Qualcomm is gearing up to shake up the AI PC market with the introduction of its new Arm-based Snapdragon X Plus chip for Windows laptops, setting the stage for a showdown with industry giants Intel and AMD. The company’s previous announcement of the Snapdragon X Elite for Windows laptops in October hinted at its ambitions to dominate the space.
Scheduled for release in mid-2024, the Snapdragon X Plus chip is designed to rival Intel’s latest Core Ultra line and Apple’s M3 chip lineup. Boasting a 10-core CPU, built-in GPU, and Hexagon NPU, the X Plus promises to deliver top-notch performance and efficiency. Qualcomm is positioning both the X Elite and X Plus as AI powerhouses, offering the fastest NPUs for laptops to enhance overall performance with local generative AI applications.
While the concept of AI PCs is gaining traction in the industry, Qualcomm faces stiff competition from Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, who are also marketing high-end laptops with AI capabilities. The X Elite and X Plus chips are touted to outperform Intel and AMD counterparts in terms of performance per watt and power consumption.
With benchmarks showing the X Elite and X Plus chips to be faster than Apple’s M3 chips, Qualcomm is confident in its ability to disrupt the market. As more developers optimize apps for Arm-based platforms, Qualcomm’s chips are becoming a more attractive option for consumers and enterprise users.
The real test will be how the Elite X and Plus X chips perform in real-world scenarios, but if Qualcomm’s claims hold true, the PC market could be in for a major shake-up. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.