A Chinese blogger, Focused Digital, told its 2.2 million followers that the upcoming Snapdragon X chips are “expected to start at 4.40 GHz,” with an overall performance uplift in the ballpark of 18 to 22 per cent. Tom's Hardware has pointed out that the claim was echoed by a South Korean source with links to local financial analysts, lending it some weight — though not hard proof. 

Currently, the first-gen Snapdragon X Elite chips (SC8380XP), running on Oryon cores designed by the Nuvia team, operate with base clocks from 3.0 to 3.80 GHz and can boost between 4.0 and 4.30 GHz. The new chips, expected to carry model number SC8480XP, may be inching up clock speeds, but it’s unclear whether any microarchitectural improvements are in play.

Built on TSMC’s 4nm-class N4P node, the first-gen chips launched in mid-2024 and Qualcomm reportedly began internal testing of their successors last September. No word yet on what node the second-gen processors will use, but if this is a 2025 release, a 20 per cent uplift isn’t implausible.

However, if these chips are aiming for 2026 — a possibility floated by a leaked Dell roadmap — then a modest 20 per cent bump might look a bit limp next to what AMD and Chipzilla will be slinging around by then. Both rivals are expected to field next-gen architectures with broader ecosystem momentum and deeper developer support.

One wildcard is whether Qualcomm will push core counts beyond the current 12-core ceiling. A previous leak suggested the new X chip might go as high as 18 cores, which could make it more appealing for heavier multitasking or workstation-class workloads.

Qualcomm has already claimed 10 per cent of the US Windows PC market for machines priced above $800 — a respectable toehold in enemy territory — but keeping that share, let alone growing it, will depend on more than clock speed. If the next Snapdragon X doesn’t deliver meaningful real-world gains and better compatibility with existing x86 software, its uphill battle will only steepen.