High-end notebooks with cellular connectivity are expected to grow significantly next year, when the first models with Qualcomm's latest PC processors arrive.

Announced today (December 1), the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is the first 5-nanometer chip for Windows PCs. Previous Snapdragon 8cx chips were 7nm, so Qualcomm has included more transistors in this version, which should significantly improve both speed and power efficiency.

Qualcomm is not only rolling out new processors for always-connected premium laptops; the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 also debuted, bringing 5G connectivity to entry-level laptops and Chromebooks.

According to Qualcomm, laptops with either new chipset are not expected to appear until early 2022. However, once the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and Snapdragon 7cx+ Gen 3 are available in various notebooks, we can expect the following.

Power and performance seem to be the name of the game for the Snapdragon 8cx. According to Qualcomm's calculations, the new prime core integrated into the chipset's Kryo CPU will deliver an 85% improvement over comparable x86 processors and 60% better performance per watt.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 also features an enhanced Adreno GPU, which delivers 60% better graphics performance than the previous generation. When playing games in Full HD resolution, laptops with the Snapdragon 8cx should be able to enjoy 50% longer sessions compared to competing platforms.

According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 can keep a laptop powered up for more than 25 hours, which for most users is twice as long as a current PC.

Like past Snapdragon 8cx chips, this new generation comes with 5G connectivity, but there are options for modems. The fastest option, the Snapdragon x65, supports speeds of up to 10 Gbps for 5G, but chipsets with X55 (7.5 Gbps download speed) and X62 (4.4 Gbps) modems will also be available. Additionally, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 will support Wi-Fi 6E and its 3.6 Gbps wireless speed.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is powered by Qualcomm's AI engine and Hexagon processor, which Qualcomm says enables the chipset to perform over 29 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This is three times more than competitors, and laptops with the Snapdragon 8cx can offer more sophisticated AI-driven experiences, such as facial recognition and background blurring in video calls.

Speaking of video, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chipset features Qualcomm's Spectra image signal processor (ISP), which can support 4K HDR video and up to four cameras. It also supports noise and echo canceling technology.

The Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 is more modest than the Snapdragon 8cx platform for laptops. However, it offers 60% better CPU performance and 70% better GPU speed; AI performance reaches 6.5 TOPS, surpassing the 5 TOPS of the previous Snapdragon 7c chipset.

The big story here is that the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 adds 5G connectivity in the form of the Snapdragon X53 modem. This modem supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave-based 5G, with download speeds up to 3.7Gbps. speeds up to 2.9 Gbps.