In mid-2024, Qualcomm introduced its first range of processors with ARM architecture for laptops, processors designed to offer much greater autonomy than what we can find in any Intel or AMD computer with x86 processors.
Although they have a long way to go to become the preferred choice for users, the advantages offered by these devices in terms of autonomy and performance are the model to follow for the industry, although Intel continues to ignore it, something that both NVIDIA and AMD are doing.
As for NVIDIA, it is expected to launch its first processor based on ARM architecture by the end of this year following its partnership with MediaTek, Qualcomm’s main rival in the mobile device processor market.
AMD, like Intel, seemed to have no intention of adopting this architecture; however, the latest news points to the opposite, at least according to the Moore’s Law is Dead podcast.
AMD is working on APUs with ARM architecture
Following the launch of the Ryzen AI 300 series of processors for laptops, the company led by Lisa Su is already working on a new generation of APUs called Sound Wave,a generation intended to compete directly with Qualcomm processors and awaiting what NVIDIA launches before the end of the year, as long as it does not delay its launch.
The first time we talked about Sound Wave, we talked about an APU based on Zen 6 architecture, however, it seems that AMD does not want to be late to the ARM processor market and has moved Sound Wave to the CPU market with this architecture.
These new APUs will integrate a processor with 6 cores (2 P-Cores + 4 E-Cores) accompanied by an RDNA 3.5 GPU with improved performance for machine learning, a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to perform Artificial Intelligence tasks locally and MALL cache to improve performance without affecting power consumption. This will have 128-bit LPDDR5X-9600 memory and a minimum of 16 GB of RAM.
With only 6 cores, it’s clear that AMD’s intention isn’t to launch a next-generation processor capable of running any type of application without breaking a sweat. AMD’s main objective is to launch a processor capable of offering enormous battery life and priced similarly to any mid-range laptop on the market, which never exceeds $1,000.
Laptops move to ARM architecture
This is where Qualcomm has yet to deliver on the promise it made before the end of 2024, in which it stated that, in early 2025, it would launch new laptop processors based on ARM architecture that would not exceed $800.
Users who purchase a computer with ARM architecture do so because they want significantly longer battery life than x86 laptops. Until now, the only solution for this was Apple’s MacBooks; however, this entails changing operating systems, which also means changing applications.
Unlike Apple, where power consumption is not a priority, both Intel and AMD have no intention of launching processors with this architecture for desktop PCs, mainly due to its limitations when it comes to expansion, since all the components that make them up are on the same chip and where it is not possible to replace them.
