Windows laptops with Snapdragon X chips could soon rival Apple MacBooks

Snapdragon X-powered Windows laptops coming soon

The Snapdragon X branding is a departure from Qualcomm's previous branding: Snapdragon 8CX/7C. Qualcomm claims that its upcoming processors, featuring an all-new naming architecture, sit squarely with how those new chips will revolutionize the next generation of PC experiences. These chips will reportedly feature Nuvia CPU cores and will offer performance similar to Apple's M-series processors that are used in iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros, and MacBooks.

Qualcomm could unveil Snapdragon X series processors later this month alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 at the Snapdragon Summit 2023 event. The company was expected to unveil processors powered by Nuvia CPU cores last year, but that was delayed, but the company seems ready, and we could see laptops launching with those chips sometime early next year. Since Samsung has launched laptops with Snapdragon chips in the past, we expect the company to launch at least some Galaxy Book laptops with Qualcomm X series processors.

The story continues after the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra review video.

What is Nuvia, and why is it important?

Qualcomm acquired Nuvia a couple of years ago with the aim of entering PC and server space. Nuvia is a semiconductor chip startup that was started by engineers who worked earlier with AMD, Apple, Broadcom, and Google. They have collectively worked on more than 20 chips, and Nuvia CEO Gerard Williams III worked on several Apple A and M series chips.

It is expected that Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon X series chips will offer Apple M2 levels of performance and efficiency, bringing MacBook-like performance and battery life in the Windows laptops space, heating up the market.