On Wednesday, Qualcomm introduced three new Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme processors for PCs, pushing into what it calls ‘ultra-premium PCs’ with a 5GHz CPU and an NPU delivering an industry-leading 80 TOPS.
Qualcomm made a reputation for itself with all-day battery life, however its new “multi-day” battery life obtained little point out within the context of the X2 Elite chips for Windows on Arm PCs.
Now, it’s all about pace: the X2 Elite platform delivers 31 p.c extra efficiency than the X1 Elite on the similar energy, or the identical efficiency at 43 p.c much less energy. That’s helped by a transfer to 3nm versus the 4nm platform of the first Snapdragon X Elite.
There are additionally some notable variations in Qualcomm’s up to date CPU structure. The Snapdragon X2 Elite incorporates third-generation Oryon CPU cores, and extra of them: as much as 18 in complete, subdivided between a brand new “prime core” and a brand new “performance core,” which the first-gen X Elite ignored. Qualcomm even took a web page from Intel and built-in reminiscence on bundle, as much as a whopping 48GB contained in the X2 Elite Extreme. Finally, Qualcomm built-in its X75 5G modem, an unexpectedly important addition.
Qualcomm launched the 2 chip households at its Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Maui, the place firm executives stated that the primary PCs designed across the Snapdragon X2 Elite will ship within the first half of 2026. This aligns with the standard launch schedules of rivals AMD and Intel, who work with their very own pocket book clients to launch merchandise primarily based on their chips.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
What are the options of the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme?
Qualcomm is transport three new members of its Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite platforms: the X2E-96-100, the X2E-88-100, and the X2E-80-100. Instead of utilizing these impenetrable product names, consider them this manner:
- Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: 18 complete cores, 12 prime cores (4.4GHz all cores sustained/5.0GHz increase), and 6 efficiency cores (3.6GHz sustained, no increase)
- Snapdragon X2 Elite: 18 complete cores, 12 prime cores (4.0GHz sustained/4.7GHz increase), and 6 efficiency cores (3.4GHz sustained)
- Snapdragon X2 Elite: 12 complete cores, six prime cores (4.0GHz sustained/4.4-4.7GHz increase), and 6 efficiency cores (3.4GHz sustained)
The Qualcomm Oryon cores inside the first-generation Snapdragon X Elite have been all primarily based on the Arm structure, although the corporate’s license permits it to design a “clean sheet” microprocessor so long as it stays appropriate with Arm directions. Unlike Arm, which now makes use of four different CPU cores in its Lumex processor, the first-generation X Elite selected one sort: all 12 cores have been efficiency cores operating at full pace, even on battery. The base clock pace of the was 3.8GHz, with a turbo pace of 4.3 GHz.
Qualcomm
Now, issues have modified. The Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Elite Extreme embody each what Qualcomm calls Oryon Prime cores in addition to Oryon Performance cores. The firm isn’t emphasizing this, however the X2 Elite chips additionally embody built-in reminiscence — a whopping 48GB contained in the X2 Elite Extreme.
The Prime cores are key to the 5GHz clock pace, whereas the Performance cores are “tuned to provide premium responsiveness and user experiences in everyday workloads with extreme power efficiency.” Presumably, these perform equally to the “performance” and “efficiency” cores in Intel’s Core Ultra Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake chips.
A mixture of varied components — the GPU and CPU clock speeds and core rely, in addition to the reminiscence speeds — are what differentiate Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite from the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.
What makes the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme completely different than the X2 Elite? According to a Qualcomm consultant, it’s a mixture of things, together with CPU and GPU clock speeds, reminiscence, and core rely. It seems the distinction is reminiscence speeds: 228GB/s for the X2 Elite Extreme through a 192-bit reminiscence bus, and 152GB/s through a 128-bit bus for the Elite. All three chips connect with LPDDR5x reminiscence.
Integrating reminiscence on the bundle is an attention-grabbing selection. Intel pursued that technique with its Core Ultra Series 1 chip, Meteor Lake, then gave it up as a result of embedding a set quantity of reminiscence didn’t enable its clients to distinguish their merchandise. Intel’s chief government on the time, Pat Gelsinger, called “Meteor Lake” a “one off” and a niche product, one which was compelled into the highlight due to AI.
Right now, we don’t know why Qualcomm selected this course as nicely. But there’s a twist: solely the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme has a set 48GB of built-in reminiscence. The different two chips will embed ‘device-specific’ quantities of RAM, Qualcomm says, virtually implying that the corporate will likely be designing customized processors.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Qualcomm hasn’t clarified if the RAM will likely be usable as GPU VRAM, which issues as a result of extra VRAM typically helps extra advanced AI fashions. Cristiano Amon delivered a “vision” speech Tuesday night discussing the ubiquity of AI throughout numerous gadgets.
Eventually, Qualcomm will most likely comply with with derivatives for cheaper, much less highly effective PCs.
In April and September 2024, Qualcomm added the eight core and 10-core Snapdragon X Plus variants, with solely the smaller chip graced with turbo functionality. Those chips topped out at 3.4GHz, with turbo speeds as much as 4GHz. In January 2025, Qualcomm tacked on the Snapdragon X, its lowest-cost providing for laptops below $600, with eight cores and speeds as much as 3.0 GHz. So far, nevertheless, Qualcomm hasn’t stated something about these, nor how they might be architected.
Qualcomm
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is tops in TOPS
Kedar Kondap, the senior vice chairman of compute and gaming, has stated that he doesn’t significantly just like the time period “NPU,” because it focuses consideration on a quantity relatively than the AI experiences that accompany it. Within Qualcomm’s smartphone enterprise, AI purposes have been round for a decade, Kondap stated; they embody bokeh, numerous sorts of filters, and portrait mode. Within the PC house, promoting the necessity for native AI has been a more durable battle.
Qualcomm hasn’t made it simple on itself, both. Since the brand new Snapdragon X Elite chips have a whopping 80 TOPS — about twice the TOPS requirement of Copilot+ PCs — Qualcomm should, nicely, redouble its efforts to persuade PC makers that such a robust NPU is required. First-generation Snapdragon X Elites would mix AI experiences, together with Windows Studio Effects and others, and with out even absolutely saturating the NPU.
Basically, Qualcomm has but to search out the killer app for native AI — and Microsoft’s nominee, Microsoft Recall, has struggled to the point of near irrelevance.
Behind the scenes, nevertheless, are native AI purposes shoppers don’t see, together with updates to Phi Silica, Microsoft’s small language mannequin for Copilot PCs. Adobe Premiere Pro and Blender can leverage the NPU for particular capabilities, along with the software program’s work with the CPU and the GPU. But the purposes nonetheless need to be particularly coded for NPUs, due to the absence of Microsoft’s Windows ML.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
“It’s not like you’re going to get this one app that needs those 80 TOPS, right, but if you’ve got 10 things running and each take 5 [TOPS], all of a sudden you’re at 50,” stated Bob O’Donnell, president of TECHnalysis Reseach. “That could be discrete apps, but it might be individual agents working on your behalf.”
Windows ML does the arduous work of assigning the AI workload to the correct piece of silicon, which ought to assist. “Windows ML is the built-in AI inferencing runtime optimized for on-device model inference and streamlined model dependency management across CPUs, GPUs and NPUs,” Microsoft says.
The excellent news? After first being introduced in 2018, Windows ML is now accessible, Microsoft said Tuesday.
The Elite X2’s built-in modem could also be its hidden treasure
Qualcomm isn’t saying a lot concerning the Adreno graphics core inside the Snapdragon X2 Elite household. The firm says it affords a “2.3X increase in performance per watt and power efficiency over the previous generation,” and that’s about it. The X2 Elite Extreme chip will function the X2-90 core operating at 1.85GHz; the highest X2 Elite chip may also function the X2-90, however at 1.70GHz. The slowest X2 Elite, the X2E-80-100, will embody a slower X2-85 at 1.70GHz.
The Adreno core helps AV1, HEVC, and AVC decoding at twin 8K at 60 fps for all three chips. But Qualcomm’s GPU nonetheless doesn’t enable for an exterior GPU connection, which means that the gaming market is essentially out of attain (once more).
Mark Hachman / Foundry
It’s not clear how it will translate into the actual world. In our extensive Snapdragon X Elite review, we didn’t actually deal with gaming. However, when testing Intel’s Core Ultra Lunar Lake chip, I examined the unique X Elite on a pair of video games and so they weren’t actually playable.
To Jim McGregor, the founding father of Tirias Research, the mixing of Qualcomm’s X75 modem into the X2 Elite platform may be probably the most unexpectedly important addition Qualcomm made. Even although the corporate’s cellular platforms for handsets embody CPU, graphics, and modem know-how, the Snapdragon X Elite platform by no means included it. The X2 Elite does.
“When they first came out with the embedded modem, I loved that device,” McGregor stated, including that he hoped Qualcomm would lean extra into its connectivity benefit. “The fact that carriers wouldn’t support it was a pain in the butt.”
“They make the best modems in the world, literally,” O’Donnell stated. “So why not make that part of the platform?”
Qualcomm calls the X75 “the world’s first Modem-RF System ready for 5G Advanced,” however the actual information is just that it’s there. Phones seamlessly roam from Wi-Fi to mobile; why shouldn’t PCs? Integrating a modem permits that to occur.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Internally, Qualcomm says that NVMe storage is supported through twin PCI Express 5.0. Notebooks incorporating the chip will be capable to assist a most show decision of 4K at 144Hz, or three exterior 4K shows at 144Hz. Since the chip solely helps 40Gbps USB4 for peripherals, that most likely assumes software program compression of some kind.
PC makers can have 12 lanes of PCIe 5.0 to play with, apart from the eight lanes usable by the slowest X2 Elite chip. Four PCIe Gen4 lanes will likely be accessible, presumably for storage.
Qualcomm has added one part to assist placate company IT managers: Guardian, a brand new X2 Elite out-of-band administration function to assist observe and handle X2 Elite methods.
Market obstacles: More of the identical for Windows on Arm
Unfortunately for Qualcomm, it’s by no means simply concerning the silicon.
“It’s really hard to overcome a market that’s already got mass adoption, with industry leaders” McGregor stated. “Those industry leaders, especially Intel, kind of stumbled. So there was an opportunity there, right? But it’s really hard when you go in with a different architecture, different product, and you’re taking it head on.”
For all of its efforts, although, Qualcomm has but to make a major dent available in the market. Mercury Research, which tracks CPU market share on a quarterly foundation, nonetheless put AMD at about 20 percent of the notebook client PC market throughout the second quarter of 2025, with Intel receiving the opposite 80 p.c. Dean McCarron, the principal analyst at Mercury, declined to specify Qualcomm’s precise market share as a result of he was not sure of the precise gross sales numbers.
Qualcomm’s basic downside, nevertheless, is that audiences haven’t responded in addition to the corporate may need anticipated. For that, one can level to any variety of components: lingering issues about app compatibility–an issue Qualcomm aggressively tried to deal with; points with Microsoft’s rollout of its Copilot+ program, together with apps like Microsoft Recall; and profitable launches of rival cellular chips. McGregor ticked off extra: an absence of assist for STEM purposes and a administration resolution for enterprise.
In PCWorld exams, Qualcomm got here out on high when it comes to battery life, however AMD’s CPU efficiency exceeded the competitors. Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) was arguably the overall winner, combining good CPU efficiency, superb GPU efficiency, and aggressive battery life versus the opposite two chips.
Consumers additionally are inclined to equate “AI” with ChatGPT relatively than Copilot. In 2024, shipments of all Copilot+ PCs were abysmal: lower than one p.c of the market in 2024 and fewer than two p.c throughout the first quarter of 2025.
YouTube / Microsoft
“I think what one of the biggest problems is that Qualcomm was strictly tied to and associated with Copilot, and it was honestly more of a Copilot issue than necessarily a Qualcomm issue,” O’Donnell stated. “So I think that one of the challenges was that there was that very strong association that [Microsoft and Qualcomm] both thought was going to propel them to a higher place. Unfortunately, Recall is a real problem, and now we’re at the point where I don’t think anybody cares about Recall.”
PC makers additionally welcomed the competitors Qualcomm’s first X Elite chip launched… then used it as leverage in negotiations with Intel and AMD (in keeping with one supply). In the United States, simply 9 transport merchandise at present embody a first-generation Snapdragon X Elite chip, a supply stated. By distinction, 224 Intel methods and 106 cellular PCs use AMD’s chips, and Qualcomm’s market share remains to be fairly small.
Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm’s common supervisor of compute and gaming, doesn’t see it that manner. In an interview earlier than the launch, he identified that Qualcomm’s gross sales in its first yr exceeded AMD and Intel in their very own. At Qualcomm’s analyst day, Qualcomm chief government Cristiano Amon put ahead a goal: $4 billion in gross sales by 2029, Kondap stated. That’s years away, proof that Qualcomm is enjoying the lengthy recreation with its Snapdragon processors.
“You have to give them credit because I lose track of this myself — they’ve only been in the market for 15 months,” O’Donnell stated. “For 15 months, it’s not too shabby.”
Disclosure: Qualcomm paid for my room, board, and journey bills, however didn’t ask for or exert any editorial management over this story or different PCWorld content material.