Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite: The great, the dangerous, and the ugly

Qualcomm’s scintillating new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips have prompted a ton of conversations previously few days. Can they make it? What do you want about them? And so forth.

Whereas I can’t say whether or not or not the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Excessive will ultimately succeed, I can give you an inside have a look at what persons are speaking about–not less than what I’ve heard and overheard–at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. If you wish to atone for all of the information, the Snapdragon X2 and X2 Elite supply extra cores at as much as 5GHz speeds, consists of non-obligatory embedded reminiscence, and preserves the efficiency on battery from the primary era.

The great: eye-watering efficiency

If you’d like a general-purpose productiveness laptop computer, the first-generation Snapdragon X Elite was almost excellent. The brand new X2 Elite Excessive seems to be to be even higher, with (managed) benchmarks that merely blow away Intel’s Core Extremely (Lunar Lake) and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 chips, from CPU to GPU to the AI-enabling NPU. Qualcomm is basically doing virtually every thing shoppers are asking of it on this house.

The CPU benchmarks look significantly juicy. In contrast in opposition to rival chips in at the moment’s laptops, the Snapdragon X2 Elite completely smokes all comers within the Cinebench benchmark beloved by reviewers, in each single- and multi-core exams.

And the Snapdragon X2 Elite’s NPU presents a whopping 80 TOPs, leaving the competitors within the mud. Whether or not shoppers are asking for extra TOPS from an NPU, although, is a query mark.

Roughly doubling the TOPS from the primary model seems to be nice on paper, and positively greater numbers are higher. However there’s quite a bit being guess on whether or not client purposes will have the ability to reap the benefits of its prowess, together with this idea of agentic AI everyone seems to be speaking about. Nobody is nonetheless fairly positive whether or not that may occur.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

It is determined by the way you see it: Is native AI nonetheless a promoting level? Both method, the Snapdragon X2 Elite seems loaded with {hardware} able to blasting via many of the duties you throw at it, AI or not.

The dangerous: Lukewarm PC vendor assist, video games, and lack of battery life discuss

I couldn’t assist however discover that solely Asus and HP endorsed the Snapdragon X2 structure, and by way of video in addition — not in particular person on the Snapdragon Summit. The odd “agentic AI” Humain Horizon Professional laptop computer (which received’t use the X2, however the X1) was there, however not Qualcomm’s established prospects. And the place was longtime Qualcomm backer, Lenovo?

Positive, new companions may at all times be introduced. However I had questions.

One other query: 3D graphics efficiency. Sure, supposedly the Snapdragon X2 Elite about doubles the efficiency of the first-gen X Elite platform, which performed (some) video games at roughly 30 frames per second at 1080p Low efficiency. Doubling that’s, what, 60 fps on the identical decision and picture high quality? What about all of the video games that merely refuse to run effectively on the first-gen Snapdragon chips?

On the extra fanatic finish of issues, “there’s nothing stopping” the Snapdragon X2 from connecting to a discrete GPU like Nvidia’s GeForce RTX, in keeping with Qualcomm’s senior vice chairman Kedar Kondap…nevertheless it doesn’t seem prefer it has, or will. It is a robust one: Gaming is usually seen as a high-profile design win, and proof {that a} chip just like the X2 Elite must be seen as a horny, high-margin gaming CPU. However doing so would instantly minimize right into a key Snapdragon profit: lengthy battery life.

Qualcomm

And that was bizarre, too: Qualcomm actually downplayed the battey lifetime of a Snapdragon X2 laptop computer, referring it to “multi-day” on a few events. I’m unsure if that was as a result of the aggressive panorama had erased that benefit, or what. But it surely merely was not an enormous focus.

Once more, Qualcomm does have a cross to bear in its Arm legacy, and the way that impacts software compatibility. This solely actually impacts some bizarre, dusty outdated enterprise utilities, the occasional printer, and video games. However video games are the one space the place it will possibly make inroads, although Snapdragon merely can’t supply the “it simply works” assurance of its X86 rivals anytime quickly.

The ugly: A seize bag

Naturally, any new launch presents alternatives for criticism.

Not solely did folks take challenge with the Microsoft-esque naming scheme — the X2 Elite Excessive, actually?! — critics made the very legitimate level that this was Qualcomm’s first main structure launch in years. Reviewers acquired hands-on exams of the X1 Elite two lengthy years in the past, in October 2023, forward of the Snapdragon’s launch alongside Copilot+ PCs in Might 2024. Qualcomm adopted it up with the cut-down X1 Plus and X within the interim.

As one attendee identified, “You may’t play on that timetable and anticipate to win in opposition to Intel and AMD,” which launch a brand new or up to date cellular chip structure on an annual cadence.

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Qualcomm’s X1 Elite additionally signaled to Intel and AMD that these rivals wanted to have their very own chips so as. However tying Snapdragon X to Copilot+ and Microsoft’s beleaguered Recall didn’t do a lot for Qualcomm, if something. Qualcomm was the flag-bearer for Home windows on Arm, and its (now largely undeserved) reputational issues about app compatibility. Then Intel’s Lunar Lake got here alongside, and provided a really aggressive — and perhaps even higher — chip with none of that baggage.

One laptop computer maker advised me that that they had purchased into the unique X1 Elite partially as a bargaining chip with Intel. Folks had a whole lot of questions on what that meant for Intel’s upcoming “Panther Lake” chip, which must be unveiled this fall.

In my private opinion, probably the greatest issues Qualcomm ever did was to easily supply a compelling third choice to Intel and AMD. Meaning all of us benefited from an aggressive marketplace for PC processors that solely continues to warmth up.

Disclosure: Qualcomm held its press briefings in Hawaii, and wouldn’t pre-brief reporters in different areas or over video conferences. They paid for my room, boarding, and journey bills, however didn’t ask for or exert any editorial management over this story or different PCWorld content material.