Qualcomm Looking to Combat Apple Silicon With New Generation of PC Chips

Qualcomm today announced plans for next-generation Arm-based System on Chips (SoC) designed to rival Apple's M-series chips in the PC space (via The Verge).

tsmc semiconductor chip inspection 678x452
At Qualcomm's 2021 investor day event, chief technology officer Dr. James Thompson announced the plans for the new generation of chips. The chips are "designed to set the performance benchmark for Windows PCs" and are being developed by the Nuvia team. Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, a chip startup company founded by former Apple chip designers, for $1.4 billion earlier this year.

Qualcomm said that it will directly compete with Apple's M-series chips, including the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max, and hopes to lead the industry for "sustained performance and battery life." Moreover, the company promised that it would be scaling up its Adreno GPUs to offer desktop-class gaming capabilities in future PCs. Qualcomm hopes to be able to send samples to clients in around nine months, ahead of the first products containing the chips launching in 2023.

Tags: Arm, Qualcomm

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on Apple Products

Saturday July 5, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Amazon is soon to be back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and there are already many deals you can get on sale ahead of the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a ...

Top Rated Comments

BC2009 Avatar
48 months ago
So if Apple maintains the same lead on Qualcomm in with regard to PC/Mac chips that they do in the mobile arena, then they have nothing to worry about. Qualcomm chips powering Android phones are at least 2 to 3 years behind Apple in performance and Android phones only make up for it by providing obscene amounts of RAM on the high-end phones.

The advantage here for the consumer is that it will prevent Apple from resting on their laurels and holding back more powerful designs because they don't yet need them (much like Intel did with AMD years ago). You gotta have somebody at least chasing after Apple even if they are likely not going to catch them. I actually wish Apple had more competition in the tablet arena so iPad might got better faster.

The other disadvantage for PC's is that the operating system is coming from a different vendor than the SOC. When Apple needs to optimizing something, they just push it from software to hardware. For Microsoft and Qualcomm, that is going to be a negotiation with a slower turn-around time.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
torontotim Avatar
48 months ago

if only apple paid their designers better to retain them.
People working at this level rarely leave because of compensation.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zaft Avatar
48 months ago
Good luck. By 2023 apple will be far ahead.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SactoGuy18 Avatar
48 months ago
They'll never catch up to Apple. Reason: the Apple M-series SoC's a highly optimized for MacOS, something that the Qualcomm ARM-based SoC's may not be able to do unless Windows 11 on ARM is written to take full advantage of the Qualcomm ARM design.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alpi123 Avatar
48 months ago
Competition is never bad.

But it takes them so long to even try to catch up Apple...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
48 months ago
Qualcomm is late to the party.

Haha! The competition is good but Good luck!

Apple silicon chip is just way too good. Real talk!



Attachment Image
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)