What’s the Value Proposition for Snapdragon-Based Always Connected PCs? (Premium)

Now that we've had our first hands-on experiences with ARM-based Always Connected PCs, we have a clearer understanding of how these devices will fare compared to their more established x86 rivals.

Long story short, there are no surprises. And in speaking with folks from Qualcomm, various PC makers, and industry experts here at the Snapdragon Tech Summit, it's very clear how the battle lines will be drawn going forward.

If you want the best possible mobile experience, meaning instant on performance, days of battery life and weeks of standby, and always-on connectivity, an ARM-based Always On PC will be the right choice. What you'll give up, obviously, is performance.

More on that in a moment. But if you want the best possible performance, regardless of the scenario---productivity work, games, software development, or whatever---then a traditional x86 PC is the way to go.

There are a few nuances to this equation, of course.

First, and it's important not to forget this, Intel is part of the Always Connected PC initiative too. And that means that you will be able to buy standard x86-based PCs that deliver always-on connectivity, just like those based on Qualcomm's ARM-based Snapdragon 835.

Those PCs will be part of a far more diverse market of products, too. So far, we've only heard about two specific ARM-based Always Connected PCs, though we know that other PC makers are involved, and that Lenovo will announce something at CES in January. But there are hundreds and hundreds of PCs based on the x86 architecture in the market today. And it is only natural that PC makers will add eSIM capabilities to at least some models, making them Always Connected PCs too.

It's also fair to point out that some Intel-based PCs deliver very reasonable battery life. In my own testing of portable PCs this year, I've seen battery life ranging from a low of 6:52, for the HP Spectre x360 4K (2017), to a high of 11:30, for Surface Book with Performance Base. (OK, the HP OMEN 17 gaming laptop delivered just 3:22 of battery life. But it is a gaming PC.)

So what's the point of bringing Qualcomm and the Snapdragon 835---and newer chipsets like the Snapdragon 845---to Windows 10 and the PC?

For starters, 20-22 hours of battery life is about double that of the best PC I've tested this year. And its about triple the average battery life I'm seeing. Assuming these are real-world numbers, that's amazing. But even assuming they're not, it's still impressive: I find that real-world battery life is often about 2/3 of the official claims.

I don't have an ARM-based Always Connected PC, so I can't speak to the freedom that both Microsoft's Terry Myerson and Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon described when you can just leave the power brick at home. I will admit to a bit of skepticism: Amon noted that no one carries around a power cable for their phone, but, in fact, many people do just that.

The one thing I do buy is the notion that bringing mobile technolo...