New Snapdragon X chip brings Copilot+ AI to much cheaper laptops

Qualcomm is lowering the entry level for performance AI PCs with a cheaper version of its Snapdragon X Series processors.

The new Snapdragon X processors revealed at CES 2025 will sit below the existing Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite.

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They’ll enable laptops that cost as little as $600 (around £450) to achieve the Copilot+ PC branding Microsoft allows manufactures to slap on machines capable of rocking the software giant’s latest Gen AI features. That’s thanks to the 45 TOPS Qualcomm Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU).

The Snapdragon X is still built on a 4mn architecture like the rest of the series but is powered by an 8-core, 3GHz Qualcomm Oryon CPU. Users of these machines will be able to add a trio of external displays at 4K 60Hz thanks to the Adreno GPU.

Battery life apparently is 2x longer than the competition, which Qualcomm has identified as the Intel Intel’s Core 5 120U. In some use cases, the advancements could equate to multi-day battery life, Qualcomm says.

It’s another shot across the bow of Intel and could see more PC users embrace Windows on ARM processors. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo have already committed to machines rocking the chips with 60 models currently in development and 100 expected to be on the market by next year.

The Snapdragon X devices will be a “good solution for students, freelance workers and budget-conscious consumers who need a reliable and powerful laptop,” the US chipmaker said.

And it’s not just laptops either, Snapdragon X will appear in mini desktop PCs akin to the Apple Mac mini, although it doesn’t say which manufacturers are on board with those.

“The all-new mini and tiny desktop PCs mark a significant milestone in our PC journey,” Lenovo says. “These innovative designs pack the same powerful Snapdragon punch into a new form factor, making them an ideal all-purpose solution for developers, consumers and businesses alike.”