In Defense of Windows 10 on Snapdragon (Premium)

With Snapdragon-based PCs suddenly looming on the horizon, there's been a lot of discussion about the new platform's viability. This is a conversation worth having, but my take on Windows 10 on Snapdragon is simple: This is the push that Windows needs to drive its a new decade of innovation and change.

Yes, I've written a few "this is the future"-type posts recently. And I hope it's obvious that I believe that some combination of Windows 10 S, the Always Connected PC initiative, and the unique benefits that Qualcomm and Snapdragon bring to the table forms the basis for a modern, always-connected, and highly-mobile future in which Windows 10 can thrive.

But there are doubts. And doubters. So I'd like to address some of the concerns and explain why none of our short-term complaints matter all that much.

For example, Brad recently wrote about what he sees as the big problems for Windows 10 on Snapdragon. His post was focused on the enterprise, but the complaints should resonate with any PC user. They are:

Always-connected functionality already exists on today's PCs. And more are coming: Though some still seem to not understand this, the Always Connected PC initiative includes both Intel/x86 and Qualcomm/Snapdragon-based PCs.

Battery life. The two Windows 10 on Snapdragon PCs that we know about so far both deliver battery life in the 20-22 hour range, as rated by the manufacturers. But these figures are probably inflated, and the best Intel-based PCs today already deliver excellent all-day battery life. It's not hard to charge a PC (or phone) overnight; we do that already.

Performance will be terrible. Based on our hands-on experience with the first two Windows 10 on Snapdragon PCs, performance will be middling, and possibly somewhere in the Intel Atom/Core m3 range.

Security should be more of a push. The biggest advantage of Windows 10 on Snapdragon that neither Microsoft nor Qualcomm seem to be focusing on is security. "[These] machines should be immune to malicious Win32 applications," Brad writes. That's a big advantage.

To be clear, these points are all valid. But I'm looking at this from a bigger picture perspective. That is, the arrival of the Asus NovaGO and HP ENVY x2 next Spring, alongside whatever other Snapdragon-based PCs isn't really the point. The point is that the underlying PC platform is finally benefiting from some very real improvements that can only come about because Microsoft decided to open up Windows in an unprecedented way to the world's best mobile chipset designers.

Unprecedented, you say? But Paul. Microsoft made Windows RT before. And that was a fricking disaster.

Right. But that's why this new push, this combination of Windows 10 S, Always Connected PC, and Snapdragon will not be a disaster: This time, Microsoft and its partners are getting it right. They've learned from the mistakes of the past.

First, let's talk about Windows 10 S. I've savaged this OS because it is too much of ...