- Qualcomm has launched a new Snapdragon X processor for budget devices.
- The Snapdragon X1-26-100 has 8 cores and a clock speed of 3.0 GHz.
- The NPU remains 45 TOPS and the AI features should work just as well compared to other Snapdragon X processors.
After a pretty meager success of X Elite chipsets and amidst the ARM lawsuit, Qualcomm has launched a new processor at CES 2025. The firm’s calling it just Snapdragon X (alongside Plus and Elite) and as you may have guessed, they’re aimed to be used in budget laptops. Here’s all the information you need to know.
While the X Elite and X Plus are reserved for top-of-the-line laptops, the Snapdragon X is geared more toward mainstream and budget offerings. Unlike X Elite and X Plus, X has only one SKU on offer which is the X1-26-100.
It features 8 Qualcomm first-gen Oryon cores that run at 3.0 GHz. The total cache is 30 MB whereas the GPU can output 1.7 TFLOPS . The NPU is the same as the top-of-the-line X Elite processor (45 TOPS) which means the Copilot Plus features on these laptops should work just as well.
Considering the slightly watered-down specifications, we expect Snapdragon X1-26-100 powered chips to be included in laptops that cost $500-$600. Although it would be better if they ended up costing less considering the X Plus and X Elite laptops recently went on sale for around $800-$1100.
Qualcomm claims there are more than 60 laptops in production with the X series chips, and that number will grow to more than 100 in 2026. Windows on ARM definitely hasn’t taken off as much as Qualcomm expected but with more budget devices being accessible to the general public, the firm could bet on increasing its user base.
What are your thoughts on the new Snapdragon X series? Let us know in the comments below.
