OPINION : Qualcomm expose its raw series of gaming - focused mobile chips duringGamescom 2023 , admit areference designthat I got to assure out . At the high - remnant , an exciting AAA future is being hinted at , but we ’re not there yet . And , the current solution has its hangups too . Right now , handhelds has a processor dilemma .
It ’s beginning to sense a minute like deja vu in the hand-held play arena , as a intimate battlefield is being readied . That field of honor is performance and compatibility versus battery life and lightweight design . Seem familiar ?
Well , this fight is ongoing in the laptop computer world and the underlying technologies are the same : x86 chips presently take the former end of that arguing – these are Intel and AMD processors – while Arm Saratoga chip typically fit into the latter – and these are Snapdragon and Apple laptop microchip .
Now , it ’s not a sodding comparison as you may argue Apple largely nails both these categories with the M - series but , that ’s apt , as Qualcomm looks to have its centre set on a similar marriage of these two worlds . It ’s currently a processor problem , but it may be software that sterilise things .
Digging into theproblemfrom a handheld point of view , we ’ve view the likes of theSteam DeckandAsus ROG Allyhit the market – sporting x68 AMD Ryzen chips – with vary degrees of success . During our demonstration , Mithun Chandrasekhar , senior director of product management at Qualcomm , took aim at the ROG Ally in particular , state that cast a “ notebook cow dung ” inside a handheld gaming machine is not something it ’s going to do and that it ’s “ not a very good experience ” .
It ’s true , one of the independent criticisms of the Asus ROG Ally was Windows ’s unfriendliness towards providing a clean and simple handheld gambling experience and , further , the battery life was n’t great either . But , the Steam Deck took a alike approach in terms of using an x86 chip and , while the battery life sentence is far from marvellous , it has n’t hamper its succeeder . Though , Valve did dodge the software woes by cut the Steam Deck ’s software program experience with its own SteamOS .
That ’s the x86 problem , what about the current branch issue ?
Qualcomm ’s big launch of its Modern range of chips looks set to go some mode to accommodate consumer choice in the mobile play handheld area . And , using these cow dung should afford improved efficiency compare to their x86 equivalents . But , like with Arm chips on laptops , compatibility remain the issue . AAA gaming , outside of streaming , just is n’t really a thing on Android , the current operating system of choice for the bulk of gambling handhelds .
The dilemma remains
you may beef up the power all you want , and theRazer Edge 5Gdid just that with the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 , but what ’s it for when you do n’t need this horsepower to run top - conclusion mobile biz right now ? Qualcomm hears you .
During our demo , Chandrasekhar spoke of what Qualcomm promise “ Android+ ” . This is its terminal figure for go beyond Android and it ’s already testing other solution in - house . The Verge got the scoop in its demo , asking outright if this is geared towards providing a compatibility layer to accommodate Windows game in the futurity , and Qualcomm answer , “ yes ” .
But , even with the exciting expansion of Qualcomm ’s play handheld cow chip portfolio , it has to be observe that it is n’t there yet , with theG1 Gen 1,G2 Gen 1 , orG3x Gen 2 . So , the quandary remains .
You ’re still presently face up with a gaming handheld processor problem that think you must choose between AAA gaming alongside a interracial software package experience and less - than - ideal battery living or Android and game streaming with elongated battery life and portability . In the next few age … maybe you could have it all .
