keeping popular ARM devices from running actual Doom is Idthesda's refusal to port it, combined with app store policies that require applications to be "self-contained".

  34. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this new ARM chip is capable of running regular, desktop Windows 10 applications.

    So was my old PowerPC Mac back in the late 1990's. It was slow, when it worked at all. And even that was rare.

    Don't expect this to be more than a gimmick. It won't actually run anything people have to use Windows for. There's a reason Microsoft has Continuum and requires apps to be written to work a certain way and not just rely on a docking-detection mode switcher.

  35. Re: The most important step IS backwards by xiando · · Score: 1

    ..and it's always been _the_ most important part of Windows. Backward- compatibility which allows all the existing programs to work is exactly why Windows remains widely used today. If Windows 10 only allowed those "universal applications" applications made for it then it would probably have close to zero users and installations.

    Windows RT ran on ARM and it was an epic failure because you couldn't run software made for Windows XP or Windows 7 or other older Windows platforms on it. Now Microsoft is trying again, this time allowing you to run win32 software on the ARM version of their OS. It probably won't be a big success but it does have a chance this time around.

  36. Re: The most important step IS backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No - it was an epic failure because Microsoft chose to embed executable code in their data... making it fail on anything but X86. Thus they have to have an x86 emulator... not fast.

    Windows RT didn't have anything that required the embedded x86 executable code... thus dead.

  37. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Wdomburg · · Score: 1

    Don't forget about Continuum. The upcoming "Creators Update" due in April includes a number of enhancements to the technology which, coupled with x86 compatibility, increases the feasibility of a mobile device (be it a tablet or a phone) as a primary computing device. Easy to imagine a market in both developed markets (either to reduce device proliferation, or as dedicated devices for children) and in developing markets (where a converged device wouldn't be competing against full blown computers, but against less flexible mobile platforms).

  38. Public transportation test by DrYak · · Score: 2

    (Note: I leave on the European side of the Atlantic pond. Here around we tend to have functional public transportation)

    Simple test: everyday I board a train, I see tons of iOS and Android-powered tablets. A few laptops. And very seldom, once in a blue moon, I might see a Windows convertible hybrid.

    Looks like, indeed, the general population doesn't seem to be that much interested into Windows powered hybrids - except for a couple of guys with weird requirement.
    (I've seen more Fairphones than that. Hell, I've probably even spotted more *Jolla phones*).
    (And I say that as a fully professed nerd with weird hardware requirement).

    I think it's mix of, as you mention "Nobody cares about an 12" tablet " and as I mentioned above "I want all my apps here".
    In short, the in- / ability to run Android Apps completely out-weights any extra features mentioned by the AC above. Like: stylus, bigger screen, more GHz and bits (most people's reaction : "WTF are those numbers?"), Intel CPU (average joe's reaction : ...doesn't give a damn as long as Facebook/e-mail/Chrome/Firefox/Spotify/Netflix/WhatsApp/SnapChat/Instagram etc. all run on it)

    Then as, long as it packs their usual entertainment, the only thing people care about is price.

    That explains the huge amount of "100$-150$" price range NoName chinese tablets (all featuring multiple windows, that nobody seems to be using anyway) that seems to have flooded the market.
    While at the same time, there is no flood of "powerful windows-running samsung hybrids - featuring stylus !".

    If there's a real big winner of the current market trends, it's Mediatek (and other makers of dead cheap ARM SoC that can power tablet that basically cost the price of their display pannel).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  39. Re: If it can run Windows 10, it can run *ANYTHING by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=redflag

    Yes, Red Flag Linux does run Systemd. Does this confirm that SystemD is a communist conspiracy to remove users of the details of their system, and weaken them?

  40. So This Is How Windows Does Android Apps? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MS couldn't (for some reason) bake Android into Windows 10 for end users. Probably because it would make something that's already too porky even more so given the need to emulate a Snapdragon. Instead, make full Windows work on a Snapdragon and you can run Android too, in parallel. Still doesn't do much for phones; Windows phones were marginally relevant (good user interface, actually, in that application, for Win 8 & 10) in the low-mid priced phone market on low-end Snapdragon hardware (effectively, modern feature phones), but you can't run both OS stacks at the same time in low-end hardware.

    Now, if the new SoC has both instruction sets in it (unlikely, unless Intel has an undisclosed piece of it) it's a different story. But it's a high-end piece so Windows will be competing with other top of the line devices using it - good but not great market. Perhaps it will tinkle down to the rest of us some day.

  41. Windows 10 / ARM by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Windows 10 IoT has supported ARM for more than a year.

    Aside from that, Windows 10 Mobile has been out just a couple of months shorter than Windows 10 on x64. Same thing can run on this CPU. What would be different on Windows Surface Phones, if they do them, is that they would support better emulation for x86

  42. Re:Microsoft calls now "Windows 10" the phone vers by unixisc · · Score: 1

    The branding of Windows has really sucked ever since Windows 8 came out. You had Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8... and the total confusion whether they run Wintel software as well.

    It's high time they rebranded all ARM versions of Windows under a single flag. Call it version 10 if they want to for parity reasons, but call it something other than Windows. Retain the Windows brand for x86.

  43. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

    Unlike the laptop many people carry with them along with a phone?

    Many good points. My point here was people already carry a laptop so what is the compelling argument for adding another laptop like dock so you can use your phone as the CPU when an existing solution works just fine? I also think the storage / need for a data connection to be useful / data caps and bandwidth issues need to be resolved before this is a viable solution. I'm not saying they can't be fixed but right now it appears to be more of a solution in search of a problem.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  44. Why doesn't QCOM license/buy AMD? by unixisc · · Score: 1

    One question here: since these solutions usually involve having to run x64, why doesn't Qualcomm either license the x64 instruction set from AMD, or even buy it up altogether? Let's say they do the first - license the instruction set. They can do something like 3 cores of ARM and 1 core of x64 in a CPU, so that Windows ARM binaries run on the 3 cores, and the stuff that is x86 can be directed by Windows to the 4th core that is x64.

    After all, Windows Phone 8/Windows 10 Mobile do have quite a number of native ARM apps, which can still run native on a new Surface Phone. What Microsoft seems to want here is run old win32 apps on the phone. So Qualcomm can take an AMD core and put it in their CPU and run it. That way, they can run both types of apps natively

  45. Not a leak, a press release. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    When someone "leaks" a press release then it's not leak, it's a strategic press release. A normal press release wouldn't get much attention but a "leaked" press release will. Since the only people benefitting from this is the company that would have made the press release, it's obvious that this was done strategically to get attention ahead of the crowd.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  46. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by tepples · · Score: 1

    Microsoft managed to get its patented exFAT file system into the SDXC standard. Smartphone makers are forbidden to advertise support for microSD cards larger than 32 GB, the maximum for SDHC, without paying royalties to Microsoft for exFAT. Once flash memory prices continue to fall such that the smallest widely available SD cards are 64 GB, I don't see any way to work around this other than to completely eliminate the microSD card slot.

  47. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by swb · · Score: 1

    I'm not saying they can't be fixed but right now it appears to be more of a solution in search of a problem.

    It's not really available right now to purchase, so it's not even a search for anything at the moment. I'd guess these problems will mostly solve themselves over time. I'm willing to be optimistic on the hardware side making it actually possible -- ie, you can actually plug in your phone to a monitor and use it as a passable PC, the sort of slightly-above-annoying performance of a standard business desktop.

    My bigger question is will "they" allow it to actually happen? I mean, what would it mean to MS if suddenly the tier of people who own a phone and a computer because they need to actually use computer-scale programs, displays, keyboards, etc, suddenly no longer "need" that extra computer and no longer buy that compulsory desktop hardware and license?

    We've had the hardware ability for years now to boot and run Windows off a USB stick. USB 2 was possible if mostly impractical, but USB 3 has made it not just possible but probably better performing than many spinning rust PCs yet you still cannot install Windows to a USB stick other than the moderately crippled Windows to Go version.

    IMHO if it was available there would be a huge demand for blank PCs with no operating system as people just moved their basic installs to new hardware or just used whatever hardware was in front of them. Really, we should have been doing this 5+ years ago and at this point it would make so much sense if every PC had an internal USB port it could boot from.

    The older I get, the more I mourn for the computing environment we *could* have if it wasn't 99% crippled by rent-seeking bean-counters maxing licensing revenue.

  48. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Where does this rumour about "emulation backed in" and that this is about some special stuff in the SoC come from?
    I see no indication (nor any sane way) for this to be anything but a pure software x86 emulation, so it will work on ANY ARM CPU, it's just that Microsoft can't be bothered (or are too incompetent) to make their OS run on more than one single SoC.
    Which is also kind of why I don't see them getting anywhere: as long as they are stuck with ONE SINGLE supplier, they'll never be able to benefit enough from the ARM ecosystem to actually be able to compete.

  49. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by tepples · · Score: 0

    First you either have to carry the dock everywhere if you want portability which negates the advantage of carrying just a phone.

    Unless the dock is just OTG and HDMI cables to use with the keyboard and monitor already at your destination. Then the phone's surface becomes a laptop-style trackpad to control the mouse pointer.

    It's too bad Matias had to price its Half Keyboard for sale to health insurers rather than individuals.

  50. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Luthair · · Score: 1

    The article implies its in Windows software not hardware. Doing this in hardware would probably run into x86 licensing issues that Intel could tie up in the court system for decades.

  51. Cue the MSFT haters... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every... single...time. Don't you guys ever get tired of MSFT bashing? As if the company hasn't made significant strides since Ballmer's departure?

    I'm no Windows fanboy, but my Surface Book has met my business needs just fine, and I find Windows 10 to be a pretty smooth experience overall (my last being a Macbook Pro). Sure, I have an occasional gripe, but the "telemetry" issue seems meaningless in the face of the reams of data that Google and Facebook already have on 99% of the population.

    Perhaps it's time to retire the hatred, put away the tinfoil hats, and reevaluate MSFT's based on its commitment to innovation (e.g. Azure, Open Source, XBox Scorpio, Hololens, Continuum). I, for one, wouldn't mind a more balanced debate on the company's initiatives.

  52. Re: The most important step IS backwards by Streetlight · · Score: 1

    There seems to be a lot of 64 bit software out there, though. Something like Photoshop does have some kind of 32 bit mode, but I'd guess it's the kind of app for heavy duty desktop systems with lots of RAM. My understanding is that 32 bit Windows only allows access to 4 GBytes of RAM so for apps that need lots of data occupying RAM while in use, plus the RAM for the OS, the ARM 32 bit Windows solution will not be useful. The amount of data swapping from a disk drive or RAM disk in such cases will slow things down to intolerable levels. The ARM solution might be ok for inexpensive laptops for a market where folks surf the web, use email, and create simple documents and spreadsheets, but not for "industrial" use.

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
  53. Re: If it can run Windows 10, it can run *ANYTHING by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Red Flag Linux is Nork, not 'Soviet'

  54. Re:Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartphon by bondsbw · · Score: 1

    Microsoft has completely and definitely lost this battle ages ago

    This is where your argument fails. There is no end until the company dies; there is only movement within the market, movement across markets, and movement towards new markets.

    The technology could open up doors. Or not, we don't know. Running x86 Windows apps on an ARM device is something that has been requested by users for years. Continuum was of mild interest for a lot of users, but this could push many over the edge toward Windows devices.

    If the leaders at Google and Apple are smart, they aren't asleep at the helm. The moment they think they're safe is the moment they become a casualty a la Microsoft circa 2007.

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  55. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    Formatting the cards as ext4 would do away with this limitation as well as the old 4GB limit.

  56. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by tepples · · Score: 1

    Using ext4 would also appear to break SDXC logo eligibility requirements.

  57. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    The older I get, the more I mourn for the computing environment we *could* have if it wasn't 99% crippled by rent-seeking bean-counters maxing licensing revenue.

    Like running unlimited users on Windows Home through Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Server), this is what I always wanted.
    I believe they might allow to run your desktop-on-phone without any special dock using that tech, though : single user Remote Desktop is something they allowed way back then, more recently game streaming has been allowed, you're free to do streaming/thin client, only the licensing restrictions (from Microsoft but also Nvidia and AMD) disallow what would make it most useful, like four players running a multiplayer game from the same PC.

    Plug your phone into a regular laptop or desktop, phone goes into USB networking mode (wifi 5GHz while the phone is charging on some charger is another option) ; desktop/laptop shows your phone's desktop, which is still useful for a few reasons like phone's desktop has your data, applications and accounts, or phone is more powerful/has features not on the old desktop (or even brand new 2GB/32GB laptop).

  58. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by tepples · · Score: 1

    only the licensing restrictions (from Microsoft but also Nvidia and AMD) disallow what would make it most useful, like four players running a multiplayer game from the same PC.

    I don't see how that's impossible. Plug four USB gamepads into a PC, and at least Duck Game will recognize them, as will FCEUX (an NES emulator). If a native PC game supports online co-op but refuses to recognize more than one gamepad for split-screen co-op on an appropriately powerful PC, complain to its publisher and don't buy any future games from the same publisher.

  59. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    Well, games like Quake (PC version), Call of Duty, Warcraft don't allow you to play split-screen four player with four gamepads.
    What I was thinking of, and I was maybe not explicit, is to build a single big ass PC so that four players, or 2-8 players may play on dumb terminals (cheap ass computers on ethernet with very high speed pixel streaming, one contemporary example but perhaps not the best would be the Chromecast series. Another is a random PC unfit for these games)

    You'll need at least a $2.5K or so "professional" version of a graphics cards, at least 4-8 Windows Pro licenses or perhaps some Windows Server license plus special client licenses.
    Otherwise you CAN use the same tech to "stream your game live to the internet" or to throw the display to the TV wirelessly. Hopefully you can "stream", "cast", "use from a thin client" your phone and be allowed to see your desktop that way. I was thinking about using some crappy old PC, but if you can have keyb+mouse on a TV, and show your desktop-on-phone on the TV (with choice of wired or wireless) that'd be a good, perhaps really really good thing.

    (incidentally, what I blather about with mutiplayer/multiuser is pretty irrelevant to the discussion, even not relevant at all. just some nerd fart. grandparent complained about Windows licensing and preinstallation on commercial computers, because this means you can't boot from USB. I'll add it also means you can't boot it from the network, or freely use it remotely, and then to really stretch things, what if you could just run many desktops at the same time. Amazingly, your granddady's Windows XP can. It's the "switch user" feature, although the display and keyb/mouse input only work for one desktop at a time)

  60. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I guess I'm a criminal.

  61. Re: Year of the Linux Des... huh, Windows Smartph by tepples · · Score: 1

    Only if you sell a device so marked without including exFAT support.

  62. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by tepples · · Score: 1

    Quake (PC version), Call of Duty, Warcraft

    Quake 1-3: Play a source port with gamepad input and split screen or add this feature to a source port.
    COD series: I have seen split screen in Zombies mode of Black Ops for Xbox 360. Is it intentionally omitted from the PC version?
    Warcraft series: Skip Warcraft. Contribute gamepad mode and split screen to Stratagus instead.

  63. Re:Windows 10 x86 (desktop version ) Runs on this by robinsc · · Score: 1

    At my office I already have a large monitor keyboard and mouse.
    A phone's SD card slot can take upto a 256GB microsd card - thats better than many ssds.
    In a corporate situation much of the files reside on a file server anyway.
    I can totally see the phone as working as a primary device coupled with a powered usb otg hub /mhl device .

    --
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