> Showcasing reference designs for performance purposes is very typical overall for Qualcomm. This is also how the company handles their smartphone testing – in

> Showcasing reference designs for performance purposes is very typical overall for Qualcomm. This is also how the company handles their smartphone testing – in most years we’ll get to benchmark a Snapdragon mobile SoC running in a Qualcomm Reference Device (QRD) as a preview before retail devices are available. Even though they’re not a vertically integrated company, they still need to develop devices to test their own hardware, and they like to use those to initially show off their designs. What's stopping Qualcomm from manufacturing their own phones and laptops and sell them directly to consumers?