Windows Central Insider
On the back of NVIDIA's groundbreaking RTX Spark announcement, Qualcomm SVP of Computing Kedar Kondap has shared his thoughts on the Windows on Arm space heating up in a Q&A session with media hosted at Computex 2026 in Taipei earlier today.
When asked directly what Qualcomm thinks of NVIDIA entering the PC space, Kondap said the following:
"Welcome to the family. We are, you know, we're excited. When you think about the investments that we've made over the last several years, it's a good endorsement of the fact that there is an ecosystem that's growing outside of x86. We invested many years ago, driving the ecosystem and driving the entire platform story, whether it is getting the printers to work, whether it's getting the software apps to be compatible, whether it is getting the docks and peripherals to work, whether it's getting more than 2,500 games to be compatible with Snapdragon. We led the way in driving that ecosystem, and I think this is positive tailwinds for the entire ecosystem. It will tell us how we're all taking the ball forward in the trajectory that we started."
It's clear that Qualcomm views NVIDIA's entry into the PC space as good for the entire industry. While the company is eager to remind people that Snapdragon is the reason Windows on Arm is in a good place today, it's clear that both companies will benefit from each other pushing the Windows on Arm platform forward.
If anything, it's the x86 chipmakers that should be the most concerned. Windows on Arm is no longer an afterthought for the Windows ecosystem, with hundreds of devices now shipping with an Arm SoC thanks to Snapdragon, and with more on the way from NVIDIA, the platform is only getting stronger with each year.
Kondap was also asked about NVIDIA's claims that their Arm SoC won't have any Windows app compatibility concerns, but it's obvious that Qualcomm was caught off guard by this announcement. "Our partnership with Microsoft has gone on for several years. We launched the first Copilot+ PCs together. We launched the first platforms where the Microsoft OS supported the NPU and supported how this distributed computing work across the different cores ... I'm sure the engagement with Microsoft is strong enough where we've worked with them to build this entire ecosystem to make sure that it's compatible with Snapdragon and the architecture."
It's currently unclear how NVIDIA has solved this app compatibility problem. Windows on Arm PCs powered by Snapdragon chips have been relied on Windows 11's Prism emulation layer to run x86 apps, which works most of the time, except for in a few instances where an older app or newer game may be too complex to run optimally. Time will tell if NVIDIA's chips really are immune to x86 app compatibility issues, or if Qualcomm has some catching up to do.
Overall, NVIDIA entering the PC space with its new RTX Spark SoC is good news for the entire Arm PC industry, and Qualcomm knows it. If NVIDIA's new chips encourage app and game developers to take the Arm architecture more seriously, that will benefit everyone running a Snapdragon PC today.
For now, Qualcomm is happy to continue serving the Windows market with Snapdragon PCs that are available from $300 with the new Snapdragon C all the way up to $1,699 with the highest end Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. It's likely that NVIDIA's chips will be targeting the ultra-premium category, priced much higher than the top end that Snapdragon currently targets.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
