This afternoon I received the following email from Arrow, regarding the Snapdragon Developer Kit for Windows:
Dear Valued Customer,
Please see this important message from Qualcomm:
”At Qualcomm, we are dedicated to pioneering leading technology and delivering premium experiences to our valued customers. The launch of 30+ Snapdragon X-series powered PC's is a testament to our ability to deliver leading technology and the PC industry's desire to move to our next-generation technology. However, the Developer Kit product comprehensively has not met our usual standards of excellence and so we are reaching out to let you know that unfortunately we have made the decision to pause this product and the support of it, indefinitely.
Working with the developer community is a priority for Qualcomm. If you want to learn more about Windows on Snapdragon, please engage with us on Discord or head to our developer portal on Qualcomm.com. If you are ready to build your next gen AI PC application, visit the Qualcomm Device Cloud (QDC) today.
Qualcomm has authorized a refund for any charges that have been made by Arrow.“
Based upon the above, we are working to provide a full refund for any charges to your account for your purchase. You should receive this credit/refund within 10 business days. It is not necessary to return any material, if received. Unfortunately, any outstanding orders will be cancelled.
Thank you for your understanding, Arrow
It sounds like they are cancelling all existing orders, but I'm not sure if those who did receive units will also be refunded. I'll update this post if I see a refund for it.
Qualcomm's Failure to Launch
I've covered the long and drawn out struggle Qualcomm had shipping their Snapdragon X Elite Developer Kit already.
And after months of waiting—Arrow's web store originally said it would 'ship tomorrow' in July—I received my unit in late September. I did a teardown, then got to work on a full review of the Dev Kit for Windows.
My conclusion in that review was:
The Snapdragon Dev Kit is a missed opportunity.
Indeed. But hopefully Microsoft and Qualcomm can figure out a way to make a compelling small desktop offering with Snapdragon X—something not so strongly associated with the failed CoPilot+ launch.
If it happens, it sounds like Qualcomm won't be making the device, relying instead on an OEM partner.
I feel sorry for the hardware team at Qualcomm who worked on this project, because it had a lot of promise, just too many roadblocks to make it successful. Windows on Arm could certainly use more developer focus, and a great developer workstation (which is more readily available) would help with that.