Signalling the second attempt at an ARM and Microsoft team-up, HP and ASUS has showed off the very first Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 notebooks at chi-maker Qualcomm’s annual Tech Summit in December. Back in 2012, Microsoft Company first tested the ARM waters with the Surface RT tablet where the selection was lackluster, although that 2012 venture ultimately proved unsuccessful owed to the inability to run anything outside of the Windows Store apps and the locked-down Windows RT OS. The 2-in-1 HP and ASUS has demonstrated the promising over 20 hours of battery life and these new ARM devices could finally deliver on the concept of having the ability to instantly wake on an always-on state. And of course, the most significant of all, being able to operate on a fill Windows 10 version that can still run all the Windows apps.

The decision for the move away from Intel’s x86 processor technology could potentially open up the market for an extensive array of ARM-based devices, while Microsoft has partnered with Qualcomm for these devices for Windows, manufacturers like Nvidia, Samsung, and even Apple are currently producing their own ARM-based chips. There had been rumors floating around, speaking of the iPhone-maker, that the company has been considering their own ARM powered Macbook for some time although it seems like Microsoft may have beaten them to the punch.