Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus 8-core Arm chip to make Copilot+ PCs affordable

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip comes with the same 4nm architecture-based Oryon CPU cores as the Snapdragon X Elite chip and features dedicated NPU for AI processing

American chip maker Qualcomm has unveiled a new Arm chip, the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core, to expand its portfolio of AI PC processors. The new chip by Qualcomm features eight CPU cores, making it the smallest in the Snapdragon X-series that encompasses Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) and Snapdragon X Plus (10-core). 

The new processor is likely to make Copilot+ PCs more affordable, significantly bringing down the prices.  

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip features the same 4nm architecture-based Oryon CPU cores as the company’s flagship PC processors that the company said delivers 61 per cent faster CPU performance while consuming significantly less power. The chip also features a Qualcomm Adreno integrated GPU (Graphic processing unit), capable of processing visual data at up to 2.1 teraflops (TFLOPS). 

Similar to Qualcomm’s other X-series processors, the Snapdragon X-Plus 8-core processor gets a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) which is responsible for running machine learning algorithms and processing data for AI. The company said that the integrated NPU on the new processor can handle 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for faster on-device AI. 

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus 8-core

“The first and best Copilot+ PCs are powered by Snapdragon X Series platforms, launching a new generation in personal computing, made possible by our groundbreaking NPU,” said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO at Qualcomm Incorporated. 

“With the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core, we are now bringing to more users these transformative AI experiences, and the best-in-class performance and unprecedented battery life of our power efficient custom Qualcomm Oryon CPU,” he added.

Qualcomm has partnered with PC makers such as Acer, ASUS and Dell to bring new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip powered AI PCs built on Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC platform. The company said that select PCs powered by the new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core are now available. However, availability of these devices may vary depending on the region.