Qualcomm made a significant announcement at the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, unveiling its highly anticipated Snapdragon X2 Elite series chipsets. This cutting-edge lineup introduces two powerful variants: the Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. Both are specifically designed to revolutionize Windows-based PCs, promising unparalleled performance and AI capabilities. According to Qualcomm, this new platform can achieve an impressive 80 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI performance. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is positioned to power ultra-premium PCs, making it ideal for advanced agentic AI experiences, sophisticated data analytics, professional-grade media editing, and intensive scientific research.
Availability of Snapdragon X2 Elite Series
Consumers can expect to see Windows PCs featuring the Snapdragon X2 Elite chipset hitting the market in the first half (H1) of 2026, as confirmed by Qualcomm.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Series Specifications
During the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm highlighted that the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip integrates third-generation Qualcomm Oryon cores, boasting up to 75 percent faster CPU performance compared to its rivals at ISO power. Furthermore, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme incorporates a brand-new Qualcomm Adreno GPU architecture, which the company claims offers 2.3 times better performance per watt and superior power efficiency over the previous generation chipset.
The flagship variant of the new Snapdragon X2 Elite platform comes equipped with an 18-core configuration, comprising 12 prime cores and six performance cores. This formidable chipset features a maximum CPU clock speed of 5.0GHz, a substantial 53MB cache capacity, and support for LPDDR5X RAM. Its remarkable 80 TOPS of AI performance is driven by the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, which is touted to be up to 75 percent faster than the previous generation’s AI engine on Copilot+ PCs.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite platform also demonstrates significant advancements in efficiency, delivering up to 31 percent better performance at ISO power while consuming 43 percent less power than its predecessor, the Snapdragon X Elite chip. It also supports faster memory with an impressive bandwidth of up to 228GB per second.
Qualcomm has confirmed that Snapdragon X2 Elite chips are capable of supporting up to three 5K resolution monitors, all running smoothly at 60Hz. The platform also includes DirectX 12.2.2 Ultimate. Designed with versatility in mind, the chipset platform can be scaled across various form factors, making it suitable for a wide array of devices including laptops, 2-in-1 PCs, and other innovative form factors. For seamless connectivity, the Snapdragon X2 Elite platform is equipped with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and 5G cellular support.