Qualcomm is turning to Sophos to help protect 5G-enabled Snapdragon PCs, with its Intercept X endpoint protection.

With the speeds 5G promises, 5G-enabled PCs stand to play a major role in the industry. A PC with built-in 5G would have enterprise-grade internet access, allowing individuals to work from anywhere they have coverage. In the age of the pandemic, this could open a world of possibilities, and remove slow internet access as one of the biggest challenges to remote work.

Unlike Intel or AMD processors, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is based on Arm designs, much like the chips Apple uses in the iPhone, iPad and M1 Macs. As a result, traditional PC software won’t run on the Snapdragon unless it’s compiled specifically for Arm-based processors. This leaves Snapdragon-powered PCs potentially vulnerable, as many of the traditional security options are not available.

Snapdragon compute platforms mark a major step forward because they provide all the utility and performance of a PC, but with many of the benefits associated with modern mobile computing devices. Security loves predictability, and Sophos is excited to be a part of securing this next-generation computing platform. — Joe Levy, chief technology officer, Sophos.

Qualcomm’s deal with Snapdragon is a major step toward helping Arm-based computers go mainstream.