Snapdragon X Series

Hardware Canucks has tested the Snapdragon X2 Elite, and the resulting performance is quite impressive. Not only has Qualcomm reportedly managed to increase multi-core performane by quite a large margin, the Snapdragon X2 Elite is also much faster in gaming.

Microsoft has officially released the Xbox app for ARM-based Windows 11 PCs. This gives devices powered by Snapdragon X processors native access to the Xbox PC ecosystem, including the ability to locally install games from the Game Pass catalogue. According to Microsoft, more than 85% of Game Pass titles are compatible with Windows on ARM at the app’s launch, and additional Xbox-related enhancements are on their way.

The ProArt PZ14 serves as a successor to last year's ProArt PZ13. Jumping to a 14-inch display supported by a 75 Wh battery, the ProArt PZ14 also gains Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite processor and up to 32 GB of RAM.

The Zenbook A16 is an expansion of Asus' nascent Zenbook A series. Equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chipset and up to 48 GB of RAM, the Zenbook A16 also features a 70 Wh battery and a 120 Hz OLED display to take on other 16-inch ultrabooks.

Asus has refreshed the Vivobook S14 and the Vivobook S16 laptops with new AMD, Intel, and Snapdragon processor options. Both laptops come with a WUXGA OLED display, up to 32 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of storage, military-grade durability, Dolby Atmos support, and metal cases with a CNC-engraved Asus logo.

The refreshed Asus Zenbook A14 has been officially unveiled at CES 2026, and just like the previous-gen model, it's powered by a Qualcomm CPU - this time, it's a Snapdragon X2 Elite. This new laptop retains its predecessors' thin and lightweight form factor.

Asus has introduced the newest version of the Vivobook 16 with next-generation AMD and Qualcomm hardware at CES 2026. The Vivobook 16 laptop offers a WUXGA display, up to 16 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of storage, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and a 180° lay-flat hinge design.

HP has shown off the EliteBook X G2q and EliteBook X G2a at CES 2026. The former comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite CPUs and the latter with AMD Ryzen AI Pro 400 Gorgon Point silicon. Both laptops hit shelves in Spring 2026.

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon X2 Plus series for Windows laptops. Snapdragon X2 Plus SoCs bring up to 10 Nuvia CPU cores, a new Adreno X2-45 iGPU, and more. Performance-wise, Qualcomm is claiming big improvements in both CPU and GPU departments.

HP has updated the OmniBook 14 Ultra with Intel Panther Lake and Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors. Also equipped with a 70 Wh battery and a haptic trackpad in a housing weighing less than 1.3 kg, the new OmniBook 14 Ultra further contains a 2.8K OLED display with a 120 Hz variable refresh rate and 1,000 nits peak brightness.

The Snapdragon-powered model features great hardware for the price, but die-hard business users may scoff at the lack of any Smart Card reader options.

Dynabook has launched a new Copilot+ laptop that ditches Intel for a Qualcomm processor. The new XD5 is a 14-inch notebook with a Snapdragon X Plus processor and Dynabook's famous user-replaceable battery.

Qualcomm detailed some of the architectural enhancements coming to the new Hexagon NPU 6 in the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme SoC. The Hexagon NPU 6 offers 80 TOPS of AI performance making it the fastest laptop NPU so far, beating the Apple M4, Intel Core Ultra 9 288V, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 by a long margin.

It will be a while before the first notebooks with the new Snapdragon X2 chipsets are available. However, Qualcomm has invited us to learn more about the new SoCs for Windows on ARM, including further benchmarks.

Nubia is preparing to launch a new Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered gaming smartphone that breaks away from its Red Magic line. With 94.5 W charging, premium design, and flagship specs, it’s shaping up to challenge the Realme GT 8, Redmi K90, and OnePlus Ace 6.

Realme has confirmed that the GT 8 Pro Aston Martin F1 Edition will launch on November 10 in China, marking the brand’s second collaboration with the luxury carmaker. The limited-edition flagship combines a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, a 200 MP camera, and a racing-inspired design for performance enthusiasts and collectors alike.

A Galaxy S25+ in South Korea reportedly caught fire while idle, raising questions about battery safety and heat management in Samsung’s latest flagship. Engineers are investigating what could have led to the overheating.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite SoC has been benchmarked with Geekbench 6.5, Cinbench 2024, and 3DMark Solar Bay/Steel Nomad. The results paint the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme as one of the fastest mobile CPUs around, as the SoC is shown to beat and match the Apple M4 Pro in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

The flagship chip market is heating up. MediaTek has officially launched its Dimensity 9500, boasting a 3 nm node, beefed-up GPU/NPU, and other major upgrades. Just after comes Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with rumors of higher clock speeds, improved AI performance, and tighter power/thermal engineering. This rivalry isn’t just specs on paper — it shapes which phones get made, how they behave under load, and ultimately what users can expect from their devices going forward.

Magix has launched Vegas Pro 23, a Windows video editor that introduces GPU-acceleration to speed color grading, enable real-time previews, and power smoother playback, with support for ARM-based Snapdragon X systems. The update also adds a more flexible interface with track-level effects, native gameplay capture and expanded audio tools.

Old technology in new laptops: Many cheaper mobile PCs contain x86 processors from AMD and Intel that are no longer state of the art. Qualcomm is filling this gap with the Snapdragon X, as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15Q8X10 shows.

Microsoft has released UEFI updates to Qualcomm Snapdragon X Surface Pros and Surface Laptops that kills the ability to charge fully. No known fixes are available at this time and users should consider pausing updates.

Asus' Zenbook A14 features a 1,200p OLED panel, a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus SoC, 16 GB of soldered RAM, and a 512 GB user-upgradable SSD. The laptop is impressively light at just 2.4 lb, but it still delivered impressive battery life in our tests thanks to the 70 Wh cell.

Microsoft's new 12-inch Surface Pro is a pretty unique convertible right now, because the Snapdragon X Plus SoC is cooled passively and still offers sufficient performance for everyday use. The battery runtime is also good, but the small convertible with accessories is rather expensive.

In the latest Lenovo laptop deal, the Yoga Slim 7x is seeing one of its lowest prices. The Snapdragon laptop has a 3K OLED screen that rivals more expensive alternatives. Despite barebones connectivity, the portability and long battery life of the Yoga Slim 7x have led to positive reviews.

Qualcomm is not expected to deliver its next laptop-grade chipsets for another few months yet. Nonetheless, Roland Quandt has stepped up with more information about the so-called Snapdragon X2 Elite (SC8480XP), which could surpass the Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite with 18 CPU cores and up to 64 GB of RAM.

The HP OmniBook 5 14 and OmniBook 5 16 have been officially shown off at Computex 2025. Both laptops attempt to make Windows-on-Arm SKUs affordable to the masses with their sub-$1,00 price tags.

The new ECS ultraportables to be showcased at Computex in a few weeks include the UP42AR with Intel Arrow Lake Core Ultra 2 series CPUs, the UP42KP equipped with AMD Krackan Point APUs and the UP42PW packing Snapdragon X Plus SoCs. All models support up to 64 GB DDR5-5600 RAM, 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage and come standard with USB4 / TB4 connectors, fingerprint sensor and microSD card reader.

Ever since Intel’s Lunar Lake emerged as an attractive alternative to the Snapdragon X Elite – offering similar battery life without the occasional compatibility issues – Qualcomm has been taking jabs at Intel in several lighthearted ads, going more than slightly overboard in the process.

The security-focused OpenBSD operating system has just reached the 58th release. Thanks to it, this open-source piece of code now sports new userland features, more accurate documentation, better hibernation support, as well as performance improvements in out-of-memory situations.

Some new information about Qualcomm's next-gen laptop chips has emerged online. One of the models will be anywhere between 18-22% faster than its last-gen counterparts thanks to increased boost clocks.

The Acer Swift 14 AI (SF14-11T-X3RZ) features a 120 Hz 1,600p touch panel, a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 SoC, 16 GB of RAM, as well as a 1 TB storage drive. Completing the package are a couple of USB4 ports and a QHD webcam with IR support.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to bring some significant camera upgrades compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it is unclear exactly what these upgrades will be. The phone is said to carry either three or four cameras, including a 200 MP primary and a 50 MP ultrawide.

Asus' Vivobook S15 features a stunning 120 Hz 3K OLED panel paired with a Snapdragon X Elite SoC, 16 GB of memory, and a 1 TB solid-state drive. The Copilot+ laptop also has decent connectivity, including a couple of USB4 ports, and a sturdy metal chassis.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 2-in-1 Windows tablet is currently enjoying a discount of more than $400 on Amazon. The tablet packs a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite SoC alongside 16 GB of memory, 256 GB of storage, and a 13-inch OLED display.

A new rumor suggests that Qualcomm will have two chips based on the 2nm manufacturing process, one of which is believed to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3. These are said to arrive next year.

Amazon has noted that buyers are returning their Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and Asus Vivobook S 15 units at a higher than usual rate. A quick glance at Amazon user reviews highlights numerous quirks the users have with the Windows on Arm platform.

The Snapdragon option will be even more affordable than the AMD option while providing longer battery life and likely quieter fan noise.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x has been unveiled at MWC 2025. It features an unspecified Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip, up to 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, 1 TB SSD and a 60 Wh battery.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 with a 13.8-inch IPS touch display is one of the premier Snapdragon-based Windows laptops. However, the machine can get quite expensive if equipped with 1 TB of storage. Thankfully, the notebook is now on sale at a big discount.

Android users will soon be able to buy a Snapdragon 8 or 7-series powered phone, regardless of the manufacturer, and get up to eight years of software support. But, which OEMs actually follow through, only time will tell.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 QOY offers an interesting combination of a big 84 Wh battery and the energy efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus CPU. In our Wi-Fi test, the battery lasts more than 24 hrs.