Qualcomm says its next-gen chips for Windows will be as powerful as Apple M1

Qualcomm wants to take the fight to Apple with its next-gen chips in 2023. And, the chipmaker is relying on a bunch of ex-Apple engineers to build new chips for Windows PCs that can offer performance the same as M-series chips.

The US-based chipmaker, Qualcomm, has been trying to catch up with Apple's A-series Bionic chipsets for years, though benchmarks have shown that there's still a comprehensive gap. So now, Qualcomm wants to build ARM-based chips that can match Apple M-series processors for Windows laptops.

Interestingly, Qualcomm will use its recently acquired Nuvia, a company that specialises in chip design, to develop a solution for Windows.

The news was confirmed during the Qualcomm Investor Day 2021 event. The company's Dr James Thompson, Chief Technology Officer, announced that the new ARM-based chips for the Windows ecosystem will be ready for OEMs almost nine months ahead of commercial launch in 2023.

Nuvia was acquired by Qualcomm earlier this year for $1.4 billion and included three former Apple engineers who worked on the company's Bionic mobile chipsets that power iPhones and iPads.

In July this year, Qualcomm's CEO, Cristiano Amon, hinted that the leading mobile chipmaker wanted to make a mark in the consumer PC space with its chips.

While the Qualcomm ARM-based chips may take some time to launch and then be tested by experts to see how fast or equivalent they are compared to Apple M1 chips. But, the chipmaker surely knows how to make headlines with claims that it would bring its 5G expertise to laptop chips. It's worth noting that Apple hasn't introduced LTE or 5G connectivity to any M-series chipsets until now.

Another thing that Qualcomm should realise is that by 2023, Apple may advance its M1 chip to its successor, the M2 chip, which we may see powering the MacBook Air that's likely to launch in 2022.

Long story short, Qualcomm is preparing for a long haul, and it seems to have found the right team to go for the kill. But, only time will tell whether Qualcomm manages to deliver.