In an effort to solidify its standing in the rapidly expanding market of artificial intelligence computers, Qualcomm has unveiled a new high-performance Snapdragon X Plus chip based on ARM architecture. This chip is specifically designed for use in laptops running the Windows operating system, with its release coming shortly after the announcement of the powerful Snapdragon X Elite processor back in October of last year.
The new chips, set to hit the market in mid-2024, are positioned to rival the latest offerings from Intel’s Core Ultra line and Apple’s M3 chips.
The Snapdragon X Elite boasts a 12-core central Oryon processor, an Adreno graphics processor, and a Hexagon neural network unit. The Snapdragon X Plus, on the other hand, features a 10-core processor, an integrated graphics processor, and a similar Hexagon neural unit to the X Elite. Both chips are capable of supporting up to 64 GB of RAM.
Qualcomm is marketing both series of chips as ideal solutions for advanced AI applications, touting their rapid neural network processors for laptops that can enhance overall performance when utilizing local generation and applications.
While generative AI applications typically run on large servers in data centers accessed via the Internet, local AI applications have the advantage of functioning without an Internet connection, with user data remaining on the device.
Despite the absence of a broad range of onboard AI features, the industry is pinning hopes on this concept to drive sales in 2024. Additionally, Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA are all pushing high-performance laptops in this direction.
Qualcomm asserts that the ARM-based X Elite and X Plus chips outperform Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS in WATT performance and energy consumption. Qualcomm also compares its new chips to Apple’s ARM M3 chips, claiming they are 28% and 10% faster, respectively, though it is worth noting that these figures are based on benchmarks and real-world performance may vary.
The introduction of the Snapdragon X Plus chip marks the latest move by Qualcomm to penetrate the Windows PC market. While the company does already offer ARM-based processors for Windows systems, it has yet to establish a substantial lead. One of the main challenges lies in the need to adapt the majority of applications designed for traditional X86 processors to be compatible with ARM platforms.
However, the landscape is gradually evolving, with more developers optimizing their software for ARM chips. This trend is making laptops powered by Qualcomm processors more appealing to both end users and the corporate sector. The launch of the powerful Snapdragon X Plus aims to accelerate this transition and solidify Qualcomm’s