Qualcomm (QCOM, Financial) unveiled its new Snapdragon X system-on-chip at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, targeting the mid-range personal computer (PC) market. The chip, manufactured with a 4-nanometer process, promises extended battery life and robust performance, including support for the latest artificial intelligence (AI) software, with PCs priced as low as $600. Qualcomm announced that Snapdragon X will be featured in Microsoft (MSFT) Copilot+ PCs equipped with AI-driven tools. These PCs are expected to be available in the first quarter of the year, priced around $600.
The Snapdragon X includes Qualcomm's Oryon CPU with eight cores and clocks up to 3GHz, as well as an integrated neural processing unit (NPU) designed to accelerate AI tasks. A key advantage of Qualcomm's device is its optimized design for small battery-powered equipment, offering improved efficiency over scaled-down desktop chips from competitors. Additional highlights include compatibility with Bluetooth 5.4, support for Wi-Fi 7, and the ability to support up to three external UHD (4K) displays at 60Hz.
PC manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, Dell (DELL), HP (HPQ), and Lenovo are adopting the Snapdragon X platform, benefiting from Qualcomm’s audio-video suite and proprietary image processing technology. Dell and Lenovo will launch laptops featuring this new chip early this year. Lenovo’s ThinkCentre neo 50q QC and IdeaCentre Mini x (1L, 10) include Snapdragon X series processors, with configurations that vary slightly. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is driving the company's push into the PC market to reduce reliance on smartphone chips. Despite Qualcomm's dominance in high-end smartphones, it has yet to pose a significant threat to PC chip leaders like Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD), holding only 0.8% market share in Q3 2024. Software compatibility issues with Windows on Qualcomm chips remain a challenge.
