Qualcomm has revealed that they are transferring changes to the main Linux kernel to support devices on chips Snapdragon X2, which come equipped with Qualcomm Oryon CPU, Hexagon AI accelerator, and Adreno X2-90 GPU. This move includes the preparation of a FastRPC driver for the Hexagon NPU and adding support for the new Adreno GPUs to the Freedreno, Turnip, and Rusticle Mesa drivers.
The integration of Snapdragon X2 support into the kernel will occur in several stages. Initially, components have been released for booting and basic system startup, with systemd-boot supported as a boot manager. Subsequent phases will focus on adding drivers for basic I/O connectivity, GPU support in Mesa drivers, FastRPC driver publication, power management and thermal control drivers, and final stack stabilization.
These changes will enable upcoming devices with the Snapdragon X2 SoC, such as HP Googlebook 14, Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe, Dell XPS Googlebook, Microsoft Surface Pro 12, Microsoft Surface Laptop 13, and HUMAIN Horizon Ultra, to run Linux. While HP, ASUS, and HUMAIN initially plan to ship laptops with Windows, they intend to offer official Linux support in the first quarter of 2027.
Debian and Ubuntu are the first Linux distributions to implement support for Snapdragon X2. Qualcomm’s repository with the necessary Linux kernel patches, packages, scripts, and instructions for building Debian 13 for Qualcomm RB1 and Qualcomm RB3 Gen 2 boards are now accessible for those interested in testing Linux on real hardware. Debian test builds are expected to be developed soon, with plans to integrate support into Debian and Ubuntu by the end of the year and the first quarter of 2027, respectively.