I've had Intel phones running Android. For example the Asus ZenFone as mentioned below, also the Lenovo K80. [0] I also used to have a Motorola RAZR ages ago, that I think was one of the first Intel powered phones? Not just phones, watches with x86 series Intel CPUs exist! The Tag Modular 45 [2] has an Intel Atom Z3400 [3] in it...
0. https://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_k80-7216.php
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_RAZR_i
2. https://www.tagheuer.com/en-us/watches/tag-heuer-connected-m...
Why you bought a laptop with an i7 then in the first place? There are already more energy efficient alternatives - i5, i3, core m.
I have a theory that probably when Apple will release a laptop with their own SoC it will be more expensive...
Because it checked the other boxes I was looking for with regards to screen size, memory, and so on.
Perhaps an A-series laptop would be more expensive for consumers (damn it, Apple), but I don't think it would cost more for Apple to manufacture, since they can do so much more of it in house.
The truth is that my phone doesn't have to be the fastest; it just has to be fast enough in balance with other factors important to me (size, battery life, etc).
And the same goes with my laptop. I currently have an MBP with an i7 processor, and I'm a web developer - it's overkill. I also play games with it now and then, but it's clear that the iGPU is the bottleneck there and not the processor. Very rarely do I do heavy compiling or video encoding or other CPU-maxing tasks on this thing.
So would I trade the i7 for an A-series plus a couple more hours of battery life and/or a lower (or at least not further increased, damn it Apple) price? Yes, I would take that trade, and probably never suffer for it.