Qualcomm announced the next stages in its always connected PC effort, with a new chip targeting the segment, a device partnership with Samsung and operator deal with Sprint.

The chipmaker has been ramping its activities around PCs for the last year or so, with always connected models reaching the market powered by Snapdragon 835 chips from vendors including Asus and HP. But, with products announced at the same time as the next-generation Snapdragon 845 chips for mobiles, an update to the processor now is hardly unexpected.

Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform apparently features a power-efficient architecture engineered to deliver an “up to 30 per cent system-wide increase in performance” and up to three-times the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) “over the previous generation”. It also offers up to 1.2Gb/s LTE connectivity speeds and a maximum of 25 hours of continuous use (or multi-day battery life under normal usage conditions).

Qualcomm also touted camera, graphics and audio enhancements to devices running Microsoft’s Windows 10 platform.

Samsung is set to offer devices using the new silicon. Kyungsik Choi, EVP and head of the strategic marketing office in Samsung’s mobile unit, said: “At Samsung, we understand the unique needs of our consumers and aim to create new innovations to support their on-the-go lifestyle.”

Qualcomm also said US operator Sprint would offer free unlimited data in 2018.

Always connected PCs powered by the Snapdragon Mobile Compute platform are expected to be available “later this year”.