Today, Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon X chipset at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, finally entering the budget-friendly laptop space with Snapdragon X systems. Qualcomm's latest chipset is expected to make Copilot+ computing more accessible than ever as it targets the $600 bracket.
The Snapdragon X processor is the entry-level chip of the Snapdragon laptop line which kicked off with the Snapdragon X Elite in June 2024. The Snapdragon X will join the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core, Snapdragon X Plus 10-core, and Snapdragon X Elite to round out Qualcomm's line of AI PC chipsets.
Snapdragon X: Features
The Snapdragon X is the fourth laptop processor from Qualcomm, bringing Copilot+ PCs to the $600 range, making AI PCs more affordable and accessible than ever.
The Snapdragon X will feature the same Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with 45 TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) as the Snapdragon X Elite. The Snapdragon X chipset will feature 8 CPU cores alongside the Hexagon NPU and a Qualcomm Adreno GPU.
Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon X can offer 63% better performance at ISO power compared to the Intel Core 5 120U. Qualcomm also claims the Intel Core 5 120U would require 168% more power at ISO performance than the Snapdragon X.
However, Qualcomm is basing these claims on a custom Snapdragon X laptop compared to the consumer-level Dell Inspiron 14 (7440 2-in-1), so real-world results may vary.
Snapdragon X: Platforms
Snapdragon X systems will be designed mostly for creating presentations, web browsing, and streaming content, making them ideal choices for students, freelance workers, and budget-conscious consumers alike.
Not only will the Snapdragon X chipset launch on budget-friendly laptops, but it will also appear on mini desktops PCs in the $600 range.
Qualcomm expects the Snapdragon X Series to appear on computers from manufacturers like Asus, Acer, Dell, and Lenovo in laptop and mini-PC desktop formats.
The mini PCs expected to feature the Snapdragon X chipset will be the first desktops powered by Snapdragon processors after Qualcomm canceled the Snapdragon X Elite dev kit mini-PC last year.
What's next?
In a statement provided to the press ahead of the official announcement, Qualcomm's Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager, Mobile, Compute, and XR said, "The Snapdragon X Series portfolio offers the most powerful, intelligent, and power-efficient processors for Windows in their class, making Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon the ultimate choice for users who want a laptop that can do it all.
"Our ecosystem of partners continues to build on Snapdragon to deliver innovative form factors and premium AI experiences that enable everyday PC users who want a laptop that can keep up with their busy lives.”
Obviously, we will have to wait until we can get our hands on a Snapdragon X processor to confirm Qualcomm's performance claims, but the Snapdragon X may be the chip that finally makes AI PCs affordable to most consumers.
Of course, Qualcomm's claims are based on a custom-built platform that will not be available to consumers, which makes it hard to take the company's performance claims at face value. We'll have to reserve judgment on the Snapdragon X until we get to test it ourselves later in 2025.
