Shortly after Microsoft announced that its exclusivity period for its Copilot+ features on PCs powered by Qualcomm processors will end this November – with Intel and AMD PCs set to get those features – Qualcomm has taken to IFA to launch an all-new processor.
The new processors are expected to push the prices down of Copilot+ PCs powered by its processors. Qualcomm launched its first wave of Windows laptops this summer which were priced upwards of $999 (A$1486).
But its new eight-core Snapdragon X Plus chip which was announced in Berlin ahead of the start of IFA is expected to trim at least $100 (A$148) off the cheapest Copilot+ PC.
The eight-core Snapdragon X Plus chips have the same features as the 10-core and 12-core models, but are slightly weaker in terms of graphics.
On average, they’ve got less than half the GPU power for games and other graphical apps. And while they all feature the same 45 TOPS of AI performance from their NPU, they’ve also got 12MB less CPU cache.
Qualcomm’s own internal benchmarks for the new eight-core chips suggest that the new chips are roughly 80 per cent as capable as the company’s 12-core chips in the CPU realm and on par with the 10-core chips for productivity.
The first PCs to feature the Snapdragon X Plus chips are the Asus Vivobook S 15 and Dell Inspiron 14.
At present, the Asus Vivobook S 15 powered by the higher-end Snapdragon X Elite processor costs A$2,159 in Australia, while the Dell Inspiron 14 with the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus processor is priced at A$1,999.
Acer, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung are also expected to soon feature the new Snapdragon X Plus processors.
While Intel and AMD processor laptops will have to work hard convincing new users that they can get the full benefits of Copilot+ AI features on their PCs, Qualcomm having already done so over the last few months is now moving the goalpost with this latest processor and seeking to attract the next segment of more price-conscious buyers who want a Copilot+ PC, but don’t want to pay a steep price for it.
At IFA, Intel too revealed its new processor which will support Copilot+ PCs. Intel’s Core Ultra 200V processors, it said, will “smash misconceptions about x86 efficiency”. It will power AI PCs across 80 consumer designs, produced by more than 20 manufacturers, including Acer, ASUS, Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo, LG, MSI and Samsung. Intel says the Core Ultra 200V features “a massive leap in graphics performance, no-compromise application compatibility, enhanced security and unmatched AI compute.”
