Snapdragon X Elite Dev Kit: The CoPilotest of CoPilot+ PCs

Summary

In this video, Jeff Geerling reviews Qualcomm's Snapdragon Dev Kit, a PC designed for Windows developers. He highlights significant issues with its delayed release, lack of developer support, and underwhelming software performance compared to Apple's M-series chips. While the hardware shows some promise, it's hampered by poor communication, limitations in Windows on Arm, and a problematic launch of CoPilot+. Despite some positive aspects, like repairability, Geerling critiques Qualcomm's failure to provide a competitive alternative to Apple's products, especially for developers and Linux enthusiasts.

Takeaways

• 😅 Qualcomm's Snapdragon Dev Kit faced significant shipping delays, arriving months after its expected release.
• 💻 The dev kit was designed to showcase Snapdragon's AI PC capabilities for Windows developers but launched without crucial developer support.
• 🍏 The Snapdragon X was marketed as Qualcomm’s answer to Apple's M-series chips, but it didn't live up to the hype in terms of software readiness.
• 🤦‍♂️ Qualcomm's launch strategy was criticized for poor communication, missing features, and a lack of proper developer access to the hardware.
• 🔧 Despite some positive aspects of the hardware, the Snapdragon X Elite is outperformed by Apple’s M-series and doesn't provide the promised revolutionary performance.
• ❌ The dev kit runs Windows 11 Home, lacking many developer-friendly features, like device encryption and Hyper-V virtualization, limiting its appeal to developers.
• 🔊 The fan noise on the Snapdragon Dev Kit is notably loud compared to quieter ARM machines like Apple's Mac Studio.
• ⚡ In terms of power consumption, the dev kit draws a significant amount of power, yet it struggles to compete with Apple's M-series in efficiency and performance.
• 🧑‍💻 Emulating x86 applications works fine for basic tasks, but for more complex workloads, it's better to opt for an x86 machine.
• 🔄 Qualcomm’s hardware cycle is stuck: developers need better hardware support, but Qualcomm isn’t providing the resources necessary to develop strong software ecosystems.

Q & A

What is the main product being discussed in the video?

The main product is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Dev Kit, a compact form factor PC designed for Windows developers to take advantage of the next-gen AI PC capabilities of Snapdragon.

Why was the Snapdragon Dev Kit compared to Apple's Mac mini?

The Snapdragon Dev Kit was compared to the Mac mini because Qualcomm's marketing positioned the Snapdragon X as a competitor to Apple's M-series CPUs, with the aim of bringing an efficient Arm chip to the Windows ecosystem.

What were the two potential approaches the speaker suggested for launching a new computing platform?

The speaker suggested either A) leasing hardware to developers before the public launch for testing and driver feedback, or B) launching the product without developer support and selling dev kits months later, at cost, without the full features announced at launch.

What major issues did the speaker encounter with Qualcomm’s launch of the Dev Kit?

The issues included poor communication, delays in shipping, lack of developer support, missing features, and confusion over basic things like restore images or whether certain features, like HDMI, would be included.

How does the speaker describe the fan noise on the Snapdragon Dev Kit?

The speaker found the fan noise surprisingly loud, mentioning that almost any activity would cause it to spin up, reaching about 50 decibels, much louder than expected for an ARM-based device.

What performance comparisons does the speaker make between the Snapdragon X Elite and Apple’s chips?

The speaker compares the Snapdragon X Elite’s performance to Apple’s M3 Pro, noting that while the Snapdragon consumes more power, the performance isn’t as good, and Apple's system is more efficient.

What were some of the hardware design features of the Snapdragon Dev Kit mentioned?

The Snapdragon Dev Kit includes a USB 4 Type-C port, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, multiple USB ports, a headphone jack, and a removable NVMe SSD, as well as good repairability despite warranty limitations.

What criticism does the speaker have about the operating system that comes with the Dev Kit?

The speaker criticizes the fact that the Dev Kit comes with Windows 11 Home instead of Pro, which limits important developer features like device encryption, Active Directory, and virtualization support.

How does the speaker feel about the future of Windows on Arm?

The speaker is skeptical about the future of Windows on Arm, pointing out that despite being promoted as the next big thing for a decade, it remains underdeveloped and lacks proper support for developers.

What was the speaker's plan for the Dev Kit, and why didn’t it work out?

The speaker originally planned to run Linux on the Dev Kit, but found that there was no native Linux support at launch, making it difficult to implement. The speaker did try using Linux through Windows Subsystem for Linux, but there were limitations.