The Future of Laptops: Exploring the Arm Processor Revolution

Key Takeaways

Arm-based processors are a game-changer for the laptop market, with Apple leading the way and other manufacturers like Qualcomm, Mediatek, Nvidia, and AMD now joining in.

Arm processor-based laptops excel in both battery life and design, owing to their lower power consumption and efficient cooling mechanisms. Although performance was previously a worry, computer Arm processors have significantly advanced, showcasing increased power and compatibility with native apps. This includes popular productivity tools and gaming applications, ensuring a seamless user experience.

What Is an Arm Processor?

In the year 2020, Apple revolutionized the computer CPU market by introducing the Arm-based Apple Silicon. Currently, other chip manufacturers are following suit and developing similar chips. The upcoming laptop you purchase could be powered by one of these chips, and although you may not realize it, this is a significant transformation for the laptop industry.

Arm processors are designed by the British company, Arm. They do not produce CPUs themselves but instead license their technology to companies such as Qualcomm, Mediatek, and Apple, who utilize it to manufacture their own hardware.

For nearly two decades, Arm-based CPUs have been utilized in smartphones. Conversely, laptops and desktops often employ the x86/x64 design, which provides greater performance but necessitates a significantly higher amount of power.

Arm Processors Are Finally Ready for the PC Market

The CPU in your computer is most likely manufactured by either Intel or AMD. However, neither of these companies has introduced any groundbreaking innovations recently, which has allowed competitors to capitalize on this situation.

Microsoft introduced the Windows RT in 2011, targeting Arm-based computers. Despite its limitations, it marked the initial development towards the present progression of laptop processors. Over time, both Arm-based processors and Windows support for them have advanced. ChromeOS, growing in popularity, has been compatible with Arm processors from the beginning. Nevertheless, the devices lacked strong performance, leading some individuals to perceive Arm processors as insufficient for serious mobile computing.

Apple was the pioneer in making a major advancement in Arm-based processors for computer manufacturing. The Apple Silicon Macs have proven to be more powerful than their Intel counterparts in most cases.

Qualcomm, on the other hand, has been producing computer processors for a few years. However, the top-performing computers with Snapdragon CPUs are comparable to entry-level x86/x64 laptops. With the introduction of the Snapdragon Elite X, Qualcomm is aiming to deliver enough performance to rival AMD, Apple, and Intel.

Mediatek, a smartphone processor manufacturer, also produces CPUs for computers. Unlike Qualcomm, Mediatek's Kompanio chips are specifically designed for entry-level laptops such as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3.

During the time of the first Windows RT tablet and many Android phones/tablets, NVidia's Tegra CPU was widely used. To this day, the Nintendo Switch utilizes NVidia's Tegra CPU, and the company continues to manufacture Arm processors for corporate clients.

Furthermore, there is a growing interest among numerous companies to tap into this lucrative market. A recent announcement by Qualcomm regarding the Snapdragon Elite X was swiftly followed by news of NVidia and AMD also venturing into the development of Arm processors for computers, as reported by Reuters. With their extensive expertise accumulated over several decades, both NVidia and AMD are well-equipped to thrive in this new endeavor and successfully bring Arm PC processors to the market.

Specializing in computer CPUs, AMD has long been regarded as Intel's sole significant competitor. It is only natural for these two longstanding rivals to embark on this joint venture, entering the Arm PC processor market and vying for a share in the rapidly expanding Arm-based laptop market.

How Are Laptops With Arm Processors Different?

All of this, of course, begs the question. What will a Windows-based laptop with an Arm processor look like? We can look at existing laptops and extrapolate from there.

Laptops that utilize Arm processors distinguish themselves from other portable devices primarily in terms of battery life and their capability to run mobile apps. While performance was once a major consideration, the landscape has evolved. Let's delve into each aspect.

Thanks to the lower power consumption of Arm-based CPUs, these devices are able to operate for extended periods on a single battery charge. As an example, Apple asserts that their M2-powered 16" MacBook Pro can deliver an impressive 22 hours of continuous video playback. This claim is not an exaggeration, as Apple's Arm-based laptops offer exceptional battery life that can easily last throughout the day.

The lower power requirement of Arm processors has a welcome side effect of reducing heat production. This not only allows for thinner laptops but also enables the creation of fanless designs.

In terms of performance, Arm processors for computers have generally been considered satisfactory. However, Apple Silicon Macs outperform Intel ones in nearly every task. On Windows, x86/x64 CPUs currently have an advantage because there are not many apps optimized for Arm chips.

More and more applications are now compatible with Arm CPUs, including a significant portion of Adobe Creative Cloud that supports Apple Silicon Macs. However, Windows users have limited compatibility with only Photoshop and Lightroom, although the Arm version of the GIMP image editor is available.

Gaming on Macs has never been a strong suit, but Apple Silicon models provide a significant performance boost by natively running iPhone/iPad titles.

Windows is surprisingly lacking in this aspect. The PC Gaming Wiki list of Windows games with native Arm support does not include any AAA titles. However, with the emergence of Arm-based Windows computers, this situation may change.

Moreover, laptops with Arm processors offer a fascinating advantage: the ability to run mobile apps directly on your laptop. As mentioned earlier, Apple Silicon Macs can run software designed for iPhones and iPads, not limited to just games.

Although Windows 11 computers can support Android apps, and ChromeOS has the capability to install the Play Store, both methods have limitations due to the x86/x64 architecture. In simpler terms, apps designed for Arm processors do not function optimally on Intel or AMD CPUs. This is particularly true for Android apps, as they provide significantly better performance on computers equipped with a chip similar to those found in smartphones and tablets. By using Arm-based PC processors, this specific limitation can be overcome, allowing mobile apps to run seamlessly and effortlessly.

At this time, we already have a template that demonstrates the efficiency and power of Arm processors with Mac devices. It is only a matter of time before Arm processors bring similar performance enhancements to the PC world. Although your current laptop may not have an Arm processor, it is highly likely that your next one will, providing advantages such as extended battery life, a sleeker design, and the ability to run mobile apps natively, among other improvements.