Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme take aim at the Windows PC crown

Qualcomm is back with the sequel to the chip that finally made Windows on ARM a real conversation starter. The new Snapdragon X2 lineup, split into the Elite and the Elite Extreme, is more than an annual refresh. It’s Qualcomm attempting to muscle past Intel and AMD with a bold claim that these are the fastest and most efficient processors for Windows PCs.

That’s a statement guaranteed to raise eyebrows, but Qualcomm comes armed (pun intended) with numbers. Built on a 3nm process, the X2 family boasts up to 31 per cent faster CPU performance at the same power draw as last year’s Snapdragon X Elite, or 43 per cent less power for the same performance. There’s also a serious graphics jump, with a redesigned GPU promising 2.3x performance per watt.

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The CPU at the heart of it is Qualcomm’s third-gen Oryon architecture, featuring up to 18 cores that can stretch to an ARM-first 5GHz clock speed. This is the same DNA that’ll power Qualcomm’s next mobile flagship, but dialled up for laptops that need serious horsepower.

Snapdragon X2 Elite and Extreme: Built for AI and beyond

Of course, 2025 is the year of the AI PC, and Qualcomm isn’t about to miss the party. The X2 brings a new 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU, billed as the fastest laptop NPU yet, delivering 37 per cent more performance while sipping 16 per cent less power. That means more Copilot+ tricks, smoother generative AI apps, and a shot across the bow for Intel’s Meteor Lake and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 chips.

Qualcomm also wants creators to take note. It’s touting 28 per cent faster Photoshop edits, 43 per cent quicker Lightroom exports, and smoother Premiere Pro video analysis compared to last year’s machines. Even gaming, a pain point for ARM laptops, gets attention thanks to a dedicated 18MB Adreno High Performance Memory cache.

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And while Qualcomm is promising “multi-day battery life” again, expect that to translate to something more realistic; think two full workdays without hunting for a plug, rather than a weekend getaway on a single charge.

Snapdragon X2 Elite and Extreme: Scaling up, aiming higher

What’s perhaps most telling is that Qualcomm is testing the Elite Extreme at over 50W. Last year’s Snapdragon laptops were featherweight ultrabooks, but this kind of power draw hints at a shift into bigger, more capable machines. The fact that Razer’s Min-Liang Tan joined the announcement (even if he didn’t commit to a Snapdragon gaming laptop) shows Qualcomm wants to sit at the same table as the heavyweights.

The chips won’t show up in shipping laptops until the first half of 2026, which is a longer runway than the original X Elite rollout. That leaves plenty of time for Intel and AMD to sharpen their own silicon.

But if Qualcomm’s numbers hold up, the next wave of Windows laptops could feel very different; faster, cooler, and unapologetically ARM. After years of knocking at the door, Qualcomm might finally be ready to kick x86 out of the party.