Months after Microsoft unveiled its plans for ARM-powered Windows laptops, a senior company executive reportedly confirmed on Wednesday that the upcoming Windows 10 laptops, powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, would offer "multi-day" battery life.
While the battery life is very likely to be a key selling point of the forthcoming Windows 10 laptops, the devices are also expected to support traditional desktop apps thanks to an emulator in Windows 10. According to Trusted Reviews, Qualcomm is hopeful of launching the device sometime in December while Microsoft is promising a game-changing battery performance.
"Expect an 'extreme gain in battery life'. For Netflix streaming with LTE, we're looking at 28-29 hours playback. We're looking at all-day computing with everything on in excess of 16, 17 or 18 hours," Trustedreviews.com quoted Cristiano Amon, executive VP of Qualcomm Technologies, at the 5G Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
"The final numbers aren't in, but the battery life is really, really good," Pete Bernard, a program manager at Microsoft, told the publication. "To be frank, it's actually beyond our expectations. We set a higher bar for (our developers), and we're now beyond that."
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 platform is the same processor that powers flagship Android smartphones, including Samsung Galaxy S8, OnePlus 5 and LG V30. Snapdragon chipsets, which are said to be more power-efficient by design and nature, can provide more room for a bigger battery since they are smaller than a traditional laptop processor.
Based on an advanced 10-nanometer design, the Snapdragon 835 chip is "35 percent smaller and uses 25 percent less power than previous designs," Qualcomm said on its website.
The chip "is engineered to deliver exceptionally long battery life, lifelike VR and AR experiences, cutting-edge camera capabilities and Gigabit Class download speeds."
