San Francisco, September 25, 2025 — Qualcomm Technologies has unveiled a new generation of processors for PCs and smartphones, marking a significant leap in performance, power efficiency, and AI capabilities. The announcement was made during the annual Snapdragon Summit held in Maui, where the company introduced the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme for Windows PCs, alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for mobile devices.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is designed for ultra-premium Windows 11 PCs, offering up to 18 CPU cores, including 12 high-performance “prime” cores and six “performance” cores. With clock speeds reaching up to 5.0 GHz and integrated memory of up to 48GB, the chip delivers up to 75% faster CPU performance compared to competitors at equivalent power levels. It also features Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU architecture and a new Adreno GPU, which boasts a 2.3x increase in performance per watt over the previous generation.
A standout feature of the X2 Elite series is its AI processing capability, powered by the Hexagon NPU delivering 80 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), making it the fastest neural processing unit for laptops. This enables seamless support for Copilot+ and other concurrent AI-driven experiences, even in thin and light devices without a charger.
For enterprise users, Qualcomm introduced a new security feature called Guardian, which allows IT departments to remotely access and manage devices—even when powered off—via integrated 5G connectivity. This innovation is expected to appeal to corporate buyers seeking secure and globally connected PC fleets.
On the mobile front, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor brings the third-generation Oryon CPU to smartphones for the first time. It features two prime cores clocked up to 4.6 GHz and six performance cores at 3.6 GHz, delivering significant improvements in single-core, multi-core, and web browsing performance. The chip also includes enhancements to the Hexagon NPU, Adreno GPU, and Spectra ISP, enabling more intuitive and powerful AI-driven mobile experiences.
Qualcomm confirmed that devices powered by the new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips will begin shipping in the first half of 2026, aligning with launch timelines from major PC manufacturers.
