When it comes to spending as little money as possible on a laptop, the chances of getting anything good are probably against you. Somewhere in the balance, almost everything capable is lost in translation.
A fast chip? Probably not. A nice screen? If you’re lucky. A great battery life? Tell ’em you’re dreaming.
Budget PCs — specifically laptops under the $600 mark — just don’t have much of that nailed. And that’s even if you can find any.
In recent years when we’ve assembled the annual Back to School Buyers Guide, budget laptops have seemingly felt like they’ve been disappearing. The hardware should be easily found and less expensive overall, as the democratisation of technology makes everything more affordable, but budget PCs typically sit in the iron triangle of computer purchases: good, cheap, fast.
You can only pick two. Realistically, you might only be able to pick one.
However all of that might be coming to a change, as PC makers turn to a new generation of processors being launched at Computex.
Likely spearheaded by the push that Apple’s MacBook Neo gave the world with an inexpensive laptop built to be both just as fast as another Mac and in a design like a MacBook Air, Windows laptops will get their own push in the form of a new processor designed to keep the prices down, as well.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon C is a new processor focused entirely on entry-level systems, aimed at providing quiet laptops that can offer all-day battery life without spending a lot.
While Qualcomm’s local arm wouldn’t be drawn to specific Australian pricing, it did not laptops targeting prices of $300 USD and higher, essentially suggesting the $449 to $499 price point in Australia, which is also where the budget end of the PC market is.
Laptops in that space normally aren’t amazing, essentially filling a spot where older technology can be found, and where battery life isn’t typically stunning, either. If Qualcomm’s latest chip can rectify it, the options for laptop buyers without a lot of spare money could open up.
Like the price point, there aren’t any known laptops that will be getting this chip immediately, but Qualcomm says its Snapdragon C chip would make its way to models from Acer, HP, and Lenovo, and should land on store shelves later this year.
