TL; DR
- While the Snapdragon X2 Elite is available in models with either 12 or 18 CPU cores, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme features 18 cores and a maximum clock speed of up to 5.0 GHz.
- Another big claim about the chipsets is that they offer up to 75% faster CPU performance than their competitors, which includes chipsets from Intel and AMD.
- While the GPU on the X2 Elite (12- and 18-core variants) is clocked at 1.70 GHz, the one on the X2 Elite Extreme includes a 1.85 GHz GPU.
Qualcomm has unveiled what it’s claiming to be the “fastest and most efficient processors for Windows PCs,” the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. Both chipsets feature Qualcomm’s 3rd-generation Oryon CPU cores, with the Extreme variant offering up to 18 CPU cores, including 12 prime and six performance cores. They’re built on a 3nm process, which unlocks greater performance and efficiency.
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Snapdragon X2 Elite: Key Specifications
While the Snapdragon X2 Elite is available in models with either 12 or 18 CPU cores, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme features 18 cores and a maximum clock speed of up to 5.0 GHz. With the new CPU, the chipset offers up to 31% faster CPU performance at the same power level compared to the predecessor, and up to 43% less power for the same performance.
Another big claim about the chipsets is that they offer up to 75% faster CPU performance than their competitors, which includes chipsets from Intel and AMD. All chipsets feature the new Hexagon NPU, which offers up to 80 TOPS of AI performance, according to Qualcomm, claiming it to be the fastest NPU on laptops. The NPU helps power enhanced Copilot+ features and on-device generative AI applications.
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While the GPU on the X2 Elite (12- and 18-core variants) is clocked at 1.70 GHz, the one on the X2 Elite Extreme includes a 1.85 GHz GPU. The new GPU offers 2.3x performance per watt than the Snapdragon X Elite, which is a significant improvement. Last but not least, the company is promising “multi-day battery life,” which could be understood as two seven to eight-hour working days.
Snapdragon X2 Elite: Availability
Laptops and PCs featuring the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme will be available in the first half of 2026, which may be a bit too late, but it is what it is.
With the Snapdragon X2 Elite and the X2 Elite Extreme, Qualcomm is directly challenging Intel and AMD in the Windows PC space by claiming superior power and efficiency. With the exceptional performance claims, Qualcomm might move into the powerful laptop space.
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