Will Qualcomm Finally Disrupt the PC Market With This New Chip ?

© Qualcomm

With its Oryon technology, Qualcomm has managed to develop computer chips that can compete with Macs using Apple Silicon chips. The benchmarks are impressive and the machines using the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus chips keep their promise in terms of battery life. For example, the Asus Vivobook S 15 Snapdragon, which we had the opportunity to test, is said to be able to last around fifteen hours in office use. In addition, these new PCs are equipped with significant computing power for AI, which allows them to benefit from exclusive Windows features: the “Copilot+” features.

But, despite all their advantages, the machines using these Qualcomm processors are still struggling to attract the crowds. However, the Snapdragon X chip that Qualcomm has just presented at CES in Las Vegas could help it increase its market share. While the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus provide excellent performance, the Snapdragon X is a less powerful version, but it is also more affordable. Indeed, the Snapdragon X will have to equip mid-range PCs sold around $600.

The Snapdragon X has a less powerful CPU and GPU, compared to the Snapdragon X Plus or the Snapdragon X Elite. However, Qualcomm has not made any concessions regarding AI, since the Snapdragon X also has an NPU (a component dedicated to artificial intelligence) of 45 TOPS. And naturally, it will be able to manage the “Copilot+” features of Windows 11. In addition, its architecture should allow PCs using the Snapdragon X to have greater autonomy and computing power, compared to other products in the same category. Among the brands that will launch PCs under Snapdragon X, there are Acer, Asus, Dell and HP. These machines should soon be available on the market.

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Qualcomm remains optimistic

In addition to the fact that there will soon be affordable PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips, the company is also making significant progress on the software front. As a reminder, Windows applications designed for Intel processors are not naturally compatible with Snapdragon machines, which use a different architecture. As a result, Qualcomm and Microsoft offer an emulation system, so that it is possible to use an app when it is not natively available.
But the good news is that the number of applications directly compatible with Snapdragon PCs is also increasing. According to Qualcomm, “native app development has tripled in the past year.”

The number of PCs using Qualcomm’s platform is also growing. And according to the company, by 2026, there will be more than 100 different Snapdragon models available on the market.

• After the Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite, which challenge Apple chips, Qualcomm presents the Snapdragon X
• This new platform is less powerful, but it is also less expensive and will allow some advantages (including Qualcomm's NPU for artificial intelligence) on mid-range models
• Qualcomm is targeting the $600 PC market and announces that the first models using this new chip will arrive soon

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