First leaked benchmarks of Windows 10 on ARM alarming

Microsoft is expected to debut a whole range of Windows 10 laptops running on Qualcomm’s SnapDragon 835 processor over the next few weeks, with a 12-inch device by HP already leaked.

Both Microsoft and Qualcomm has promised outstanding multi-day battery life without compromising performance, but some early leaked benchmarks found in Geekbench by Winfuture.de under the name Qualcomm CLS suggests Microsoft may not be able to deliver on this.

As can be seen from the result, when compared to a Core i3 processor the results are uninspiring, to say the least, and even when compared to Android devices running on the SnapDragon 835 the results are off, with single core numbers in 2200 and multi-core results in 7700 normal for that processor.

Interestingly both Windows 10 S and Windows 10 Pro operating system numbers were found in the results.

There could be a number of explanations for the poor results. One is that Microsoft still needs to do some optimization. The second is that the benchmarks do not take advantage of the second run caching the ARM emulator does which makes running the ARM-emulated apps much faster the second time than the first.

The last explanation is, of course, the worst – that Windows on ARM is just inherently slower due to the emulator and OS overhead and that this will always be the case.

The numbers do suggest when Microsoft does launch these WoA laptops soon, consumers should hold off until proper 3rd party benchmark tests and reviews are performed before spending their own pennies.

The numbers can be seen at Geekbench here.

Via Gizmochina