Microsoft has redoubled its efforts to push Windows-on-ARM into the mainstream with the recent string of Snapdragon X laptops from Microsoft itself, Samsung, Dell, HP and Lenovo. But the company wants to offer more diverse options for manufacturers – Reuters reports that Microsoft has tapped MediaTek to design an alternative chipset.
The chip will be based on the standard library of ARM cores, which will speed up development (the Snapdragon X uses Qualcomm-designed CPU and GPU). It’s not clear whether the MediaTek design aims to qualify for the Copilot+ program, which requires at least 40 TOPS of on-device AI compute power.
We won’t see the MediaTek chip for Windows until late next year and not entirely because of development time. Insiders say that the timing depends on an exclusivity deal that Qualcomm has with Microsoft, which doesn’t expire until 2025.
MediaTek already makes chips for Chromebooks (branded Kompanio), which could serve as a basis for the Windows design.
As mentioned, MediaTek’s chip will use standard parts from ARM, so Cortex CPU cores and Mali/Immortalis GPUs. MediaTek is also assisting Nvidia with bringing an ARM-based chip for Windows to market. However, these two are separate projects, say insiders.
Additionally, last year, Reuters reported that AMD is also working on an ARM-based chip for Windows. Presumably, this will use Radeon GPU tech, similar to the one currently used in Exynos chips (though the collaboration with Samsung is ending).
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