Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon X2 Elite And X2 Elite Extreme Chips For Next-Gen Windows PCs

Qualcomm is raising the bar in the PC market with its newly launched Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme processors. These fresh additions take over from the first-generation X Elite lineup and are designed to drive high-end and ultra-premium Windows on Arm laptops. Qualcomm is promising big improvements this time around, with gains in raw performance, energy efficiency, and AI capabilities. Also Read: Xiaomi 17 Pro, Xiaomi 17 Pro Max Launched With Dual Displays, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Price, Specs

The X2 family comes in three options. There’s the X2 Elite (X2E-80-100) with 12 CPU cores, the X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) with 18 cores, and the top-of-the-line X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100), which also carries 18 cores but is tuned for higher clock speeds to push performance further. All three are built on TSMC’s advanced 3nm process, the same node powering Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip for smartphones. Also Read: POCO Confirms Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Flagship Phone, Likely The F8 Series

Built for Premium Windows 11 PCs

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is targeted at ultra-premium laptops designed for “expert-level workloads,” while the regular X2 Elite models are meant for resource-intensive tasks on high-end devices. In typical Qualcomm fashion, battery life is also a big focus, with the company claiming “multi-day” usage from the new chips. If accurate, that could give Windows on Arm machines a stronger edge against Intel and AMD counterparts. Also Read: iQOO 15 Launching Soon With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, LED Camera Ring, And Sleek Design

Performance Gains and Specs

The X2 Elite Extreme leads the pack with 12 prime cores clocked at up to 4.4GHz, which can boost to 5.0GHz for single- and dual-core tasks, along with six performance cores running at 3.6GHz. The 18-core Elite can run up to 4.0GHz, while the 12-core version features six prime cores capable of boosting to 4.7GHz alongside six performance cores.

All three chips integrate Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU architecture, bringing a claimed 31% higher CPU performance at the same power level and up to 43% lower power draw compared to the first-gen X Elite. On the graphics side, an upgraded Adreno GPU promises a 2.3x boost in performance-per-watt, with support for DirectX 12.2 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenCL 3.0.

AI and Connectivity

AI processing also gets a massive upgrade. Each X2 Elite chip houses Qualcomm’s latest Hexagon NPU, capable of 80 TOPS (INT8), which the company touts as the fastest AI engine available on any laptop today. That puts these chips squarely in the conversation as AI PCs become the next big category.

Memory and storage support includes LPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.0 storage, and bandwidth of up to 228GB/s on the Extreme model. Qualcomm has also added Snapdragon Guardian for improved manageability and security in enterprise deployments.

Availability

Qualcomm says the first wave of laptops powered by these new chips will arrive in Spring 2026. With these processors, the company is clearly signalling its ambitions to carve a bigger place in the Windows PC ecosystem, directly challenging long-time players like Intel and AMD.