Arm and Qualcomm’s conflict affects Windows on Arm

The launch of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series laptops is seen as a major milestone for Windows on Arm, which could increase competition with Apple’s Arm-based Macs. However, an ongoing legal battle between Qualcomm and Arm overshadows this success.

Arm claims that Qualcomm does not have the necessary license for the custom Arm chips it is developing through its Nuvia company. Arm claims that this violates Qualcomm’s contractual obligations and wants to block the use of Nuvia designs.

Qualcomm played a key role in creating the Windows on Arm ecosystem. It enabled the development of native applications such as Chrome and Slack and was a critical step for the success of this platform. However, some people think that Arm filed this lawsuit because it aimed to bypass Qualcomm and provide an advantage to companies that prefer its own Cortex designs with higher license fees. This coincides with claims that Arm has preferred companies using Cortex cores in the past.

Despite the legal struggle, the launch of the Snapdragon X series is expected to take place on June 18 with products from major manufacturers such as Microsoft, HP, Dell and Lenovo. A settlement with financial compensation seems more likely than a complete product discontinuation. However, the future of Qualcomm’s custom Arm designs remains uncertain.

On the other hand, there are rumors that Nvidia, MediaTek and AMD may enter the Windows on Arm market at the 2025 CES event. This could increase competition and provide a wider selection of Arm-based laptops for consumers.