Intel issues veiled response to Qualcomm’s plans to run Windows

Why it matters to you

Two of the biggest names in the processor industry are seemingly on the verge of legal action, with Microsoft poised to take Qualcomm’s side over its former ally Intel.

Earlier this year, Qualcomm took a shot at Intel with the unveiling of its Snapdragon 835 chip, which the likes of HP, Asus, and Lenovo are already confirmed to be using in their production of Windows 10 PCs. Now, Intel has issued something of a response, stating an intention to “carefully protect” its innovations.

The dispute revolves around the x86 architecture, which is the basis of most laptop and desktop PCs on the market at present. Qualcomm will seemingly use emulation to run x86 apps on ARM-based systems, and that doesn’t seem to sit too well with Intel.

The company lays out a brief history of its continued attempts to defend its intellectual property related to x86, including legal action against the likes of AMD, Cyrix, and the Transmeta Corporation. The latter receives a particularly pointed write-up, which notes that it was the last company that attempted to produce a compatible x86 processor via emulation, before its failure led to the firm’s exit from the microprocessor business.

“Only time will tell if new attempts to emulate Intel’s x86 ISA will meet a different fate,” reads the post on the Intel website, which starts off as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 8086 processor, before taking a more combative turn.

It’s worth noting that Qualcomm isn’t mentioned by name anywhere in the text. It’s certainly possible that Intel is referring to its broader efforts to defend x86 from being used improperly by other entities — but given recent events, it seems likely that Qualcomm is its intended target.

That said, it remains to be seen whether Intel can follow up on its strongly worded warning. Microsoft certainly seems to be cozying up to Qualcomm in service of Windows 10 on ARM, so at this point, neither side seems ready to back down from this dispute.