Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon X2 laptops are here — and they brought a new friend

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X2 Plus chips alongside the previously revealed X2 Elite and Elite Extreme, targeting budget laptops at $800+ price points. The Plus variants feature 10-core and 6-core options with the same 80 TOPS NPU as higher-end models but reduced GPU performance. Laptops with X2 Elite and Plus chips will arrive by end of Q1 2026. Qualcomm claims significant performance gains over Intel's Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, improved graphics driver support for 1,400+ games, and hints at potential Windows handheld announcements at GDC 2026.