Meet Snapdragon X2 Plus, Qualcomm’s push to make AI laptops reasonably priced

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus processor has the identical purpose as its predecessor: to offer a barely stripped-down, leaner different processor for midrange Home windows on Arm laptops.

However there’s a slight distinction. Whereas final yr’s X Plus chip got here in two flavors: a 10-core and an 8-core providing, Qualcomm is providing prospects both a 10-core or 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus chip as a substitute. Qualcomm is eyeing Intel’s Core Extremely 200-series chips in addition to the AMD Ryzen AI 300 collection as potential targets.

Qualcomm’s Plus collection of processors primarily fill the identical position as a Core i5: Qualcomm makes use of the identical CPU structure, plus the identical GPU (adjusted for energy, which lowers the velocity) and the identical NPU. However Qualcomm is being far more aggressive by way of the efficiency comparisons.

At a press convention at CES 2026, Qualcomm invited representatives fromm Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and Samsung on stage to supoort the launch. I additionally noticed a number of notebooks constructed across the Snapdragon X2 Elite, the muse for the X2 Plus that Qualcomm launched this previous fall: the Asus VivoBook S16, ZenBook A14, and A16, plus the HP Omnibook Extremely and EliteBook X — and an Asus all-in-one, too.

Eighteen months in the past, Qualcomm was claiming that its X Plus chip provided 28 p.c quicker efficiency on the identical energy. This time, it claims that the highest 10-core chip within the X2 Plus household delivers over 3 times the efficiency of the competitors, the Core Extremely 7 265U.

Qualcomm’s first-generation Plus processors appeared within the Acer Swift 14 AI, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, and the Dell Latitude 7455, amongst others. The corporate will disclose extra prospects right here on the CES present in Las Vegas. Executives mentioned to anticipate the X2 Plus to land in the identical worth vary because the X Plus, or gadgets costing about $799.

Primarily, the mission of the X2 Plus is identical as Qualcomm’s first era, “to actually get the identical expertise benefits to increasingly more customers,” mentioned Mandar Deshpande, senior director of product administration for the compute enterprise at Qualcomm, in a press briefing with reporters.

How briskly is the Snapdragon X2 Plus?

Formally, the 2 Snapdragon X2 Plus chips are generally known as the 10-core X2P-64-100 and the 6-core X2P-42-100, reflecting Qualcomm’s impenetrable naming scheme. Usually, you’ll see each chips known as the 10-core X2 Plus and the 6-core X2 Plus.

The ten-core X2 Plus will run at speeds as much as 4.0GHz, with an X2-45 GPU that Qualcomm hasn’t disclosed the speeds of. The 6-core X2 Plus additionally runs at that very same clock velocity and options that very same GPU as nicely. Each chips additionally embrace similar NPUs with 80 TOPS.

Why six cores? Deshpande shrugged off the query. “Basically, we’re not likely tied to core counts, frequencies, or [power],” he mentioned.

Qualcomm’s present record of processors doesn’t mirror the brand new additions, however you possibly can see how they’ll slot in: in all probability a contact beneath the older Snapdragon X Elite, and with related specs to the first-gen Snapdragon X Plus chips, not less than on paper. These chips additionally included a further two processors with some variations in clock velocity; Deshpande declined to remark when requested if Qualcomm would do the identical with the X2 Plus. We additionally don’t know the clock speeds of the GPUs.

Although the Snapdragon X2 Plus and the Snapdragon X1 Plus look related on paper, the numbers could also be deceiving. Just like the Snapdragon X2 Elite, the X2 Plus is constructed on up to date third-generation Oryon CPU cores, which improve efficiency.

Whereas the Snapdragon X Elite included a pair of cores that would run at a quicker “turbo velocity” to perform high-priority duties faster, the X Plus didn’t, and the X2 Plus doesn’t both. Alternatively, the X2 Plus base clock velocity is as excessive because the turbo velocity was within the X1 Plus, a Qualcomm consultant famous.

One of many key enhancements for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite was its inclusion of “efficiency” and “prime” cores, additionally tuned for high-performance work. These, the X2 Plus has. The ten-core X2 Plus has six prime cores and 4 efficiency cores, whereas the six-core X2 Plus consists of six prime cores, the consultant added.

Nonetheless, evaluating the X1 Plus to the X2 Plus, efficiency improves considerably: 35 p.c extra single-threaded CPU efficiency, and as much as 39 p.c extra GPU efficiency, utilizing 43 p.c much less energy. (Qualcomm used Geekbench and 3DMark’s Metal Nomad exams for the comparisons.)

Qualcomm is projecting important positive factors over the opposite cell processor platforms competing towards it, which it classifies as a few of Intel’s Core Extremely 200 7-class processors in addition to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350. Just like the Snapdragon X2 Elite, the X2 Plus chips run at full velocity on battery energy as nicely when the laptop computer is plugged in, a key differentiator from the competitors.

Naturally, Qualcomm is evaluating itself to the prevailing “Lunar Lake” and “Strix Level” platforms from Intel and AMD; Intel has already introduced its next-gen “Panther Lake” cell platform, and AMD is anticipated to debut its “Gorgon Level” cell platform at CES. None of those chips have shipped, nevertheless, so Qualcomm can’t check towards them.

Qualcomm didn’t quote any battery-life estimates for Snapdragon Plus notebooks; the corporate mentioned that it’s nonetheless working with prospects to optimize these merchandise.

An enormous query mark continues to be the utility of the NPU, and the way receptive purposes companions and prospects can be to utilizing native AI on the PC. For the reason that X2 Plus consists of the identical 80 TOPS NPU because the X2 Elite, that may permit extra NPU-powered options from Microsoft Home windows, Da Vinci Resolve, and different apps to run concurrently, a lot in the identical means {that a} highly effective CPU or GPU permits a number of apps to be run concurrently.

The chip’s reminiscence bandwidth can be as much as 152Gbps, which provides sufficient headroom for LLMs. If and when an NPU-powered AI future involves move, Qualcomm can be prepared.

So far as video games, Deshpande mentioned that the corporate has examined 1,400 video games on the Snapdragon platform, and that they’re operating “actually good” — the place meaning at 60Hz on a 1080p decision.

Microsoft revealed an replace to its Prism emulator in mid-December, which supplies some extra assist. Whereas Qualcomm is encouraging its companions to put in writing native Arm code that may increase efficiency, the up to date Prism emulator will permit a wider vary of purposes to easily run on Home windows on Arm, with out specifying precisely what.

Qualcomm is exploring in different methods, too.

“One factor now that we’re working carefully with the OEMs is absolutely now innovating on the shape issue entrance, proper?” Deshpande mentioned. “So we’re attempting to make the PCs thinner and lighter. We’re taking a look at panelist gadgets. We’re taking a look at desktops, which might be made extra moveable. So all of that kind issue innovation may be very thrilling, and it’s best to anticipate these forms of gadgets coming available in the market very quickly.”

Up to date at 10:11 AM PT with extra particulars.