Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme chips for PCs, offering up to 18 cores, and says the latter is the first Arm chip to hit 5GHz

Systems with the chips are scheduled for the first half of 2026. … At its Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii …

Tom's Hardware 2025-09-25 Andrew E. Freedman

Context & Ripple Effects

Qualcomm’s PC push began with the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus, whose demo benchmarks were positioned against chips from Apple, Intel and AMD. The earlier platform was built around Qualcomm’s custom Oryon Arm CPU cores, and Qualcomm subsequently said Snapdragon would extend across all PC form factors.

The X2 Elite family advances that PC roadmap with a higher core-count ceiling and a 5GHz claim for the Extreme model. With systems not due until the first half of 2026, the announcement gives PC makers a new flagship Arm option to design around rather than an immediate retail-product shift.

First-order effects

Qualcomm expands its PC lineup at the high end: X2 Elite Extreme becomes its performance flagship, while X2 Elite provides a second tier with up to 18 cores.
Laptop and PC manufacturers can begin planning 2026 systems around the new chips; buyers will need to wait until the first half of 2026 for products using them.

Second-order effects

Intel and AMD face a more explicit Arm-based performance target in premium PCs, following Qualcomm’s earlier Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus performance positioning against incumbent processors.
OEMs gain more room to segment Arm-based PCs by performance tier, potentially broadening Snapdragon designs beyond the initial wave of X Elite machines.

Third-order effects

If PC vendors ship the X2 range broadly, Windows PC competition could become less defined by the Intel-versus-AMD duopoly and more by access to alternative CPU architectures.
The important test shifts from announced clock speeds and core counts to whether software compatibility, device variety and sustained OEM support make Arm a durable second source for PC compute.

The trend: This is part of the shift toward Arm-based processors becoming a sustained alternative platform in performance PCs, not just a battery-life-oriented niche.

Discussion

@vadimyuryev Vadim Yuryev on x
Snapdragon X2 Elite looks extremely promising! Can't wait to test these out and compare to Apple's M4 Series and Intel/AMD! #snapdragonsummit2025 [image]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
System issues don't adhere to your schedule. Stay protected and connected with Snapdragon Guardian Technology, which provides remote PC management and tracking capabilities even when your device is powered off or offline. Coming soon on the Snapdragon X2 Elite platform. [video]
@qualcomm @qualcomm on x
Powering the next generation of flagship smartphones: @Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It delivers faster performance, more immersive gaming, and #AI that runs directly on your device. #SnapdragonSummit
@iancutress @iancutress on x
World's first 5.0 GHz Arm CPU on @Qualcomm. Also, that on package mem. 💯
@zacbowden Zac Bowden on x
Qualcomm says Google's Android PC project is incredible, and that it finally delivers on a true PC and phone converged platform. Microsoft should probably be worried. https://www.windowscentral.com/ ...
@sondesix Alvin on x
I think the battle between MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be so fun to watch. I'm curious to see how these two chips compete against each other, as there will be DOZENS of phones running one of these chips soon. But, I have to say that [ima…
@sondesix Alvin on x
Qualcomm introduces the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for flagship phones! Improvements compared to 8 Elite: 📈 20% faster single-core performance 📈 17% faster multi-core performance 📈 35% more power-efficient CPU 📈 32% more responsive 📈 23% faster GPU, 20% [image]
@qualcomm @qualcomm on x
The X2 Elite Extreme is the highest-performing processor in @Snapdragon's new line. It sets new performance and efficiency benchmarks for PCs with an 18-core CPU and 80 TOPS NPU. #SnapdragonSummit
@r3dash Ershad Kaleebullah on x
All the brands working with @Snapdragon building devices using the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5! [image]
@iancutress @iancutress on x
New CPU, 8 Elite Gen 5. Up to 4.6 GHz, 23% faster GPU Next level AI [image]
@iancutress @iancutress on x
Announcing Snapdragon X2 Elite 12 core, Oryon 3rd gen 80 Tops NPU [image]
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Google's Android for PC: 'I've seen it, it is incredible' —Qualcomm // Today Apple has the same OS and HW for all devices. The difference is the user experience API most of the apps on any platform use. That's as unified as this gets given screen size and form factor. 1/2 [image]
@durga_malladi Durga Malladi on x
Introducing our 3rd Gen @Qualcomm Oryon CPU powering our @Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile platforms. The reaction during benchmarking says it all 😎 #SnapdragonSummit [video]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme will fuel the fastest, most powerful and efficient Windows PCs on the market. #SnapdragonSummit · 18-core CPU · First Arm compatible 5GHz CPU · 80 TOPs Qualcomm Hexagon NPU [video]
@alexmaxham Alex Maxham on x
Yesterday I got the chance to benchmark the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite gen 5, and wow does it perform well. On Geekbench, it's fairly similar to the A19 Pro, though GPU is still wildly lower. On AnTuTu however, it almost doubles the A19 Pro score of 2.3m. Insane! [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is finally here! Expected products to be powered by this chip: ✅ OnePlus 15 ✅ iQOO 15 ✅ Samsung Galaxy S26 Series (most likely: S26 Ultra) ✅ vivo X300 Ultra ✅ OPPO Find X9 Ultra ✅ realme GT 8 Pro ✅ Xiaomi 17 Series ✅ POCO F8 Ultra ✅ [image]
@iancutress @iancutress on x
All three chips have ▶️ 12 lanes of PCIe 5.0 (dual NVMe storage) ▶️ 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 ▶️ USB4 (40 Gbps), three ports ▶️ 3 displays up to 4k144 or 5k60 ▶️ AV1 encode/decode ▶️ Support for WiFi 7
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
“The X2 Elite Extreme features the world's fastest NPU for laptops, It is more than 5x faster than competition.” - Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of Compute and Gaming, at #SnapdragonSummit.
@vadimyuryev Vadim Yuryev on x
Snapdragon 8 Elite gen 5 is getting REALLY close to Apple's A19 Pro in terms of single-core performance. It's basically at the door. Multi-core already surpassed. We'll have to see about power usage and sustained performance in gaming. Will test thermals. #snapdragonsummit2025 [i…
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
“All of @Adobe Video Editing and Motion Graphics suite are now optimized for #Snapdragon. With Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premier Pro will deliver up to 47% faster performance than previous gen.” - Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of Compute and Gaming, at
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
“Everything about this chip is unleashed for ultimate performance. 🔴 Up to 50% faster CPU 🔴 Over 2X faster GPU 🔴 And Up to 78% faster NPU” - Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of Compute and Gaming, on the #Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, at #SnapdragonSummit.
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
The processor inside your next smartphone is like nothing you've ever seen before. The fastest mobile CPU on the planet is here. 🔁 if you want one. - Up to 20% CPU performance improvement - Up to 32% responsiveness improvements - Up to 35% better CPU power efficiency [video]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
Power runs in the family 👀. Meet the Snapdragon X2 Elite processors. Built for every kind of premium PC with powerful performance, AI processing, and multi-day battery life. Discover more: https://www.qualcomm.com/... [image]
@leijun Lei Jun on x
Proud to be the first to bring the #Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 to market. We're excited about what this platform unlocks for our next generation of flagship experiences. [image]
@iancutress @iancutress on x
Three SKUs as far as I can tell X2E-96-100 18 core, 48GB SiP mem 12 channel, 228 GB/sec 4.6 GHz CPU, 5G 2C 1.85GHz peak GPU X2E-88-100 18 core, off package mem 8ch, 152 GB/sec 4.0 GHz, 4.7G turbo 2C X2E-80-100 12-core, off package mem 8ch, 152 GB/sec 4.0 GHz, 4.7G 1C/4.4G 2C [ima…
@iancutress @iancutress on x
Introducing Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme 18 cores: 12x4.6G + 6x3.62G 2-core turbo at 5.0 GHz 80 Tops NPU Benchmark killer [image]
@stufflistings Mukul Sharma on x
realme GT8 Pro x Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 BGMI - 120FPS in Original Frame Rate Mode, up to 144FPS in Hyper Frame Rate Mode CODM - 144FPS Genshin Impact - 60FPS We tested the games for quite a while, and in our initial testing, we did not see the frame drops even a bit. [image]
@durga_malladi Durga Malladi on x
Introducing the specs of @Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile platform. The #AI inference rate of 220 tokens/sec (!) — on a state-of-the-art GenAI model — powered by our @Qualcomm Hexagon NPU is unmatched on mobile devices. [image]
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
I think the interesting part of 8 Elite Gen 5 and X2 Elite is they definitely have efficient and performant chips. I think Apple would outperform at similar wattage, but Android OEMs aren't constrained as much Larger batteries + more robust thermals means they can use more power
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is really good and REALLY fast The new Oryon gen 3 cores are fast [image]
@zacbowden Zac Bowden on x
Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme are official! Featuring up to 18 cores and an 80 TOPS NPU, rivalling the likes of Apple M4 Pro/Max! But sadly, they're not coming until next year. https://www.windowscentral.com/ ...
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
I've been using the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7X with the @Snapdragon X Elite for about a year now, and while app compatibility has gotten a lot better, there's still a couple of things that could benefit from improved CPU and GPU performance...so I'm really looking forward to this!
r/AMD_Stock r on reddit
Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Elite chips for PCs stretch up to a record 5 GHz — 3nm Arm chips sport new Oryon Prime cores
r/hardware r on reddit
New Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite are the Fastest and Most Efficient Processors for Windows PCs
r/hardware r on reddit
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the World's Fastest Mobile System-on-a-chip, Establishes New Consumer Experiences and Sets New Industry Benchmarks
r/Android r on reddit
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the World's Fastest Mobile System-on-a-chip, Establishes New Consumer Experiences and Sets New Industry Benchmarks
r/snapdragon r on reddit
New Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite are the Fastest and Most Efficient Processors for Windows PCs
@tnkgrl Myriam Joire on x
Behold, the #Snapdragon8EliteGen5! Coming soon to an @Android flagship near you... @Qualcomm just announced this new mobile platform at the #SnapdragonSummit in #Maui, and it's hot :) #paidtravel_snapdragon [image]

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