Oh Snapdragon! Qualcomm Fires Back At Intel Over Alleged Copilot+ PC Return Rates
As more Arm-based solutions make headway into a PC market that's traditionally been dominated by x86 solutions, it's understandable that Intel, the largest player in the x86 chip space, might feel a little nervous. But is there anything to truly feel nervous about? That depends on who you ask, as key figures from both Intel and Qualcomm are painting very different pictures of the same landscape.
Intel is currently mired in recovery mode as it grapples with increased competition, not just from AMD, but also Arm-based players like NVIDIA and Qualcomm. It's also on the hunt for a new CEO after the company's board reportedly pushed Pat Gelsinger out the door. Following his abrupt retirement, Intel named David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus as co-CEOs as it searches for a permanent replacement.
In the meantime, Holthaus made an interesting comment that apparently got under the skin of Qualcomm. In discussing the infiltration of Arm, she suggested the new influx of hardware is not living up to the expectations of consumers.
"If you look at the return rate for Arm PCs, you go talk to any retailer, their number one concern is, ‘Wow, I get a large percentage of these back', because you go to set them up, and the things that we just expect don't work'," Holthaus said, according to CRN.
While not specifically stated, she's undoubtedly referring to the first wave of Copilot+ PCs running on Qualcomm's Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite and Plus hardware. Qualcomm was able to make a splash by scoring a deal with Microsoft to initially represent the Copilot+ branding, which has since expanded to include the latest mobile x86 processors from AMD and Intel.
Well, that comment didn't sit well with Qualcomm, which insists that the return rate of Snapdragon PCs is "within the industry norm."
"Our devices continue to have greater than 4+ stars across consumer reviews and our products have received numerous accolades across the industry including awards from Fast Company, TechRadar, and many consumer publications. Our device return rates are within industry norm," a Qualcomm representative said in a statement.
Going a step further, the Qualcomm spokesperson went on record saying the company anticipates some "30-50% of laptops to move to non-x86 platforms" within the next five years.
It's somewhat of a bold claim, especially if Intel can right the ship, so to speak. But at the same time, a lot can happen in five years, especially in the technology sector. Just look at how quickly the AI arms race has heated up (much to the benefit of NVIDIA).
To that end, Holthaus does acknowledge that "there's been a very large push to make Arm ubiquitous in the PC," but from her vantage point, Intel has closed the gap in efficiency with its Core Ultra 200V CPUs based on Lunar Lake while still maintaining a lead in performance and compatibility.
