Qualcomm has launched the Snapdragon X Elite platform equipped with the Qualcomm Oryon CPU for PCs, positioning itself to compete in the Arm PC processor category.
Qualcomm's new platform is performing very well based on the current data. Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will use the new platform on their PCs, and Qualcomm worked closely with Microsoft on software for AI PC applications. The prospects for Qualcomm's PC business development look good.
This also indicates that the so-called market share of "Arm PCs" will grow along with Qualcomm, with future competition set to intensify.
According to information from Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit event, the Oryon CPU for the Snapdragon X Elite uses a 12-core design. The NPU, which is customized to handle AI computing, can reach up to 45 TOPS. Combined with the CPU, GPU, and Sensing Hub, it can deliver up to 75 TOPS, which is more than enough to independently handle large language models (LLM) with more than 13 billion parameters. The use of 4nm process technology also gives ODMs more room to enhance the thermal and memory requirements in the product design of AI PCs.
From a performance and power consumption standpoint, the Snapdragon X Elite platform is impressive and has been directly compared with the Apple M2 Max and Intel Core i9-13980HX processors. The GPU has been directly compared with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen 9 7940HS.
Qualcomm's move proclaims it is on equal footing with Apple in terms of its accumulation of Arm PC technology. Meanwhile, it also confirms that its products perform better than other x86 architecture competitors for power consumption. Since Qualcomm has worked closely with Microsoft on the Windows platform and Copilot AI assistant, it already has a certain degree of competitiveness related to software.
Many companies have previously expressed optimism about Qualcomm's development potential in the AI PC sector and have expanded cooperation with the company. This year, Qualcomm has repeatedly worked with Taiwanese PC supply chain players to expand their business in the AI PC sector.
Qualcomm's aggressiveness will put pressure on the competition. However, some PC-related supply chain players have pointed out that processors the Snapdragon X Elite has been compared with are not considered the latest in the same generation of products, with both Apple and Intel gearing up to launch newer generation platforms.
Apple, Nvidia to put pressure on Qualcomm
While Qualcomm was holding the Snapdragon Summit, Apple announced it would hold a surprise event next week. Based on details from Apple's invitation letter and its product plans, it is highly likely Apple will formally announce its all-new M3 series during the event. This will challenge the reference values of the comparison benchmarks put forward by Qualcomm this week.
It has also been reported that Nvidia may create an Arm PC CPU product line with MediaTek. This cooperation is likely to be a direct continuation of their partnership in the automotive electronics field. Neither Nvidia nor MediaTek have responded directly to the rumors.
Ever since news of the cooperation between Nvidia and MediaTek came out before Computex 2023, there has been ongoing speculation about whether this would be MediaTek's key partnership in the AI PC sector.
Industry insiders have stated that regardless of whether Nvidia and MediaTek are deepening their partnership in the PC field, it is still in the early stages, adding that compared with mature product lines from Apple and Qualcomm that are already stable and ready to ship, they are not yet at a level to compete head-on.
Article translated by Eifeh Strom
