Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite: The nice, the unhealthy, 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 finally succeed, I can give you an inside have a look at what persons are speaking about–at the least what I’ve heard and overheard–at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. If you wish to compensate for all of the information, the Snapdragon X2 and X2 Elite supply extra cores at as much as 5GHz speeds, consists of optionally available embedded reminiscence, and preserves the efficiency on battery from the primary era.

The nice: eye-watering efficiency

If you would like a general-purpose productiveness laptop computer, the first-generation Snapdragon X Elite was practically excellent. The brand new X2 Elite Excessive seems 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 nearly all the pieces customers are asking of it on this area.

The CPU benchmarks look notably juicy. In contrast in opposition to rival chips in as we speak’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 gives a whopping 80 TOPs, leaving the competitors within the mud. Whether or not customers are asking for extra TOPS from an NPU, although, is a query mark.

Roughly doubling the TOPS from the primary model seems nice on paper, and positively larger numbers are higher. However there’s rather a lot being wager on whether or not shopper functions will be capable to make the most 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.

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

The unhealthy: Lukewarm PC vendor help, 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 through video in addition — not in individual on the Snapdragon Summit. The odd “agentic AI” Humain Horizon Professional laptop computer (which gained’t use the X2, however the X1) was there, however not Qualcomm’s established clients. And the place was longtime Qualcomm backer, Lenovo?

Positive, new companions may all the time 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 similar decision and picture high quality? What about all of the video games that merely refuse to run nicely 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 line with Qualcomm’s senior vp 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 needs to be seen as an attractive, high-margin gaming CPU. However doing so would instantly lower right into a key Snapdragon profit: lengthy battery life.

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 undecided if that was as a result of the aggressive panorama had erased that benefit, or what. However it merely was not a giant 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 previous 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 gives 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 received 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 Could 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 count on to win in opposition to Intel and AMD,” which launch a brand new or up to date cellular chip structure on an annual cadence.

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 considerations about app compatibility. Then Intel’s Lunar Lake got here alongside, and supplied a really aggressive — and possibly even higher — chip with none of that baggage.

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

In my private opinion, top-of-the-line issues Qualcomm ever did was to easily supply a compelling third choice to Intel and AMD. Which means 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.