Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite CPUs have been making waves in the Copilot+ laptop space, but the company’s ambitions to expand beyond this initial lineup have hit a roadblock. Just days after the first orders started arriving, Qualcomm made a surprising announcement – they are canceling their Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows. This decision, which came as a shock to many, has left developers who had already ordered the mini PC facing refunds.
The Snapdragon Dev Kit was first announced in May, alongside the release of Copilot+ laptops. It was a key part of Qualcomm’s plan to establish a foothold in the desktop Windows PC market, allowing developers to test the most powerful Snapdragon X Elite CPU currently available: the X1E-00-1DE. This chip, boasting over 100 watts of power, was not available in any consumer device, making the Dev Kit a unique opportunity for developers to explore its capabilities.
The initial excitement surrounding the Dev Kit was tangible, with orders going live in July through retailer Arrow. YouTubers like Jeff Geerling were among the first to place orders, expecting a quick delivery. However, delays pushed the shipping timeline into September, with Geerling being one of the first to actually receive the device.
Just two weeks after Geerling received the Dev Kit, he, along with other users, received an email from Arrow stating that the product had been discontinued. The email explained that the “Developer Kit product comprehensively has not met our usual standards of excellence” and the decision was made to “pause this product and the support of it, indefinitely.”
The Dev Kit was intended to empower software developers to create apps for Windows on Arm, a crucial step in Qualcomm’s strategy to entice developers to port their x86 apps over to Arm. However, the cancellation raises serious questions about Qualcomm’s plans for Arm on desktop. While the reason for the cancellation remains unclear, speculation points to potential challenges in managing high-performance chips or the cost of producing the kit.
This abrupt cancellation is a significant setback for Qualcomm, particularly considering its stated ambition to expand beyond laptops and into the desktop market. The future of its Snapdragon X Elite CPUs and the company’s overall strategy for Arm adoption on desktop now hangs in the balance. This situation will be closely watched by the tech industry, and it remains to be seen what steps Qualcomm will take to address this setback.