Qualcomm competitor MediaTek is set to enter the ARM market with Windows PCs. This was reported by Reuters, which spoke to three sources familiar with the plans.
Qualcomm has year-round exclusivity
We're about to launch the first Copilot+ PCs, but if you want a device like this with ARM, Qualcomm is the one to apply — for now. Now Reuters is reporting that the company wants to challenge Apple's ARM hardware with its own chips, launching late next year.
The timing relates to the expiration of Qualcomm's exclusive license for the chips. The chip is based on the ARM design, so it will take less time to reach the market, but it will take more than nine months which is typical when the design is nailed down.
It is not yet known whether MedieTek will get a place in the Microsoft Copilot+ competition, and Qualcomm and ARM are already in a fight over the license:
“It's a bad deal for Windows, Qualcomm, and all hopeful customers, because the new Copilot+ devices with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Production and shipping of new devices could stop, and Microsoft partners could potentially lose billions of dollars.
Nvidia and ARM are also working with chipsets based on ARM designs, and according to Nvidia's investment, MediaTek is also involved there, but those are two separate projects.
“Arm's Windows market share, I really think, could reach more than 50 percent over the next five years,” ARM CEO Rene Haas told Reuters earlier in June.
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