The Meltdown and Spectre fiasco affects not only Intel, AMD, and ARM processors, but also products used by well-known companies like Apple. The reason is Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor line .
Qualcomm recently confirmed that it is already working on the required patches for the two security vulnerabilities, although the company did not offer specific information about which of its chips could be affected.
Snapdragon processors for mobile phones are based on ARM technology and are affected by the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, but the company says that with mitigations already in place, users should not be exposed to attacks.
Qualcomm has not confirmed whether the upcoming Snapdragon 845, expected to power Samsung's Galaxy S9 series as well as other high-end mobile phones, is vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre.
ARM, for its part, said that its Cortex-A75 chip tech is affected by the Meltdown and Spectre, as well.
This is likely causing a delay in the Snapdragon 845, which was expected to be released in early 2018 – late February or early March – in new Samsung smartphones. While there is no confirmation of a possible delay, given that the chip is not yet available to the public, Qualcomm is likely currently dealing with the problem behind closed doors. Therefore, the issue will be fixed before the processors reach the general public.
The Snapdragon 845 processor will also power Windows 10 on ARM devices (also known as Always Connected PCs) that will be released later this year.
