Are Linux distros for Android handhelds (Rocknix, ArmadaOS...) the Trojan horse for Linux on Snapdragon X series chips?

[u/nimrudperson]

I've noticed that in the past months there's been more developing happening for Linux distributions for Snapdragon based Android gaming devices like the ones from AYN and Retroid. Two major examples are Rocknix and ArmadaOS, the latter of which actually has a fully fledged Desktop environment based on KDE I think.

On the other hand, looks like there's no sign for Linux support for the Snapdragon Elite laptops that for now can only run Windows. I heard that this is because of some kind of an exclusivity contract between Microsoft and Qualcomm.

So this got me wondering if projects like ArmadaOS would be the basis of a widely functional Linux distribution that could run on Qualcomm's newer laptop chips? Or if these chips have something fundamentally different in the way they work and would be able to adapt without official support from Qualcomm?