At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Qualcomm announced its latest move to gain traction in the PC market with the introduction of Snapdragon X, a new system-on-chip (SoC) designed for mid-range PCs. The company claims that the chip, built on a 4nm fabrication process, delivers up to "multi-day" battery life and robust performance at an affordable price point.

The Snapdragon X is part of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Series of PC processors, which aims to provide a competitive alternative to rivals AMD and Intel. Despite still facing software compatibility issues with Windows on Qualcomm's chip architecture, the company is pushing forward with new processors to gain market share. Currently, Qualcomm captures only 0.8% of the PC market, according to a recent industry report.

The Snapdragon X will power a range of Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft's Windows 11 machines with AI-powered tools and applications, set to launch in Q1 and priced at around $600. The chip features Qualcomm's Oryon CPU with 8 cores clocked up to 3GHz, a neural processing unit (NPU) that accelerates AI workloads, Bluetooth 5.4 compatibility, support for Wi-Fi 7, and the ability to power up to three external UHD (4K) monitors running at 60Hz.

PC manufacturers that adopt Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Platform, a new hardware reference program, will also receive additional technology such as Qualcomm's A/V suite and proprietary image processing. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are among the manufacturers expected to release laptops powered by Snapdragon X in the coming weeks.

According to Peter Burns, senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm, there are over 60 Copilot+ PC designs powered by Snapdragon now available or in development. The company also saw a remarkable 3X increase in native Windows apps for Snapdragon in 2024.

In a significant expansion of its PC ambitions, Qualcomm announced that it will help bring to market desktops powered by its Snapdragon X Series processors in 2025. Lenovo will be one of the first manufacturers to release desktops featuring Snapdragon X Series processors, with its new ThinkCentre neo 50q QC and IdeaCentre Mini x (1L, 10) models.

The ThinkCentre neo 50q QC comes with the Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X, depending on the configuration, while the IdeaCentre Mini x (1L, 10) has the Snapdragon X Plus. The Snapdragon X Plus was launched last spring, following the Snapdragon X Elite in October 2023. Qualcomm introduced a less powerful, cheaper variant of the X Plus in September.

The introduction of Snapdragon X marks a significant milestone in Qualcomm's PC journey, enabling developers to create more efficient and powerful applications with NPU-accelerated features. With its new chip, Qualcomm is poised to make a bigger impact in the mid-range PC market, offering a competitive alternative to established players.