New Qualcomm chips should make $600 Snapdragon PCs a thing

Today at CES, Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon X processor. The company aims to bring fast performance as well as efficient battery life to a wider market by designing the chip with mainstream and budget laptops in mind, which could make $600 Snapdragon PCs a thing.

This is exciting news, as we’ve seen first-hand how battery efficient Snapdragon laptops are. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, for example, ran for almost 24 hours during our exhaustive battery test. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor…

We hope to see similar results from the newest Snapdragon X processor, but only time will tell. Let’s get right into deets.




Qualcomm

Snapdragon X

In terms of hierarchy, the Snapdragon X appears to sit below the X Plus and the X Elite. Although it’s a more stripped-down version compared to these previous processors, the core count and clock speed remain the same–an impressive feat.

The Snapdragon X boasts 8 cores and a maximum of 3.0 GHz. GHz, short for gigahertz, is the measurement for the number of cycles your CPU can perform per second. Essentially, it’s a way to gauge overall processor performance. The Snapdragon X Plus, by comparison, is capable of reaching 3.4 GHz but can boost up to 4 GHz.

This processor is bit slower than previous iterations, sure, but it’s also more affordable and accessible. According to Qualcomm, it’s an “ideal solution for students, freelance workers, and budget-conscious consumers who need a reliable and powerful laptop that can keep up with their busy lives.” It also supports optional 5G connectivity, LPDDR 5x RAM, Bluetooth 5.4, and Wi-Fi 7.

Snapdragon X laptops are set to launch in early 2025 with prices in the $600 range.