Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X2 Plus processors at CES 2026, designed to power Windows 11 PCs, including those under Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC brand. These new chips represent the mid-range offering within the Snapdragon X2 Series and aim to expand Qualcomm's market presence in the CPU sector. The company presented performance improvements over previous generations and detailed specifications for the new processors, which integrate advanced AI capabilities.
Product Overview and Positioning
The Snapdragon X2 Plus processors are part of Qualcomm's strategy to increase its market share in the CPU sector, competing with established players like Intel and AMD, and offering an alternative to Apple's Mac computers. Qualcomm is positioning these chips for what it describes as "modern professionals," "aspiring creators," and "everyday users" seeking responsive and portable computing devices. Another source notes their design for "budget-oriented machines." These processors are positioned as the mid-range offering within the Snapdragon X2 Series, which was initially unveiled in September 2025 with the flagship Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme models.
Availability and Pricing
PCs featuring the Snapdragon X2 Plus processors are expected to be integrated into select devices from various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). While one source indicates availability by June, a Qualcomm spokesperson stated that PCs featuring both the X2 Elite and X2 Plus are expected to be available around the end of the first quarter. Qualcomm has not specified particular price points for the new Snapdragon X2 laptops. However, a Qualcomm Senior Director indicated that Snapdragon X2 products aim for similar market segments as the previous generation, where the "Plus" tier started at approximately $800.
Performance Claims
Qualcomm reports that the Snapdragon X2 Plus processors deliver performance enhancements. The company claims the following improvements compared to the Snapdragon X Plus chips released in 2024:
- CPU single-core performance: Up to 35% increase
- CPU multi-core performance: Up to 17% increase
- GPU performance: Up to 29% increase
- NPU performance: Up to 78% increase
Additionally, Qualcomm claims CPU gains of up to 35% and GPU gains of up to 39% over unspecified "previous-generation chips," depending on the specific model (10-core or 6-core). The company asserts that the X2 Plus models integrate an 80 trillion operations per second (TOPS) Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which Qualcomm states is "the fastest NPU in a laptop" and "the world’s fastest NPU for laptops in its class." Qualcomm also states that the Plus chips surpass competing low-power Intel Lunar Lake or Arrow Lake chips in both CPU performance and efficiency. The GPU capability of the Plus chips is stated to be less than that of the X2 Elite models, which claimed 2.3x GPU gains over their predecessors.
Technical Specifications
The Snapdragon X2 Plus series includes two distinct processors:
- One variant incorporates up to 10 of Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon cores and features a 1.7GHz GPU frequency.
- The second variant includes six Oryon cores with a 900MHz GPU frequency.
Both variants utilize Qualcomm's next-generation Adreno graphics architecture. The processors offer a maximum multi-threaded frequency of 4.0GHz and support LPDDR5x memory with a transfer rate of 9,523 megatransfers per second. The Plus models can support up to 128GB of LPDDR5x memory.
Power Efficiency and Design Flexibility
Qualcomm states that the X2 Plus requires up to 43% less power than its predecessor, with the company suggesting this will enable multi-day battery life and consistent performance when operating on battery power.
Qualcomm stated that both the Plus and Elite chips can scale to various wattages, allowing for a wide range of laptop designs. Most designs are anticipated to fall within the 12–35W envelope, suitable for thin-and-light laptops, with some fanless designs considered possible. Mini PCs could potentially incorporate an additional 10W of headroom for enhanced performance.
Graphics and Gaming Support
Qualcomm is increasing graphics driver support for gaming on Windows laptops. The company is pledging quarterly driver updates and reports support for approximately 1,400 game titles, covering an estimated 90% of commonly played games. The Snapdragon Control Panel app is designed to automatically update GPU drivers, which natively support DX 12.2 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenCL 3.0.
Enterprise Features and Market Strategy
An optional feature for the mid-range Snapdragon X2 Plus chips, alongside the Elite and Elite Extreme versions, is Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Guardian. This out-of-band PC management solution is presented by Qualcomm as an equivalent to Intel’s vPro platform. Qualcomm has invested in channel partners to support the marketing and sales of Snapdragon-powered PCs.
Future Considerations
Qualcomm is not currently discussing support for operating systems other than Windows or for Windows on Arm handheld devices, though internal development in these areas is reportedly ongoing. Potential announcements regarding Windows handhelds are anticipated at the 2026 Game Developers Conference, scheduled for March 9th to 13th.