Since there is no Windows on ARM without Qualcomm’s multi year long commitment, Microsoft stepped up and awarded Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series as the Exclusive Platform to Power the Next Generation of Windows PCs with Copilot+ today.

The list of OEMS launching Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus includes Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung which is a significant improvement over previous launches of Snapdragon 8CX predecessors. The battery life and benchmark numbers looked very promising compared to currently available Intel Meteor Lake and Apple M3 from what we had a chance to see so far. Currently Snapdragon X Elite / Plus features 45 TOPs NPU, fastest in its class for the time being.  

“It’s a new era for the PC and our collaboration with Microsoft combines the power of Snapdragon X Series with the power of Copilot+ to deliver groundbreaking AI capabilities that are redefining the personal computing experience – all with industry-leading performance and multi-day battery life,” said Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager, Mobile, Compute & XR, Qualcomm Technologies. “Today, our global OEM partners launched the first Copilot+ PCs exclusively powered by Snapdragon X Series in a variety of form factors and at multiple price points. We’re proud to enable this industry shift, which puts Windows PCs at the forefront of technology and allows users to push the boundaries of what’s possible across productivity, creativity, and entertainment.”  

“Copilot+ PCs powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series deliver performance per watt leadership to the Windows ecosystem while also powering groundbreaking AI experiences and exceptional battery life” said Pavan Davuluri, Corporate Vice President, Windows + Devices for Microsoft. “This is an inflection point for the Windows PC ecosystem, enabled by our deep partnership with Qualcomm.  I am thrilled to be able to launch innovative Copilot+ PCs experiences and devices with Snapdragon, including Surface, that have leading performance and energy efficiency.” 

Qualcomm calls Snapdragon X Elite and Plus the only devices currently capable of bringing Copilot+ experiences to life, but the company will enjoy the NPU lead for roughly one quarter before Intel comes back with Lunar Lake.

I look forward to seeing Snapdragon X Elite / Plus in action and running my own test as it looked good on the previous two benchmarking sessions available to the press and analysts. Some questions are still unanswered but since June 18 is the day when one should be able to get them with major retailers, I expect that some press and analysts may have reviews ready by that day, or whenever Qualcomm decides to give it a go.

The wait is almost over, but most questions should be answered by June 18.