Qualcomm is gearing up to take on Apple's M-series computer chips with a new ARM-based PC processor scheduled for release in 2023, the company announced at its investors day event on Tuesday.
Qualcomm CTO James Thompson said the company was tasking the Nuvia team, which it acquired earlier this year for $1.4 billion, to lead development of the chip. Nuvia was co-founded by former Apple chip experts who helped the iPhone maker develop its A-series of smartphone processors, and it was only two years old when Qualcomm acquired it. Qualcomm said it intends for its new PC chip to "set the performance benchmark for Windows PCs," according to The Verge.
The announcement is evidence of the outsize influence of Apple's M-series chips, which have set new benchmarks for battery life and performance in notebooks and desktops. Apple's decision to break with Intel has also put traditional chipmakers in the tough position of having to compete with an equipment manufacturer that exerts top-down control of its product ecosystem.