T
o
m
B
r
a
n
t
T
he brightest immediate future for
Snapdragon-powered PCs isn’t
*FDSDEOHÀDJVKLSVVXFKDVWKH/HQRYR
Flex 5G. It’s Chromebooks.
0LFURVRIWDQG4XDOFRPPKDYHVSHQW\HDUV
SRVLWLRQLQJ6QDSGUDJRQSRZHUHGODSWRSV
including the Flex 5G and Microsoft Surface Pro
;DVVXSHULRUWRWKHLU,QWHOSRZHUHG
FRXQWHUSDUWVEXWZLWKOLPLWHGVXFFHVV:LQGRZV
VRIWZDUHFRPSDWLELOLW\LVVXHVZLWK6QDSGUDJRQ¶V
ARM architecture make such laptops sluggish to
XVHDFULWLFDOÀDZJLYHQWKHLURIWHQDVWURQRPLFDO
price tags.
6R4XDOFRPPTXLHWO\VKLIWHGJHDUVPRYLQJ
6QDSGUDJRQODSWRSVDZD\IURPWKHLURULJLQDO
SUHPLXPÀDJVKLSIRFXVDQGWRZDUGORZFRVW
workhorses for schools and consumers who care
PRUHDERXWSULFHWKDQSHUIRUPDQFH,QODWH
WKHFRPSDQ\LQWURGXFHGWZRORZHUFRVW
6QDSGUDJRQSURFHVVRUVWKHFDQGFWR
FRPSOHPHQWWKHF[LQWHQGHGIRUÀDJVKLSVVXFK
as the Yoga 5G.
,QLWLDOO\LWDSSHDUHGWKDWVKLIWZDVQ¶WEHDULQJ
IUXLWZLWKRQO\WZRORZFRVWREVFXUHFPRGHOV²
WKH-3,.7XUQ7DQG3RVLWLYR:LVH16²
VODWHGIRUVDOHWKLV\HDU
Snapdragon Processors Have
a Future in Chromebooks
As a hardware
analyst, Tom Brant
tests and reviews
laptops, peripherals,
and much more at PC
Labs in New York
City. He previously
covered the
consumer-tech beat
for PCMag in San
Francisco and Silicon
Valley.
COMMENTARY