Qualcomm's long-awaited Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite chip lineup will power a growing array of laptops, and they might just be exceedingly powerful.
Android Authority is reporting that the Snapdragon X Plus lineup will ship with two chip options: the X1P-64 and the X1P-42. The Snapdragon X Elite lineup will come in three flavors: X1E-84, X1E-80, and X1E-78.
As the model numbers suggest, they have different levels of power. The X1E-84 offers the most power, followed by the X1E-80 and X1E-78, respectively. According to benchmark data released in the report, the two Snapdragon X Plus chips will be less powerful than the Elite models.
The chips also come with different spec configurations. All of the Elite chips offer 60fps 4K encoding and 120fps 4K decoding. And while the X1P-64 will also offer that option, the lower-powered X1P-42 will deliver 30fps 4K encoding and 60fps 4K decoding.
Qualcomm has long been a force in the mobile market, powering a slew of the most powerful smartphones on the market. However, the company has been slow to enter the computer space, where Intel and AMD have dominated for decades.
The new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips, however, are Qualcomm's first major foray into the laptop market. Benchmark data from Geekbench, which Android Authority previously published, shows that the chips should perform quite well in their battle against Intel and Apple chipsets.
Here's a breakdown of how some of the Qualcomm chips performed on Geekbench 6 tests:
- Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80: 2790 (Single Threaded) and 14309 (Multi Threaded)
- Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78: 2418 (Single Threaded) and 14077 (Multi Threaded)
- Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64: 2419 (Single Threaded) and 13139 (Multi Threaded)
Meanwhile, here's a breakdown of how comparable chips from both Intel and Apple performed in the same Geekbench 6 test:
- Intel Ultra 7 155H: 2300 (Single Threaded) and 13000 (Multi Threaded)
- Apple M3 Pro: 3200 (Single Threaded) and 16000 (Multi Threaded)
If those Geekbench 6 scores are accurate, that would bode well for Qualcomm. The performance measures suggest the chips should be able to at least hold their own against incumbent technologies, and in some cases, may ultimately outperform both Intel and Apple.
Indeed, while Apple's chips outperformed the Qualcomm chips on video, for AI processing, all three Qualcomm chips easily outperformed both Intel and Apple. On several key metrics, including video, Qualcomm's chips outpaced Intel's.
Good news for Microsoft?
Needless to say, the stakes are high for Qualcomm and its competitors in the laptop market. And while the company has been willing to share some details on how its chips will perform, questions remain about how many PC makers will ultimately turn to Qualcomm for their chip deployments.
Several rumors have suggested that Microsoft may be among the first to partner with Qualcomm on its upcoming Elite and Plus chips when the company unveils its Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10 next month. It's widely believed that other companies will follow suit around the same time and after.
That said, neither Qualcomm nor any of its eventual PC partners, including Microsoft, have said exactly when the chips will launch and on what platforms. For now, thanks to the Geekbench leak, we simply know that if and when the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips launch, plenty of users will like what they see.
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