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Comment by mlacks | Hacker News Reader

I'm sorry for omitting this: a "smartphone" running a full version of x86 Windows 10. I understand that x86 processors consume more power than a comparable ARM chip, but I'd be willing to put up with shorter battery life for a full Windows experience I don't need to lug around a bag for.

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> understand that x86 processors consume more power than a comparable ARM chip

More power consumption means more heat to dissipate, means it needs to be larger. Smartphone and x86 are at odds in terms of design. In a world where Apple is doing everything they can to trim off mms, including removing all the ports, I don't know if there's much room for a big fat x86 phone.

I'd argue that since Apple is removing all of the ports, and everyone else is following suit, there's an untapped market for big, fat, x86 phones with usb-c ports and 3.5mm jacks and maybe even sd card slots.

If thickness and mass market appeal really are not issues for you, you can probably make something like this yourself with small x86 boards:

https://hackaday.com/2016/09/30/very-very-tiny-x86-systems/

I have a Dell tablet that was crazy cheap one day like 4 years back, maybe 60 dollars, that came with Windows 8 and now runs a full x86 Windows 10. Haven't used it in a while, but I'm sure it could run VS Code without any issues.

This was when Windows 8 licensing was free for any devices with 4gb or less of RAM, which caused a huge flood of Chinese Windows tablets and netbooks. I'm not sure if that's still going on.

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