That may have been true for SQ2 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xc Gen 2). Directly below is Apple M1 emulating WOA versus an SQ2. But here’s the skinny.
Let’s look where we are now. SQ3 (Microsoft’s rebranded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xc Gen 3) clearly pushes the dial in the right direction and brings parity there.
This year (2023), current leaks of the pre-Nuvia Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (the naming is confusing, mind you but it is not to be confused with 8xc line!) already show that processor meeting Apple M2 in single core performance. And that’s not even Nuvia!
Next year (2024), the Nuvia-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xc Gen 4, which is effectively four generations ahead of 8cx Gen 3 and SQ3 (those are on ancient 2020 X1-Cortex compared to 2023 smartphones that will be on Cortex-X4), will further push the needle forward in single and multicore performance. Mark my words: Microsoft SQ4 (Nuvia-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xc Gen 4) will be Microsoft’s WOA “wow” moment.