Qualcomm has taken the wraps off its Windows ARM PC development kit, otherwise known as the Snapdragon X Elite Developer Kit. Refunds are in progress, sales have stopped and support for the kit has stopped, . It was originally supposed to ship in June before the delay.
In an email to customers, Qualcomm chalked it all up to quality control. It said the mini PC “does not fully meet our usual standards of excellence” and “we have decided to discontinue this product and its support indefinitely.” Interestingly, some sets to consumers. It remains to be seen if those who bought the unit will also get their money back.
As mentioned earlier, it was originally supposed to be relaunched in June with the chips powering them . Qualcomm did not say why it took months to decide to cancel the product.
Developer Jeff Geerling bought the kit and gave it to him and . He said it landed “with a bang” and said it lacked Linux support and sales restrictions. Geerling also found that the device lacks an HDMI port, although all the chips are in place for internal DisplayPort-to-HDMI conversion.
Some speculated that this HDMI port issue caused production delays and even led to its eventual cancellation. To that end, Qualcomm sent an email to customers last month warning them that they plan to ship the development kit with a USB-C to HDMI switch instead of the traditional HDMI port.
Whatever the reason for its cancellation, this kit was supposed to be an essential piece of hardware to help port programs to Arm on Windows. Microsoft and Qualcomm are urging developers to build their apps for Snapdragon X Elite laptops.
