TL;DR
- Qualcomm’s gaming director has revealed that it’s engaged on “stuff” that isn’t Android or essentially Home windows.
- The exec additionally confirmed it was testing its handheld chips with translation layers to run Home windows video games.
- This strongly means that Qualcomm is engaged on an Arm-powered handheld able to operating Home windows video games.
Qualcomm introduced three new processors for gaming handhelds this week, starting from the environment friendly however low-end Snapdragon G1 to the high-powered Snapdragon G3x Gen 2. Nevertheless, the US chipmaker has quietly confirmed that it’s laying the muse for rivals to the Steam Deck.
In an interview with The Verge protecting the model’s new handheld chips, Qualcomm gaming director Mithun Chandrasekhar revealed that the corporate was “engaged on stuff in-house that’s not Android.” The chief added that it wasn’t essentially Home windows, both.
“We don’t suppose that ecosystem [Windows – ed] is kind of prepared but and we don’t simply need to throw a laptop computer shrunken down over the fence,” Chandrasekhar defined.
Home windows video games on Snapdragon handhelds
However, the chief additionally confirmed to the outlet that it was testing its processors with translation layers that may permit Home windows video games to run on different platforms.
The Steam Deck is probably essentially the most distinguished instance of this tech, because it’s capable of run Home windows video games on the Linux-based Steam OS through the Proton compatibility layer. Apple has additionally launched its Sport Porting Toolkit to builders to allow them to simply run video games on MacOS.
Would you purchase a Snapdragon handheld if it ran PC video games?
19 votes
Arm CPUs are usually extra environment friendly than x86 CPUs, however we’re guessing that operating Home windows video games on a Snapdragon handheld through a translation layer would lead to elevated energy consumption. We additionally are likely to see a efficiency penalty when making an attempt to run x86 Home windows video games on Arm units. So we’re guessing that any future Snapdragon-powered handheld operating Home windows video games through a compatibility layer would ship degraded efficiency over an Intel or AMD-based handheld. In saying so, we’re curious to see how Qualcomm’s Oryon-equipped processors will run Home windows video games.
That is nonetheless a noteworthy improvement within the handheld gaming phase. It suggests that you simply won’t have to purchase a Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, or a product from a distinct segment participant if you would like a handheld able to enjoying Home windows video games.
We’ve requested Qualcomm for extra details about these developments and can replace the article if/when the corporate will get again to us.
