Qualcomm’s latest announcement has sent ripples through the computing world. CEO Cristiano R. Amon unveiled the new Snapdragon X Plus chips, marking a significant milestone for the company’s foray into the PC market. With 22 Snapdragon-powered systems already available, Qualcomm is proving it’s not just a smartphone chip maker anymore.
Amon kicked off the presentation with a deep dive into performance metrics, comparing the Snapdragon X Plus to its competitors. He didn’t pull any punches, calling out Intel for allegedly cherry-picking data in their comparisons. According to Amon, Intel’s benchmarks used a lower-end Snapdragon SKU instead of the top-tier X1E-84.
The Snapdragon X Plus introduces 8-core parts with a whopping 45 TOPS NPU, targeting a more budget-friendly price point of around $700. This move could shake up the mid-range laptop market, offering AI capabilities at a more accessible price.
Qualcomm pitted the X Plus against AMD’s Ryzen 8840U and Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155U, showcasing its competitive edge. ASUS wasted no time, revealing new designs incorporating the freshly announced 8-core X Plus chip.
A key highlight of the announcement was the introduction of single-core boost capability in the X Plus lineup. The 8- and 10-core variants can now reach speeds up to 4.0 GHz, potentially offering a 15% increase in single-threaded performance. This addresses a previous limitation of the X Plus series and narrows the gap with traditional x86 processors.
Qualcomm tackled the elephant in the room: app compatibility. The company announced expanded VPN support and the upcoming addition of Google Drive compatibility. These steps aim to make Snapdragon-powered laptops more viable for commercial deployments.
Microsoft’s involvement adds another layer of credibility. The tech giant’s DirectML now supports Qualcomm’s NPU, simplifying AI app development. This could be a game-changer for broader NPU adoption in the PC space.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of Snapdragon’s progress came from Microsoft’s telemetry. On Snapdragon laptops, 90% of usage time was spent on native apps, with only 10% on emulated applications. This ratio represents a significant improvement from just a couple of years ago, indicating that the platform is maturing rapidly.
Qualcomm push the boundaries of ARM-based computing in the PC world, it’s clear that the Snapdragon X Plus is more than just a chip—it’s a statement. The question now is: will this be enough to snap Intel and AMD out of their comfort zone?
