Qualcomm Unveils X2 Elite and Snapdragon 8 Elite

At its 2025 Snapdragon Summit Qualcomm unveiled a major push for both PCs and phones, introducing the Snapdragon X2 Elite family for Windows on Arm (including an X2 Elite Extreme) built on TSMC 3nm with up to 18 CPU cores, 5.0 GHz boost clocks, a much faster Adreno GPU and an ~80 TOPS Hexagon NPU Qualcomm calls the “world’s fastest” for laptops, with X2‑powered laptops expected in the first half of 2026. Qualcomm cited large efficiency and performance uplifts versus prior X Elite silicon (examples highlighted by the company include up to ~31% faster at ISO power, up to ~43% lower power use, 2.3× GPU perf/watt and up to “50%” CPU boosts). On mobile the company announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with third‑generation Oryon CPU cores, an improved Adreno GPU, a faster, more efficient NPU focused on on‑device and “agentic” AI, support for Advanced Professional Video (APV) workflows and very large on‑device model contexts. Xiaomi’s 17 series is the first phone shipping with the 8 Elite Gen 5, and Realme, OnePlus, iQOO, Vivo and others have teased imminent flagships using the new SoC. Qualcomm positioned both chip families to accelerate on‑device AI, video and PC gaming, but said independent benchmarks, final OEM designs and thermal constraints will determine how much of the claimed gains appear in shipping products.