NVIDIA is eying a comeback to the client processor business, reveals a Bloomberg interview with the CEOs of NVIDIA and Dell. For NVIDIA, all it takes is a simple driver update that exposes every GeForce GPU with tensor cores as an NPU to Windows 11, with translation layers to get popular client AI apps to work with TensorRT. But that would need you to have a discrete NVIDIA GPU. What about the vast market of Windows AI PCs powered by the likes of Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD, who each sell 15 W-class processors with integrated NPUs capable of 50 AI TOPS, which is all that Copilot+ needs? NVIDIA held an Arm license for decades now, and makes Arm-based CPUs to this day, with the NVIDIA Grace, however, that is a large server processor meant for its AI GPU servers.

NVIDIA already made client processors under the Tegra brand targeting smartphones, which it winded down last decade. It's since been making Drive PX processors for its automotive self-driving hardware division; and of course there's Grace. NVIDIA hinted that it might have a client CPU for the AI PC market in 2025. In the interview Bloomberg asked NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang a pointed question on whether NVIDIA has a place in the AI PC market. Dell CEO Michael Dell, who was also in the interview, interjected "come back next year," to which Jensen affirmed "exactly." Dell would be in a front-and-center position to know if NVIDIA is working on a new PC processor for launch in 2025, and Jensen's nod almost confirms this

Microsoft Auto Super Resolution (ASR), the standardized game super-resolution based performance enhancement, is initially only being offered to Copilot+ AI PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors, says the Microsoft FAQ for Copilot+ AI PCs. "At initial launch, this feature will be exclusive to Copilot+ PCs equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor and a curated set of games that can be found here, a third-party open-source site that Microsoft has contributed compatibility data to," the FAQ answer reads, in response to the question "What is automatic super resolution?"

The way we understand this, Microsoft ASR will be launched initially only Windows Arm devices, specifically those powered by the Snapdragon X Elite SoC. The Snapdragon X Plus is excluded; but more importantly, all x86-64 platforms (Intel or AMD) are excluded from the initial rollout. This doesn't mean that ASR won't make it to x86, it just will at a later date. Copilot+ devices based on the Snapdragon X Elite tend to have a high degree of design collaboration between the OEM and Microsoft, and Redmond wants to use them as tech demonstrators, mostly since these platforms lack the usual super resolution tech such as AMD FSR, Intel XeSS, or NVIDIA DLSS. It's important to note that ASR is a super-resolution tech that's not meant to be confused with DirectSR, the API it's based on. Development of DirectSR for Windows PCs on x86-64 platforms continues.

The open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture is shaping up for explosive growth over the next several years, primarily fueled by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) across industries. A new forecast from tech research firm Omdia predicts that shipments of RISC-V-based chips will skyrocket at an astonishing 50% annual growth rate between 2024 and 2030, sitting at a staggering 17 billion RISC-V units in 2030. The automotive sector is expected to see the most significant growth in RISC-V adoption, with a forecasted annual increase of 66%. This growth is largely attributed to the unique benefits RISC-V offers in this industry, including its flexibility and customizability.

The rise of AI in the automotive sector, particularly in applications such as autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is also expected to contribute to RISC-V's success. Industrial applications will continue to be the largest domain for RISC-V, accounting for approximately 46% of sales. However, the growth in the automotive sector is expected to outpace other industries, driven by the increasing demand for AI-enabled technologies in this sector. The forecast from Omdia is based on current trends and the growing adoption of RISC-V by major players in the tech industry, including Google and Meta, which are investing in RISC-V to power their custom solutions. Additionally, chip producers like Qualcomm are creating their RISC-V chips for consumer use, further solidifying the technology's future position in the market.

ASUS today announced a new generation of AI-powered computing at its online-only Next Level. AI Incredible. launch event, dedicated to the launch of the ASUS Vivobook S 15 (S5507). Powered by the Snapdragon X Elite, the device is the company's first Copilot+ PC, with Windows AI features and a collection of exclusive ASUS AI apps that aim to improve the user's work and play.

"As ASUS embarks on this journey, marked by the launch of our first AI PC, we stand at the beginning of a new era of personal computing." ASUS Co-CEO S.Y. Hsu said, speaking at the event, "The launch of our first Copilot+ PC powered by Snapdragon X Elite is an important milestone for us, and we believe that these devices are the future of consumer PCs and will drastically change the way we will work, study, create, and play."

Today, at a special event on our new Microsoft campus, we introduced the world to a new category of Windows PCs designed for AI, Copilot+ PCs. Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new silicon capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), all-day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs will enable you to do things you can't on any other PC. Easily find and remember what you have seen in your PC with Recall, generate and refine AI images in near real-time directly on the device using Cocreator, and bridge language barriers with Live Captions, translating audio from 40+ languages into English.

These experiences come to life on a set of thin, light and beautiful devices from Microsoft Surface and our OEM partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, with pre-orders beginning today and availability starting on June 18. Starting at $999, Copilot+ PCs offer incredible value. This first wave of Copilot+ PCs is just the beginning. Over the past year, we have seen an incredible pace of innovation of AI in the cloud with Copilot allowing us to do things that we never dreamed possible. Now, we begin a new chapter with AI innovation on the device. We have completely reimagined the entirety of the PC - from silicon to the operating system, the application layer to the cloud - with AI at the center, marking the most significant change to the Window platform in decades.

Today HP Inc. unveiled a new class of next-generation AI PCs at Microsoft's AI Vision Event designed for the AI era to empower people to work and create more meaningfully. The way we live and work is no longer confined to a desk; we are creating at home, from the office, and everywhere in between. At the same time, AI is rapidly changing everything, including consumer and professional expectations for productivity and creativity. More than half of early tech adopters believe AI will save them time, and 72% of business leaders believe AI will help employees focus on more productive work. Additionally, developers are releasing a steady stream of AI-enabled software designed for new experiences and capabilities that can only be unlocked with next-gen AI PCs.

To capitalize on both flexible work and AI, HP has created a new category of devices crafted for work and creation. Today, HP unveiled the HP OmniBook X AI PC and HP EliteBook Ultra AI PC, HP's first next-gen AI PCs built from the ground up with the latest ARM architecture to harness the most powerful AI technologies.

During the Copilot+ debut, Microsoft and global OEMs announced PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus - the only devices that are capable of bringing Copilot+ experiences to life today. The leading AI technology and performance efficiency of these platforms will power this groundbreaking new category, as Copilot+ revolutionizes how users interact with their PCs. Together, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Microsoft are taking intelligent computing to the next level and transforming the PC experience.

Qualcomm Technologies is restoring performance leadership to the Windows PC ecosystem with our leading NPU powered by Snapdragon X Elite which delivers the highest NPU performance per watt for laptops, up to 2.6X vs. M3 and up to 5.4X vs. Core Ultra 7. With the integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU architecture, it can deliver up to 24 TOPS/watt peak performance in uses cases like Super Resolution and with our leading Qualcomm Oryon CPU, Snapdragon X Elite leads in performance per watt, matching competitor peak PC CPU performance at 60% less power.

There's no doubt the AI PC revolution is here. We're as excited now about the future of the PC as we were when Michael founded the company 40 years ago. New transformative AI experiences will bring enhanced productivity and efficiency to the hands of consumers and professionals alike. Those with an AI PC will never look back, and everyone will want to be part of the action. We're here to lead the way.

As part of the Dell AI Factory's growing AI devices and infrastructure offerings, Dell expands our broad portfolio of AI PCs and workstations with the introduction of the most Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors. This brand-new class of devices transforms your AI PC experience with extraordinary performance and battery life, upleveled productivity and powerful security. Our five new laptops, XPS 13, Inspiron 14 Plus, Inspiron 14, Latitude 7455 and Latitude 5455, offer a range of consumer and commercial options that deliver exceptional speed and AI performance to elevate computing and simplify tasks. So, whether you're a business professional looking to spend more time on strategic work and less time on tedious to-dos, or you're a student looking to prioritize your studies while being untethered to a desk, we have you covered.

Today, Lenovo launched the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x and Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, its first next generation Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite. As the PC industry enters a new phase of the artificial intelligence era, Lenovo is poised to offer new levels of personalization in personal computing across its PC portfolio. Intelligent software-powered local processing of tasks, and increased productivity, creativity, and security, these Copilot+ PC's combine to deliver a whole new experience in PC interaction. Lenovo is expanding its already comprehensive portfolio of AI-ready devices, software, and optimized services with two new laptops for consumers and business users—the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x and the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6.

Powered by Qualcomm Technologies' new Snapdragon X Elite processor featuring the 12-core Qualcomm Oryon CPU, Qualcomm Adreno GPU and a dedicated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (neural processing unit), the new laptops deliver leading PC performance per watt with the fastest to date AI NPU processing up to 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS). With the latest enhancements from Microsoft and Copilot+, users can now access Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities even when offline, offering seamless productivity and creativity. The latest Lenovo laptops allow users to tap into the extensive Copilot+ knowledge base, empowering them to explore endless creative possibilities. By leveraging generative AI and machine learning, Copilot+ assists in composing compelling text, crafting engaging visuals, and streamlining common productivity tasks. With the ability to work offline with the same fluidity as online, the Yoga Slim 7x and the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 set new standards in AI PC innovation, promising a futuristic and streamlined user experience for end users.

Acer today launched its first Copilot+ PC with the Swift 14 AI laptop, in collaboration with Microsoft and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., ushering in a new AI era with brand new user experiences and AI capabilities on Windows 11. The Swift 14 AI has multiple device models, powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus platforms, and both feature one of the world's fastest NPUs for laptops to enable on-device AI processing. Users can streamline everyday tasks with smarter PC functions and tackle complex workloads more effectively.

"Engineered for AI from the inside out, the Swift 14 AI is the first among many Acer Copilot+ PCs to come," said Jerry Kao, COO, Acer Inc. "These next-generation AI PCs see significant leaps in AI processing power, unlocking brand new experiences that we know users will love."

Samsung Electronics today unveiled the Galaxy Book4 Edge, the next-generation of AI PCs. With 45 TOPS NPU AI computing performance and cutting-edge hybrid AI integrations, the Galaxy Book4 Edge amplifies the PC experience and offers the most hyperconnected mobile AI ecosystem yet. Together, Samsung and leading industry partners are propelling AI innovation and unleashing a next-generation AI PC with the Galaxy Book4 Edge.

"The Galaxy Book4 Edge expands our vision of AI connectivity—bridging the gap between mobile and PC, while democratizing AI experiences that change the way we operate each and every day," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "This next-generation AI PC unlocks new levels of computing performance, made possible by our proven Samsung Galaxy interface and open collaboration with industry leaders to bring our users world-class hardware and software solutions."

Courtesy of ASUS Vietnam (via @rquandt on X/Twitter), we now have an idea of what ASUS' first Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite notebook will look like, but also what the main specifications are. It will share the Vivobook S 15 OLED branding with other notebooks from ASUS, although the leaked model carries the model number S5507QA-MA089WS. At its core is a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 SoC which is the base model from Qualcomm. The SoC consists of 12 Oryon cores, of which eight are performance cores and four are energy efficient cores. A peak, multi-threaded clock speed of 3.4 GHz and 42 MB of cache, as well as a 75 TOPs AI engine rounds off the SoC specs. The SoC is also home to a Qualcomm Adreno GPU, but so far Qualcomm hasn't released any useful specs about the GPU in the Snapdragon X Elite series of chips.

ASUS has paired the SoC with 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory of an unknown clock speed, although Qualcomm officially supports speed of up to 8,448 MT/s in a to PC users unusual configuration of eight channels at 16-bit wide, for a bandwidth of up to 135 GB/s. For comparison, Intel's latest Core Ultra processors max out at LPDDR5X 7,467 MT/s and up to 120 GB/s memory bandwidth. Other features include a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, a glossy 15.6-inch 2,880 x 1,620 resolution, 120 Hz OLED display with 600 nits peak brightness and a 70 WHr battery. It's unclear what connectivity options will be on offer, but judging by the screenshot below, we can at least expect an HDMI out as well as a pair of USB Type-C ports, a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. As far as pricing goes, Roland Quandt is suggesting a €1,500 base price on X/Twitter, but we'll have to wait for the official launch to find out what these Arm based laptops will retail for. ASUS Vietnam has already removed the page from its website.

A product roadmap leak at leading PC OEM Dell, disclosed the tentative launch dates of several future generations of processors by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. The slide was detailing hardware platforms for future revisions of the company's premium XPS notebooks. Given that Dell remains one of the largest PC OEMs, the dates revealed in the leaked slides are highly plausible.

In chronological order, Dell expects Intel's Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake-MX" processor in September 2024, which should mean product unveilings at Computex. It's interesting to note that Intel is only designing "Lunar Lake" for the -MX memory-on-package segment. This chip squares off against Apple's M3, M4, and possibly even the M3 Pro. Intel also has its ambitious "Arrow Lake" architecture planned for the second half of 2024, hence the lack of product overlap—there won't be an "Arrow Lake-MX."

Personal computers (PCs) have been used as the major productivity device for several decades. But now we are entering a new era of PCs based on artificial intelligence (AI), thanks to the boom witnessed in generative AI (GenAI). We believe the inventory correction and demand weakness in the global PC market have already normalized, with the impacts from COVID-19 largely being factored in. All this has created a comparatively healthy backdrop for reshaping the PC industry. Counterpoint estimates that almost half a billion AI laptop PCs will be sold during the 2023-2027 period, with AI PCs reviving the replacement demand.

Counterpoint separates GenAI laptop PCs into three categories - AI basic laptop, AI-advanced laptop and AI-capable laptop - based on different levels of computational performance, corresponding use cases and the efficiency of computational performance. We believe AI basic laptops, which are already in the market, can perform basic AI tasks but not completely GenAI tasks and, starting this year, will be supplanted by more AI-advanced and AI-capable models with enough TOPS (tera operations per second) powered by NPU (neural processing unit) or GPU (graphics processing unit) to perform the advanced GenAI tasks really well.

According to the report from BenchLife, NVIDIA has started the marketing campaign push for "Premium AI PC," squarely aimed at the industry's latest trend pushed by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for an "AI PC" system, which features a dedicated NPU for processing smaller models locally. NVIDIA's approach comes from a different point of view: every PC with an RTX GPU is a "Premium AI PC," which holds a lot of truth. Generally, GPUs (regardless of the manufacturer) hold more computing potential than the CPU and NPU combined. With NVIDIA's push to include Tensor cores in its GPUs, the company is preparing for next-generation software from vendors and OS providers that will harness the power of these powerful silicon pieces and embed more functionality in the PC.

At the Computex event in Taiwan, there should be more details about Premium AI PCs and general AI PCs. In its marketing materials, NVIDIA compares AI PCs to its Premium AI PCs, which have enhanced capabilities across various applications like image/video editing and upscaling, productivity, gaming, and developer applications. Another relevant selling point is the user base for these Premium AI PCs, which NVIDIA touts to be 100 million users. Those PCs support over 500 AI applications out of the box, highlighting the importance of proper software support. NVIDIA's systems are usually more powerful, with GeForce RTX GPUs reaching anywhere from 100-1300+ TOPS, compared to 40 TOPS of AI PCs. How other AI PC makers plan to fight in the AI PC era remains to be seen, but there is a high chance that this will be the spotlight of the upcoming Computex show.

Today, Bose is turning up the volume on its acclaimed SoundLink Bluetooth speaker line with the introduction of the SoundLink Max Portable Speaker. This all-new portable speaker has lasting power, rugged durability, and delivers incredible sound for its size. Now you can set the vibe with your favorite playlist no matter where you go. The SoundLink Max will be available on May 16th for $399 and can be pre-ordered starting today on Bose.com.

Big Speaker Sound That Wows
The SoundLink Max leverages decades of Bose research in acoustics to deliver incredible performance for your music that will help get the party started and keep it going. The system leverages a Bose Articulated Array with three transducers across the front of the speaker to deliver a spacious stereo experience that goes beyond the speaker itself. Two custom-designed passive radiators are responsible for providing a level of bass performance that also defies the speaker size. Using technology found in Bose soundbars and proprietary digital signal processing that dramatically minimizes distortion, the speaker reproduces full, natural sound regardless of what you're listening to. The result is a system that allows you to hear every instrument, clear vocals, and the beat of your music, no matter where you're listening or where the speaker is placed.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today expands the leading Snapdragon X Series platform portfolio with Snapdragon X Plus. Snapdragon X Plus features the state-of-the-art Qualcomm Oryon CPU, a custom-integrated processor that delivers up to 37% faster CPU performance compared to competitors, while consuming up to 54% less power. This remarkable advancement in CPU performance sets a new standard in mobile computing, enabling users to accomplish more with greater efficiency. Snapdragon X Plus is also designed to meet the demands of on-device AI-driven applications, powered by the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU capable of 45 TOPS, making it the world's fastest NPU for laptops. This platform is a significant leap in computing innovation and is set to transform the PC industry.

"Snapdragon X Series platforms deliver leading experiences and are positioned to revolutionize the PC industry. Snapdragon X Plus will power AI-Supercharged PCs that enable even more users to excel as radical new AI experiences emerge in this period of rapid development and deployment," said Kedar Kondap, senior vice president and general manager of compute and gaming, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "By delivering leading CPU performance, AI capabilities, and power efficiency, we are once again pushing the boundaries of what is possible in mobile computing."

Today we're taking the next step toward our vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse. We're opening up the operating system powering our Meta Quest devices to third-party hardware makers, giving more choice to consumers and a larger ecosystem for developers to build for. We're working with leading global technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and making it even easier for developers to build apps and reach their audiences on the platform.

Introducing Meta Horizon OS
This new hardware ecosystem will run on Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers our Meta Quest headsets. We chose this name to reflect our vision of a computing platform built around people and connection—and the shared social fabric that makes this possible. Meta Horizon OS combines the core technologies powering today's mixed reality experiences with a suite of features that put social presence at the center of the platform.

Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced that the companies successfully completed 1024 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) tests for both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum bands, marking an industry-first for FDD. This innovative milestone and collaboration demonstrate the companies' dedication to supporting operators increase 5G throughput and boost spectral efficiency of their networks.

QAM is an advanced modulation technology to transmit data or information more efficiently. This directly relates to how many bits of data can be delivered in each transmission. While 256 QAM is widely used in commercial networks, Samsung and Qualcomm Technologies recently accomplished the latest 1024 QAM defined in 3GPP Release 17 specifications. This enhanced QAM technology helps operators maximize their use of spectrum resources and allows mobile users to seamlessly enjoy various mobile services such as live video streaming and online multi-player gaming, which require higher download speeds.

Lenovo is putting finishing touches on the Yoga Slim 7 14 2024, one of the first non-reference laptop to feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X processor. Leaked images circulating on X (formerly Twitter) reveal a sleek and stylish design, with a 14-inch or 14.5-inch display encased in a slim and portable form factor. Qualcomm has previously showcased eye-catching demo reference systems in a striking red color scheme, but Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7 14 2024 marks the first time a significant laptop manufacturer with actual product images incorporating the Snapdragon X chip. The Yoga Slim 7 14 2024 is part of Lenovo's popular Slim laptop lineup, including models powered by Intel and AMD processors. The latest "Gen 8" iteration featured options for AMD Ryzen 7040 series and Intel 13th Gen Core i and Core Ultra series CPUs.

One notable addition to the Snapdragon X-powered model is the inclusion of a dedicated Microsoft Copilot button. Qualcomm has heavily touted the Snapdragon X's Neural Processing Unit (NPU) performance and its ability to directly accelerate various AI and machine learning algorithms on the device. There have been a few comparison points between Meteor Lake with Intel's NPU and Snapdragon X Elite with Qualcomm's NPU. The chipmaker's X Elite and X Plus laptop offerings are expected to arrive soon, and there are strong indications that this may happen during the Computex trade show.Update 17:28 UTC: X user WalkingCat has posted images of Lenovo Thinkpad T14s laptop, which can be seen below.

Cambridge Audio, is excited to launch the latest model in the award-winning Melomania headphones series. Melomania M100 brings the range bang up to date and more, by introducing Lossless Audio support and Active Noise Cancelling. Melomania M100 builds on over 50 years of audio expertise and an unashamed passion for music that went into the award-winning Melomania 1+, to deliver jaw-dropping sound from meticulously tuned premium drivers and Hi-fi-grade Class AB amplification.

Cambridge's London-based engineering wizards have also squeezed in world-class 10-hour battery life (extending to a seriously long-haul-friendly 16 hours with noise-cancelling turned off) to ensure that the sublimely immersive listening experience will remain uninterrupted, whether for a flight, a lengthy commute or a hard-working day and night.

Qualcomm claimed that most Windows games will run (via emulation) on its upcoming series of ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite processors—during a "Windows on Snapdragon, a Platform Ready for your PC Games" presentation at the recently concluded GDC 2024 event. Issam Khalil (principal engineer) did not mention specific titles, but divulged that the Snapdragon Studios division has spent time working through "top games" on Steam. Qualcomm laptop-oriented Adreno GPU design is being hyped up as demonstrating an "80% performance uplift versus AMD's Radeon 780M iGPU," but the overall Snapdragon X Elite package is often compared to Apple's M3 chipsets (also ARM-based).

Reference laptops—running early Snapdragon X Elite silicon—have been distributed to favored partners. A semi-public showcase—recorded by Devin Arthur—revealed some promising gaming performance credentials on one of these devices. The self-proclaimed "Snapdragon Insider" was invited to the company's San Diego, California headquarters—Arthur happily reported that a red "23 W Snapdragon X Elite model" was demoing: "Baldur's Gate 3 running at 1080p hovering around 30 FPS, which is perfectly playable!" Specific visual settings were not listed in Arthur's substack article, or showcased during his brief video recording—but Qualcomm's claims about the Adreno GPU beating Team Red's best iGPU could be valid. Windows Central reckons that Control and Redout 2 have been demoed on Snapdragon X Elite devices.

Google has just released an Arm-optimized version of its popular Chrome browser for Windows PCs. This new version is designed to take full advantage of Arm-based devices' hardware and operating system, promising users a faster and smoother browsing experience. The Arm-optimized Chrome for Windows has been developed in close collaboration with Qualcomm, ensuring that Chrome users get the best possible experience on current Arm-compatible PCs. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President at Google, stated, "We've designed Chrome browser to be fast, secure, and easy to use across desktops and mobile devices, and we're always looking for ways to bring this experience to more people." Early testers of the Arm-optimized Chrome have reported significant performance improvements compared to the x86-emulated version. The new browser is rolling out starting today and will be available on existing Arm devices, including PCs powered by Snapdragon 8cx, 8c, and 7c processors.

Shortly, Chrome will receive an even more performant chip boost with Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC launch. Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, expressed his excitement about the collaboration, saying, "As we enter the era of the AI PC, we can't wait to see Chrome shine by taking advantage of the powerful Snapdragon X Elite system." Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite devices are expected to hit the market in mid-2024 with "dramatic performance improvement in the Speedometer 2.0 benchmark" on reference hardware. Being one of the most essential applications, getting a native Chrome build to run on Windows-on-Arm is a significant step for the platform, promising more investment from software makers.

Noble Audio today launched the FoKus Triumph TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earbuds, showcasing the company's renowned sound quality in a TWS package. FoKus Triumph is driven by a custom 6.5 mm dynamic driver coupled with Cowell, an all-silicon MEMS-based speaker from xMEMS Labs, pioneers in "Solid-State Fidelity."
FoKus Triumph is Noble's third product, following the Falcon Max and XM1, to benefit from a strategic partnership with xMEMS. Leveraging xMEMS Cowell to deliver exceptional sound quality, phase coherence, and treble extension, FoKus Triumph is the latest evidence of Noble Audio's status as a pioneer in premium portable audio.

Noble Audio's latest fully wireless earbuds incorporate a custom dynamic driver for accurate bass and midrange reproduction with xMEMS' Cowell solid state driver serving as a tweeter. Pre-production units with this hybrid design were tested by hundreds of visitors at xMEMS' CES suite in January, and they received high marks for sound quality.

Qualcomm's "Windows on Snapdragon, a Platform Ready for your PC Games" GDC presentation attracted a low number of attendees according to The Verge's Sean Hollister (senior editor). The semiconductor firm is readying its Snapdragon X Elite mobile chipset family for launch around mid-2024—prototypes and reference devices have been popping up lately. Leaked Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge specs suggest that Qualcomm's ARM-based solution is ready to take on Apple's M3 chipset series. Gaming is not a major priority for many owners of slimline notebooks, but Apple has made efforts to unleash some of its silicon's full potential in that area. Snapdragon Studios' GDC showcase outlined a promising future for their X Elite chips—according to Hollister's coverage of the GDC session, Qualcomm's principal engineer told "game developers (that) their titles should already work on a wave of upcoming Snapdragon-powered Windows laptops—no porting required."

Issam Khalil's presentation covered three different porting paths: x64 emulation, ARM64, and a hybrid approach (via an "ARM64EC" driver). He demonstrated tools that will be available for games developers to start enabling titles on Windows + Snapdragon platforms. The Snapdragon X Elite is capable of running x86/64 games at "close to full speed" via emulation, as claimed in presentation slides. Khalil posits that developers are not required to change the code or assets of their games to achieve full speed performance. Adreno GPU drivers have been prepped for DX11, DX12, Vulkan, and OpenCL—mapping layers were utilized to grant support for DX9 and OpenGL (up to v4.6). Specific titles were not highlighted as fully operational on Snapdragon X Elite-based devices, but the team has spent time combing through "top games" on Steam.