Just a day after Intel’s Lunar Lake laptop CPU reveal at IFA 2024, Qualcomm has responded with a new 8-core Snapdragon X Plus processor. This streamlined version of the Snapdragon X Elite, found in numerous high-end laptops, aims to undercut Apple’s market dominance and offer a competitive alternative. Qualcomm states that laptops featuring this new CPU, potentially joining the ranks of the best laptops available, are available for purchase starting today.
This isn’t an entirely new Snapdragon X Plus, but a variant with a key distinction: its core count. While maintaining the 4nm process, this version features eight cores instead of ten, with clock speeds reaching up to 3.4GHz and single-core boosts up to 4GHz. Crucially, it retains the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 45 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS), enabling integration with Copilot+ for enhanced AI capabilities. Furthermore, like the Dell XPS 13 9345, laptops equipped with this chip are expected to deliver impressive battery life, a hallmark of Qualcomm-powered devices.
The range of Snapdragon X chips for laptops.
While this 8-core variant may be less powerful than the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus and 12-core Snapdragon X Elite, Qualcomm asserts its significant performance advantage over competitors. The company claims a 108% multi-core performance improvement over the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U at 15 watts, and a 40% single-core advantage at 6W compared to the AMD Ryzen 5 8640U. These efficiency metrics, highlighting performance at specific power levels, are a key focus for Qualcomm. However, as observed with x86 laptops like the Asus Zenbook S 16, real-world peak performance figures often differ from these claims.
Performance for the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus.
The primary advantage of this new chip isn’t raw performance, but price. Qualcomm suggests this CPU “enables” Copilot+ laptops within the $700 to $900 price range. This wording implies possibility rather than a guarantee, as initial devices like the Asus Vivobook S 15 and ProArt PZ13 are priced at $899 and $1,099, respectively.
Even if a limited number of laptops reach the $700 mark, this pricing strategy gives Qualcomm a significant edge over Apple. The MacBook Air, equipped with the older M2 chip, starts at $1,000. By offering Copilot+ laptops with features like 16GB of RAM at lower price points, Qualcomm has the potential to disrupt the mainstream laptop market.
Qualcomm has confirmed that Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung will release laptops featuring the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus, with “select devices” already available for purchase.
