Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 chip could be used in future Galaxy Books

Qualcomm has unveiled a new high-end laptop chip at CES 2026. It is the Snapdragon X2 Plus, and as its name suggests, it sits one step below the Snapdragon X2 Elite processor that was launched a few months ago at IFA 2025. This chip succeeds 2024's Snapdragon X Plus and could be used in some Galaxy Book models later this year.

The Snapdragon X2 Plus is built on the same TSMC 3nm fabrication process as the Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. It also uses the same third-generation Oryon CPU, but it only has a 6-core CPU version (part name: X2P-42-100) and a 10-core CPU version (part name: X2P-42-100).

In comparison, the Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme come with 12-core or 18-core CPUs.

While both versions of the Snapdragon X2 Plus have six Prime CPU cores, the 10-core version has four performance cores as well. Its CPU has a maximum multi-core frequency of 4GHz. It has 22MB or 34MB of total cache memory, depending on the version.

Qualcomm claims that its new chip's CPU offers 35% faster single-core performance and 10% faster (six-core version) multi-core performance.

The Adreno X2 GPU inside the Snapdragon X2 Plus runs at 900MHz in the 6-core CPU version and at a clock speed of 1.7GHz in the 10-core CPU version. It supports DirectX 12.2 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenCL 3.0.

It may not be able to run high-end games at high frame rates, but the GPU performance should be much better. Qualcomm claims it to be around 29% faster than the previous version.

Moreover, the Snapdragon Control Panel app should keep GPU drivers up to date. Qualcomm says it will offer quarterly driver updates. Snapdragon X chips already support around 1,400 games, which covers up to 90 percent of the most popular game titles that are being played in the world currently.

The onboard display processing unit (DPU) supports up to a 4K resolution on-device display at a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and up to three external 4K 144Hz displays or a 5K display at 60Hz. Of course, it supports HDR displays.

Its NPU offers 80 TOPS of AI performance similar to other higher-end chips in the Snapdragon X2 series. Its Spectra ISP supports up to two 36MP cameras simultaneously. It can record 4K 30fps videos in HDR.

Both versions of the Snapdragon X2 Plus support up to 128GB of LPDDR5x RAM clocked at 4761.5 MHz (9523 MT/s). They support two PCIe 5.0 NVMe or UFS 4.0 storage options. Its connectivity features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 (with LE and aptX), and USB 4.0 (40Gbps) ports with DisplayPort 2.1 video output.

While it supports 5G via Qualcomm's Snapdragon X75 modem, it is not built into the chip. So, laptop makers would have to buy and install the 5G modem separately, which adds to the cost and the space.

Qualcomm claims that laptops using its new Snapdragon chip should offer multi-day battery life while keeping the laptops decently cool.

Laptops using the Snapdragon X2 Plus could launch in the second quarter of this year with prices around $700 or more.