Arm is mostly more efficient, but the overall performance is not there apart from Apple silicon. You can get some laptops with qualcomm chips and they're weak - basically an underpowered netbook class. The competition is missing because of a deal between qualcomm and MS for Windows laptops (https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/23/22798231/microsoft-qualc...). So if you want to do something serious, there's very little choice.
Then there's the issue of running Linux on SoC where Qualcomm and others are not super keen on providing open support. M1 is going to get reverse engineered support for all the devices first because they offer hardware people actually want.
So, 8 core QC is beaten by a mid range 6 core Intel. Might be a reasonable choice if it actually ran Linux and various other things (bsd/vmware/etc) out of the box, but since it doesn't, it looks overpriced unless you prioritize windows and battery life or want a windows/arm machine for a specific purpose.
AKA, on the general market it doesn't look particularly competitive, even when compared with these amd 5700U's which also slightly best it and are frequently found in ~$600 laptops.
I don't think an H series i7 would be considered midrange (it has a 45W TDP, and will only really be seen in workstation/gaming laptops). The Qualcomm processor is not terribly impressive, but being on par with a 45W i7 is still very promising.
Then there's the issue of running Linux on SoC where Qualcomm and others are not super keen on providing open support. M1 is going to get reverse engineered support for all the devices first because they offer hardware people actually want.