Qualcomm's First Windows Mini PC Powered By Snapdragon X Elite Gets Cancelled, Consumers To Get Refund

Qualcomm sent an email to its customers stating that the PC did not meet “our usual standards of excellence.”

Qualcomm didn’t explain why it took so long to realise the device didn’t meet expectations.

Source : Qualcomm

Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon Dev Kit earlier this year, which is a small Windows on ARM PC but it seems like the company didn't have its expectations met with the product. Qualcomm has been facing delays for months in getting the Snapdragon X Elite-powered mini PC ready. The mini PC was supposed to be launched in June along with the first Copilot Plus PCs but, the company has sent an email to its customers stating that the PC did not meet “our usual standards of excellence” and that customers who purchased it would be refunded. 

The company didn’t explain why it took so long to realise the device didn’t meet expectations. As per The Verge, a few users, like developer Jeff Geerling, had already received the PC. He said that while its performance was similar to Apple’s M3 Pro chipset, the lack of Linux support and restrictions on reselling the device made it less desirable.

Why Did Qualcomm Cancel The Mini PC? (Expected)

He also mentioned that one possible reason Qualcomm may have canceled the PC was the absence of an HDMI port. Initially, the Snapdragon Dev Kit was supposed to include one, but it didn’t make it to the final product. The device was powered by the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-00-1DE, which had a slight performance edge over other processors in the series.

Qualcomm has announced that several Windows PCs with Snapdragon X Elite chips will be released in the coming months, featuring various designs, but these devices won’t be produced or sold by Qualcomm itself. As both Qualcomm and Microsoft encourage developers to adapt their apps to Windows on ARM, the Snapdragon Dev Kit was seen as an important tool to facilitate that transition.

Recently, manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, and Microsoft have already begun using the Snapdragon X Elite chipset, which is featured in some of the top laptops for 2024.