Snapdragon X Elite is here to take on Intel and Apple processors This new mobile platform, announced at Snapdragon Summit 2023, features a custom-integrated Qualcomm Oryon CPU that promises to deliver up to two times faster CPU performance than competing products with It promises up to twice as fast CPU performance at one-third the power consumption. [Snapdragon X Elite leverages Qualcomm's AI Engine to run a generative AI model with over 13 billion parameters on the device. The company claims that this mobile platform is 4.5 times faster in AI processing than its competitors. Qualcomm says the platform promises "several days of battery life" as well as increased productivity and creativity.

What the Snapdragon X Elite can do against the best laptops won't be known until mid-2024, but if Qualcomm's new chip lives up to the company's lofty promises, we may see a true competitor to Apple's M series processors. If that happens, the best Windows laptops of the future could rival the best MacBooks.

Here's everything you need to know about the Snapdragon X Elite.

According to Qualcomm, the first devices with Snapdragon X Elite chips will not be available until mid-2024 at the earliest. We have not yet heard which manufacturers will produce devices with this new CPU, but partners such as Lenovo (which released the Snapdragon-powered Lenovo ThinkPad X13s) will probably include it. [Snapdragon X Elite is a mobile CPU and therefore cannot be purchased on its own; prices for laptops with X Elite processors vary by manufacturer and device specs.

According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon X Elite is "the most powerful, intelligent and efficient processor in its class for Windows."

The chip is manufactured in the same 4nm process as the announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Snapdragon X Elite features 12 high-performance cores that deliver 3.8 GHz and can boost up to 4.3 GHz for dual-core CPU memory architecture has a bandwidth of up to 136 GB/s and a 42 MB total cache.

According to Qualcomm, the X Elite chip is up to twice as fast in CPU performance than competitors at the same power consumption. As shown in the graph above, the competitors are 13th generation Intel Core i7-1355U (10-core) and i7-1360P (12-core). The graph also claims that Qualcomm's processors consume 68% less power than the aforementioned Intel CPUs, matching the peak performance of the competitors' PCs. Similar results are seen when comparing Qualcomm's upcoming chip to the Core i7-13800H (14 cores).

You may be wondering how the Snapdragon X Elite compares to Apple's silicon. Qualcomm claims that the X Elite has 50% faster peak multi-threaded performance than the M2. Since Apple's M2 chip is one of the fastest processors, it will be interesting to see what third-party tests reveal.

The integrated Adreno GPU is said to "deliver stunning graphics for immersive entertainment," with support for 120Hz 4K displays and HDR10. It also supports triple UHD (4K) and dual 5K external displays. This is good news for those using multiple monitors.

The graph above shows that the integrated GPU performance of the Adreno GPU is up to two times faster than the Core i7-13800H CPU with Intel Xe Graphics. The graph also claims that Qualcomm's processor can match the peak performance of competing PCs with 74% less power consumption; when compared to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, the graph shows up to 80% faster CPU performance and 80% less power consumption.

Qualcomm's claims are impressive. However, we need to bring laptops running on Snapdragon X Elite chips into our test lab to see how the best PC games run on those devices.

Given the recent interest in AI, it is not surprising that Qualcomm is highlighting the AI and machine learning capabilities of the Snapdragon X Elite. Similar discussions took place when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip was announced, but Qualcomm seems to be pushing AI even further this time around.

Specifically, Qualcomm's AI engine features an upgraded Hexagon NPU capable of 75 TOPS (trillion operations per second). According to Qualcomm, this AI engine can run a generative AI LLM (Large Language Model) with over 13B parameters on-device and 4.5 times faster than competitors.

The updated micro NPU within the Qualcomm Sensing Hub provides enhanced security, privacy, and the ability to wake the device in sleep mode. the Qualcomm AI Engine also supports Windows Studio Effects and other AI-accelerated applications will also be supported; with INT4 precision support, performance per watt should also improve by 68%.

Simply put, text response and image generation when using AI will be faster. Qualcomm states that its updated AI engine is faster than its competitors, but that claim will have to be tested in practice.

The Snapdragon X Elite platform seems like a promising alternative to Intel and Apple processors, at least based on what Qualcomm has offered. While the raw computing power is impressive, I personally would like to see how devices powered by the X Elite chip will improve the overall experience. Specifically, I'm interested to see how the updated Qualcomm AI engine compares to ChatGPT and similar tools.

We will have to wait until the middle of next year to see what this new mobile CPU can really do. As soon as we get further information, we will pass it on.