During this CES Las Vegas 2025, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X SoC was presented, a new attempt to introduce Windows ARM laptops in the market.
Qualcomm and Microsoft have been trying to enter the notebook market for a few years now, usually at the high end, with a fairly resounding failure due to its lack of compatibility with Windows x86 software and various problems. Now it seems that with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X they want to attack the $600 range of economic laptops and mini PCs, but this is something that we will see how it translates into reality.
For now they tell us that in their system you can use 90% of the most common user apps. But of course, they do not count important sectors such as demanding games, heavy design apps, virtualization or countless historical apps that only run on x86. We will see what gap they find because there is a lot of x86 competition that has already lowered the consumption of their processors and has no compatibility limitations.
Press Release
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Highlights
Snapdragon X, the fourth platform to join the Snapdragon X Series, brings AI PC leadership to Copilot PCs in the $600 range. Snapdragon X Series continues to gain traction with more than 60 designs in production or development and more than 100 on the way by 2026 from leading OEMs such as Asus, Acer, Dell Technologies, HP and Lenovo.
The world’s first Snapdragon X Series-equipped mini desktop PCs redefine compact computing in new form factors.
The Snapdragon X Series software ecosystem and AI experiences momentum continues to grow, bringing more than 50 NPU-powered AI experiences, debuting the exclusive Moises Live app on a new level of devices.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. expands its AI PC leadership and announces the Snapdragon® X Platform, the fourth platform to join the Snapdragon X Series portfolio of computing products designed to deliver performance, multi-day battery life and Copilot PC experiences to even more users around the world.
Redefining the PC category for general-purpose devices at $600
Utilizing the power of an 8-core Qualcomm OryonTM CPU, Snapdragon X delivers essential performance for the next generation of PCs. This platform delivers up to 163% faster performance at ISO power than our competitors, which also require 168% more power at ISO performance1, the Snapdragon X processor balances performance and embedded intelligence with a 45 TOPS NPU that runs Copilot PC experiences more efficiently.
With an integrated power-efficient 1.7 Gflops Adreno GPU, Snapdragon X supports dynamic graphics ideal for creating presentations, surfing the web or streaming content. Snapdragon X is an ideal solution for students, freelancers and budget-conscious consumers who need a reliable and powerful notebook that can keep up with their busy lives. Snapdragon X-equipped devices are expected to be available in early 2025 from leading OEMs such as Acer, Asus, Dell Technologies, HP and Lenovo, making Copilot PCs available in the $600 range.ç
A New Era: World’s First Mini Desktop PC with Snapdragon X Series
Snapdragon marks an important milestone in the evolution of Snapdragon PCs and redefines compact computing with the world’s first mini desktop PC powered by the Snapdragon X Series platform. This new form factor ensures there is a design for every need of consumers, developers and businesses that prefer a portable device. Tomorrow, stay tuned for the news for all the details.
Windows 11 on Snapdragon transforms application performance with more than 50 NPU-powered AI experiences.
Windows 11 ARM
Windows 11 on Snapdragon momentum continues to grow with more than 50 native NPU-powered AI experiences on Snapdragon. Native apps now include 20 of the most popular VPNs, 50 of the most popular security and cloud storage apps, and new digital audio workstations (DAWs) and virtual studio technology (VST) instruments. Native app development has increased 3-fold in the last year, with companies such as Music AI launching the Moises Live app exclusively for Snapdragon and its NPU.
