Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon X2 Plus to Power More Affordable Windows Laptops

Qualcomm is expanding its Windows on Arm lineup with a more affordable chip. The company has officially announced the Snapdragon X2 Plus. It joins the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme revealed in September. This new chip replaces the Snapdragon X Plus from September 2024 and targets thinner, cheaper laptops.

The Snapdragon X2 Plus runs on Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU and is built on a 3nm process. It includes an 80 TOPS NPU, which Qualcomm calls the fastest in a laptop. Buyers will see two variants. One model features 10 CPU cores, while the other ships with 6 cores.

The 10-core version comes with 34MB of total cache and reaches a 4GHz maximum multithread frequency. The 6-core version includes 22MB of cache and also tops out at 4GHz. Both chips share the same X2-45 GPU. However, clock speeds differ between the two options.

On the 10-core chip, the GPU can run at up to 1.7GHz. The 6-core version lowers that figure to 900MHz. Both models support LPDDR5X memory and include the same 80 TOPS NPU. Qualcomm says this NPU leads the laptop market in raw AI performance.

Qualcomm also claims performance stays consistent on battery power. It is also promising multi-day battery life, although results will depend on laptop battery size. The first laptops powered by the Snapdragon X2 Plus are expected to arrive by the end of June.

Compared to the Snapdragon X Plus, the X2 Plus offers up to 35% faster single-core CPU performance. At the same time, it uses 43% less power. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, optional 5G, and support for up to 128GB of RAM.