ASUS' Snapdragon-based Zenbook became immediately iconic when its first A14 iteration was revealed at CES 2025, and it still won us over after an unfortunate $100 price increase when we tested a real-world sample for our Zenbook A14 (2025) review. Well, now it's back again, and it's packing the latest Snapdragon X2 Elite processor in yet another premium (but compact) Windows on ARM laptop. So, is it worth $2,000, or should you stick with the previous generation?

How much does the Zenbook A14 cost?

ASUS lists the Zenbook A14 (UX3407) on its official storefront for $1,999.99, with a Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) processor, 32GB of LPDDR5X-9523 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The 14-inch non-touch OLED display runs at 1920 x 1200 resolution with a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, in a 16:10 aspect ratio. Depending on when you buy, it'll come pre-installed with at least Windows 11 26H1, built exclusively for Qualcomm's processors.

Better yet, you can pick up the Zenbook A14 for just $1,349.99 at Best Buy with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, or for $1,799.99 at Best Buy with the same 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD as the ASUS store configuration. Naturally, if you're looking for the best deal, Best Buy currently offers the best value for money and, at the time of writing, better availability. Also consider the $1,699.99 Zenbook A16.

Is the Zenbook A14 a good laptop?

Above all, the most astonishing reaction I had when first unboxing the Zenbook A14 was its weight. ASUS lists the laptop at 2.18 lbs (0.99 kg), and my own scales showed it flicker between that and a perfect kilogram, so its "light as air" marketing tagline is legit, even if it is marginally heavier than last year's Zenbook A14 (2.16 lbs). For comparison, a 13-inch MacBook Air (M5) is 2.7 lbs.

ASUS still uses a "Ceraluminum" (ceramic-aluminum) coating on its Zenbook chassis, and to great effect. There can be some mild flex in the ultra-skinny screen, but the laptop's body is firm and sturdy, keeping the subtle 'Zabriskie Beige' color with a reflective logo on its lid. Its 1200p display maxes out at 60Hz, but the Lumina OLED panel looks as great as ever.

Testing the display with a colorimeter showed a maximum full-screen brightness of 407 nits, while ASUS maintains it'll reach a "peak" brightness of 600 nits in portions of the screen. Color accuracy is superb, covering 100% of the sRGB and P3 gamuts, while Adobe RGB hits 94%, making the Zenbook A14 a great choice for creators concerned with accurate color representation.

Port selection hasn't changed this year, so I still have access to dual Type-C USB4 ports alongside HDMI 2.1 and a 3.5 combo audio jack on the left side, plus a full-size USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port on the right. The keyboard feels serviceable with a 1.3 mm travel distance, just as it did on the Zenbook A16 I tested recently, and it pairs with a satisfyingly smooth glass mechanical touchpad.

Does the Zenbook A14 have any issues?

ASUS still preloads some apps into its Windows 11 image on Zenbook laptops, including advertisements for Adobe and Dropbox that are automatically pinned to your Start menu. Both are easy to remove via the right-click context menu and are largely overshadowed by the useful MyASUS companion app. So, while it isn't totally clean, I can give the Zenbook A14 a passing grade here.

Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X2 Elite processor offers its Hexagon NPU rated at up to 80 TOPS. However, aside from Microsoft's excellent Click To Do and a handful of other Copilot+ PC features, the Zenbook A14 doesn't offer much for stock local AI beyond media management with ASUS StoryCube. If you already use NPU-supported apps, then you'll benefit here. If you don't, then you won't.

However, the webcam is decent, even if it understandably drains the battery faster during video meetings. Windows Studio Effects is one of the few features that uses the NPU, and HPD (Human Presence Detection) can dim the screen when I'm not looking. An IR sensor also lets the camera use Windows Hello for fast, secure face-based logins, and it works quickly when I open the lid.

The speakers in the new Zenbook A14 are decent, but they don't seem to produce as much bass as its larger Zenbook A16 sibling, for obvious reasons. They're still better than many other laptops I've tried, as ASUS keeps winning my general praise for its audio efforts. I wouldn't rely on them for everything, but it's a passable experience for streaming videos.

How fast is the Zenbook A14?

The new Zenbook A14 opts for Qualcomm's impressive Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) processor, and it benefits greatly from it. Burst CPU performance tests in Geekbench 6 show it outperforming Apple's M5 chip in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and even edging slightly ahead of Lenovo's fantastic Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) with the same SoC.

Comparatively, the 2026 model shreds its 2025 Zenbook A14 predecessor and the first-generation Snapdragon X (X1-26-100) it used, and the generational improvement is still evident in the extended Cinebench 2024 CPU stress tests. It even outpaces Intel's Panther Lake chips in the Surface Laptop 8 for Business and holds its own against the gaming-centric ROG Flow Z13.

Battery life

ASUS claims the Zenbook A14 can deliver "over 33 hours of uninterrupted use" (in a 1080p video playback scenario under controlled conditions), but the highest I could reach was 23 hours and 38 minutes in PCMark 10's equivalent test. It still has the same-sized 70Whr battery as last year's model, and after using the 2026 model for a week or so, generating a Windows Battery Report estimates 17 hours of use after a full charge.

Should you buy the Zenbook A14?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You need a lightweight, compact Windows laptop

✅ You rely on CPU-heavy apps and workflows

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You can go bigger — try the Zenbook A16

This 2026 revision builds on everything the Zenbook A14 achieved last year, making the CPU even better and adding Wi-Fi 7 for good measure. Sure, I'd have liked a brighter high-end on its OLED panel, but the cost-saving measures here are meant to keep this 14-inch laptop appealing in a category full of strong competitors — though the sharp generational cost increase still stings.

It's a Windows on ARM laptop with an ARM64 processor, and there is still a (mostly undeserved) stigma around software compatibility. If you're reliant on an old printer or scanner, double-check your drivers before buying; but otherwise, you have nothing to worry about. If you can hold out for a sale, as we recommended for its previous model, the new A14 is a stellar option.

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HP's OmniBook lineup includes a wide range of laptops targeting a wide range of users, and the OmniBook 3 16" is one of the most affordable of the bunch.

Assuming you aren't maxing it out with RAM and storage, you can get a Snapdragon X chip and a large 16-inch screen for around $500, often less with the right discount. Unfortunately, with higher-spec'd models, the display, build quality, and features don't quite measure up to other PCs competing in the same price range.

I've been using HP's OmniBook 3 for a couple of weeks to get to know it inside and out; here's what you need to know before buying.

HP had no input, nor saw the contents of this review, prior to publication.

How much does the HP OmniBook 3 cost?

HP's OmniBook 3 16" starts as low as $699.99 without any discounts; however, HP basically designed this PC to be on sale almost all the time, and you can usually get this baseline model for a lot less.

At the time of writing this review, a model with Snapdragon X (X1-26) System-on-Chip (SoC), 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and 2K IPS display costs $399 at Walmart.

The model I'm reviewing represents a significant upgrade in a couple of key areas. It has a 2K OLED display, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a 1TB SSD. For some reason, HP omits the OLED display as an option in its configurator, so I can only give a price for this same setup with an IPS touch display. It's regularly $1,729.99, but is down to $1,259.99 at the time of writing.

That's not exactly cheap, and as I found, this is sort of a tale of two tiers. On one hand, if you're buying the laptop for around $500, it's a great deal. On the other hand, if you're spending around $1,500, you could do better elsewhere.

Here's a look at the exact specs that are in my OmniBook 3 16" review unit.

Sleek design, but a bit creaky

The OmniBook 3 is a 16-inch laptop that's sized more like a 14-incher, and it's relatively thin at 0.58 inches (1.47cm). Thanks to a mix of aluminum and plastic, it weighs in at about 3.65 pounds (1.65kg), a respectable number for a device this size. Despite its large display, it's actually quite easy to tote around.

There's quite a bit of flex to the body, and when pressed, it creaks loudly. It's a shame, because it's really a sleek laptop. Thankfully, the lid seems to have a lot more rigidity, helping protect the OLED panel.

Port selection benefits multi-monitor setups

The thermal setup is ideal, with cool air pulling in through a large intake on the bottom and exhausting out the back edge, just behind the hinge. There's no hot air blowing on your hands, and because it's a Snapdragon chip inside, the system doesn't get particularly hot. More on that below.

On the left side of the PC is an HDMI 2.1 port for native video support, one USB-A (5Gbps), and dual USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) ports at 10Gbps each. Of course, I wish these ports were at least USB4 — Thunderbolt 4 is generally reserved for Intel systems — for faster transfers. Still, they support DP 1.4 video if you're looking to run multiple external displays.

The right side of the laptop is home to an additional USB-A (5Gbps) port and a 3.5mm audio jack.

So-so speakers, nice webcam

Dual speakers installed on the underside of the laptop, toward the front, fail to impress. They're not particularly loud or full, and other budget laptops do a way better job of audio.

The 1080p webcam, on the other hand, offers a clear picture that only gets better with Windows Studio Effects powered by the laptop's NPU. An IR sensor allows for facial biometric security via Windows Hello, upping security.

A full keyboard and large touchpad make for easy productivity

The OmniBook 3 has a keyboard that's above average for a laptop that starts at such a low price. Key travel is excellent, the backlight is bright, and the number pad makes for easy productivity.

And although the touchpad isn't haptic, a feature reserved for premium laptops, it has a satisfying click and tracks without issue.

The only thing I'll mention is that HP doesn't offer the backlit version of the keyboard as the default in all models. For some reason, you have to manually select it when configuring. It doesn't add any costs from what I can see, and I don't know why it's not just a default feature.

Colorful OLED display struggles with glare

My review unit features a 16-inch OLED non-touch display with a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution. This is the screen I'd recommend everyone get, but unfortunately, it seems like touch and non-touch IPS panels at the same resolution are far more common.

The bezels are fairly thin, although they're of the raised plastic sort rather than a seamless glass covering.

Testing the OLED display with a SpyderX Pro colorimeter, I got back 100% sRGB, 92% AdobeRGB, and 99% DCI-P3 color reproduction, all excellent results, especially for a budget laptop. Color and contrast are indeed superb, and you'll be missing out on it if you're forced into the IPS options.

Brightness could be better, with the OLED screen topping out just higher than 300 nits. That seems to be the limit for the IPS panels as well. Despite an anti-glare finish, the display struggles in bright rooms.

Last-gen Snapdragon still delivers incredible battery life

There's no other way to say it; the OmniBook 3 16's battery life is incredible. Yes, my review unit has the slightly more power-efficient OLED display that seems very hard to find right now, and yes, the PC is using one of Qualcomm's most affordable chips.

Regardless, the larger chassis fits a sizable 68Wh battery, and because the Snapdragon X sips power, I was seeing full — and I mean full — days of mixed use without needing a charge.

For example, I began streaming a YouTube video at noon. That night, it was still going strong, and the battery hadn't yet dipped below 70%. I left it going, and it was still playing the next morning.

The official Windows battery report suggests about 38 hours of life from a charge, but of course, my streaming test skewed that result. I'd put it at around 25-30 hours, and that's being conservative.

Snapdragon X performance is also impressive

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chip is indeed efficient, but it's also now a generation behind the X2 hardware released earlier this year.

For most users, that shouldn't matter. The chip competes quite well with Intel's Core Ultra 7 256V CPU in Geekbench 6, both for single- and multi-core scores. Better yet, I saw almost no performance drop when switching from AC to battery power.

Cinebench also delivered surprising results, with the Snapdragon X again coming out ahead of the Core Ultra 7 256V and Ryzen 7 8840U.

A rather quick M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD rounds out the performance hardware, hitting 7,073MB/s read and 5,705MB/s write speeds in CrystalDiskMark.

The laptop runs cool and quiet no matter what, and I don't actually recall hearing the fans kick on until I was running benchmark software.

Should you buy the HP OmniBook 3?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You can find a great deal for somewhere around $500-$700 (or less).

✅ You need a 16-inch screen and a number pad to better handle multitasking and productivity.

✅ You want a laptop with outstanding battery life.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're looking for a PC with a discrete graphics card.

❌ You don't often use a number pad and want a more compact PC that's easier to fit into a bag.

The OmniBook 3 16" is kind of an odd case, and it's not being helped by the ongoing RAM and storage crisis.

On one hand, you can sometimes find models with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage for as little as $399. Such is the case at Walmart at the time of writing this review. That's an outstanding deal, and at this price, it's an easy recommendation.

On the other hand, if there aren't any discounts available, you might be looking at spending $1,500+ if you spec up the RAM and storage. I know that component prices are high, but I don't think this PC has the build or feature quality to warrant that type of price. I'd suggest looking at alternatives before making a final decision.

The fact that most models now come with an inferior IPS display that's not as bright or colorful — I really hope OLED returns as a common option when configuring — doesn't help.

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Qualcomm is taking aim at the MacBook Neo with a new System-on-a-Chip (SoC) dubbed "Snapdragon C" designed for low-cost devices that are expected to start at $300 later this year. The new Snapdragon C chips focus on power efficiency, quiet thermals, and responsive day to day performance for light productivity workflows and media consumption tasks.

Not much is known about the Snapdragon C chips just yet. We know it will include an NPU of some kind, though no technical details have been provided at current. Qualcomm has confirmed that because of the kind of devices Snapdragon C will be targeting, the chip is not inherently a Copilot+ PC capable one.

That means it either has an NPU that doesn't meet Copilot+ PC requirements, or it supports less than 16GB RAM, which I would say is very likely. I would expect to see Snapdragon C devices with 8GB, or even 4GB of RAM depending on the device, which will help OEMs target that sub $500 price point.

The good news is that Qualcomm is touting all day battery life with Snapdragon C devices, as the chip is super energy efficient, likely due to it being a less powerful chip than those found on Snapdragon X. It supports Windows 11, though it's unclear if these devices will ship with Windows 11 25H2 or 26H1 like the Snapdragon X2 devices do.

Qualcomm hasn't confirmed any other technical details, outside of the fact that Snapdragon C doesn't use Oryon cores . It's unclear what technology the Snapdragon C chips are using, but Qualcomm says it will have more to share later in the year.

Acer, HP, and Lenovo are already on-board to ship Windows 11 devices with Snapdragon C under the hood. These devices are expected to target low-end Chromebook and MacBook Neo-esc devices with viable Windows-powered alternatives.

We don't yet know how the Snapdragon C chips will perform, of course, so it remains to be seen just how good these Windows devices will feel to use. Given that Qualcomm is only touting lightweight productivity and consumption workflows with this chip, performance is likely not going to blow your socks off.

The first Snapdragon C devices are expected to debut "later in 2026," and will join Qualcomm's PC lineup alongside the Snapdragon X2 SoC.

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When Qualcomm announced its first generation of Snapdragon X Systems-on-Chip (SoC) in 2023, I was perhaps home to one of the most lukewarm opinions here at Windows Central.

I always love to see more competition for Intel and AMD, but the unproven real-world efficiency and performance, along with the push for more AI use via Copilot+, weren't immediately seen as perks.

Well, as it turns out, the Snapdragon X generation of ARM-based PC silicon kicked off somewhat of a revolution for Windows PCs (as my Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino aptly predicted), pushing longtime standards Intel and AMD out of the spotlight where they've lived for years.

It was the Zenbook A14, arriving in early 2025, that I think made our team pause the longest and reconsider where we ranked Snapdragon X laptops. The A14 was incredibly light, incredibly long-lasting, and an incredible value.

I'm not discounting the work ASUS put into the laptop's design, but I don't see how this sort of device would have been possible in 2025 without Snapdragon X.

Snapdragon X2 arrives, and I get my first real taste of Qualcomm's chips

Yeah, I dabbled with Windows on Snapdragon using the first-gen Qualcomm chips, but it wasn't until Lenovo sent me its Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) at the beginning of April that I really got to get a full experience of the new Snapdragon X2 silicon.

Now that my Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) review is published, it's time for me to box the PC back up and return it. But I so don't want to. Let me explain.

Snapdragon X2 Elite performance is better than I expected

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94) currently sits at the top of our benchmark performance charts, and the X2 Elite (X2E-88) I tested in the Yoga Slim 7x sits just below it.

It bests the Core Ultra 9 285H chip from the Yoga Pro 9i (Gen 10) we tested, as well as the newer "Panther Lake" Intel Core Ultra X7 358H in the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro. The M5 chip in the 13-inch MacBook Air edges out the X2 Elite's single-core score, but Qualcomm's chip easily bests it in multi-core performance.

👉Early benchmarks say it: Qualcomm's Snapdragon Extreme chip is cooking Intel’s top-tier Panther Lake

I know, I know; benchmarks are just a slice of the pie. But for my daily workload, involving high-res photo editing, heavy web browsing, streaming, writing, spreadsheets, video calls, constant Slack use, and a few other random bits, the Snapdragon X2 Elite barely broke a sweat.

The only, and I mean only, time I heard the fans kick on at all was during a Cinebench rendering test using all chip cores. Otherwise, it was completely silent on and off the charger.

That's the other thing — I put up with noticeably slower performance off the charger for years using Intel and AMD chips. That doesn't happen with the X2 Elite.

Snapdragon X2 Elite efficiency changed the way I work

My office desk is where I usually work, either with the laptop I'm currently testing or with a fixed mini PC and docking station setup. I occasionally take a laptop into a different room for a few hours of work when the sun hits right.

Once I discovered that the Yoga Slim 7x was able to last a full workday without needing to be plugged in, on Windows 11's top performance profile to boot, I've been doing a lot more work away from my desk without having to chase around an AC adapter.

As I noted in my review, the Yoga Slim 7x with Snapdragon X2 Elite has a 70Wh battery. I found via the Windows battery report that runtimes averaged out to just more than 14 hours before I plugged in. A week of daily use later, that average has only dropped by about five minutes.

This is as good an estimate as I can give. It's a lot more accurate than a video streaming rundown or a PCMark 10 test; they have their uses, mainly for comparison, but the Windows battery report is really what you should look at.

With that runtime, I can work all day, stream video in the evenings, and plug in overnight to be ready for the next day. Standby battery life is like 350 hours, so even if I do forget to plug in at night, it's not going to be dead when I wake up.

App compatibility issues? What about them?

The main argument I see regarding Windows on Snapdragon/ARM involves app compatibility. Because Qualcomm's chips use an ARM64 architecture, apps designed for x86 chips from Intel and AMD can't natively make the transition.

There are a couple of things that make this issue largely moot. First is individual developer efforts to create native ARM64 versions of their apps. I love to see it, and I hope those developers know that their work is appreciated.

The other is Microsoft's Prism translation layer that allows x86 apps to run on an ARM64 system. Yes, there is sometimes a performance drop because of the required emulation, but I was lucky enough to avoid it altogether.

My main apps, like Slack, GIMP, Spotify, Telegram, and Edge, are all native ARM64 apps. That's again only a small sample, but it's getting tougher to find apps that require emulation unless you're getting into specialized stuff like Adobe Premiere Pro and AutoCAD.

For a fairly casual Windows user like me, ARM64 app compatibility is a complete non-issue. You can see for yourself if the apps you use are native or emulated on the extremely useful WorksOnWOA website.

What about gaming compatibility?

ARM64 still struggles the most with gaming, especially if specialized anti-cheat methods without native support are used. That's a whole other discussion; the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) isn't a gaming laptop, nor should you try to make it one.

Although the ARM64 gaming experience is coming along nicely, especially with lighter titles, I still recommend buying a gaming laptop with an Intel or AMD chip to avoid issues.

I'm totally sold on Snapdragon X2 and Windows on ARM

Based on a lot of the negativity I see online, I was half expecting to receive the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) with the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and immediately begin experiencing issues.

But if you put down two identical laptops, one with Intel/AMD and one with Snapdragon, I wouldn't immediately know which was which. There would eventually be signs, like how snappy the Snapdragon system feels off the charger and how the Windows battery gauge doesn't move.

That's even before I get into device costs. Qualcomm is somehow managing to sell its chips for a lot less than similar Intel and AMD specs, making laptops with Snapdragon X2 some of the best value out there.

Yes, I think the idea that the advent of Snapdragon chips would cause a revolution in Windows PCs was correct. It's just taking a bit longer than expected.

👉 Best Windows on ARM laptops in 2026 — Top-rated picks from Surface, ASUS, HP, and more

I want to know what you think about Snapdragon X2. Have you used one of the new chips? Did you try the first generation? How did it go? Let me know in the comments section below!

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Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) attempts to balance price, performance, and premium features, and indeed, its $1,199.99 starting price before any discounts should turn some heads.

It's built around the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 System-on-Chip (SoC), and it's the first Windows on ARM laptop that I've actually spent weeks using full-time for writing, heavy browsing, photo editing, streaming, and email.

Not only does it live up to the promises Lenovo makes, but it goes beyond in several areas. Here's what you need to know before buying.

How much does the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) cost?

The Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) makes its debut at $1,099.99 at Lenovo's website. In this model, you get a Snapdragon X2 Plus (X2P-42) chip, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and a 14-inch OLED touch display with FHD+ resolution.

Lenovo also offers a Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-80) config with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a non-touch FHD+ touch display for $1,699.99.

For $1,899.99, you can max everything out with the X2 Elite (X2E-88) chip, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and 2.8K OLED touchscreen.

As usual at Lenovo, you can configure your own model with a mix of hardware as required.

Here's a look at the specs in my review unit.

Lenovo supplied Windows Central with a review unit of the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11). It had no input, nor saw the contents of the review, prior to publication.

Does the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) have premium features?

From a design standpoint, the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) is rock-solid. Its aluminum chassis is rigid, it doesn't creak when twisted, and everything lines up perfectly. MIL-STD-810H certification proves its durability.

It's extremely thin, made to look more so with its wedged shape. The rounded edges hardly have enough space for a USB-C port, and at its thickest point, it measures just 0.55 inches (with the lid included). Weighing 2.73 pounds, it's easy to carry all day.

Not enough space for a varied selection of ports

It's so thin, in fact, that Lenovo doesn't include any ports other than three USB4 (using the USB-C form factor).

No 3.5mm audio, no USB-A, and no HDMI means you'll most likely need a handful of adapters or a Thunderbolt docking station when using accessories.

A power button and a manual e-shutter toggle also reside on the side of the PC.

Superb audio quality and a high-res webcam

Lenovo fit two 2W tweeters and two 2W woofers into the laptop, half in a top-firing orientation flanking the keyboard, and the others on the underside of the chassis. Audio has plenty of volume, some decent bass, and Dolby Atmos tuning for extra control. I have no complaints, especially from a laptop this thin.

The webcam is a similar story. At 9.2MP, it provides clarity beyond what's found in standard 1080p fare, and I appreciate the manual e-shutter for extra privacy.

The webcam lives in a raised comms bar above the display, providing more space for additional features like a manual e-shutter and IR sensor for facial recognition through Windows Hello.

Beyond just unlocking your PC with biometrics, Lenovo has included Human Presence Detection (HPD) capabilities that can lock and unlock your PC automatically when you depart or approach. HPD also ties into battery saving and OLED care settings, of which there are plenty in Lenovo's onboard Vantage app.

I love the keyboard, but I wish for a haptic touchpad

The keyboard's travel is deep enough that I've typed tens of thousands of words without experiencing any fatigue. As usual for Lenovo, key spacing is perfect, keycaps are slightly cupped, and there's a bright backlight to help with working in the dark.

Now that I've used a few haptic touchpads on modern laptops, I've come around to them being the superior option. With no moving parts, they're more reliable and accurate than traditional mechanical fare.

Of course, they also cost more to implement, and in a value-conscious laptop like the Slim 7x, I see why Lenovo went with a standard touchpad. I love its size, and it's admittedly about as quality as mechanical pointers get. It's firm when clicked and points accurately.

Is the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11)'s 2.8K OLED display worth the upgrade?

The Yoga Slim 7x has a few different OLED touch displays with either a 1920x1200 (FHD+) or a 2880x1800 (2.8K) resolution. Aside from pixel count, the biggest differences involve brightness and refresh rate.

The FHD+ model I have in the review unit tops out at 400 nits (SDR) or 600 nits (HDR); what's advertised is accurate based on my testing with a colorimeter. Unfortunately, the FHD+ version is capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, and there's a fair amount of glare if you're working in a bright space.

The 2.8K display hits 120Hz, making it much easier on the eyes, and it also gets significantly brighter at 600 nits (SDR) and 1,100 nits (HDR). All screens have Dolby Vision, and they all have a glossy finish with anti-fingerprint properties.

I ran a color gamut check on the FHD+ display, revealing 100% sRGB, 95% AdobeRGB, and 97% P3, making it suitable for specialized tasks like photo editing. And because it's OLED, you get perfect contrast without any backlight bloom.

Considering the 2.8K touch OLED upgrade is only $60 more, I recommend going for it no matter what. Battery draw from the extra pixels shouldn't be enough to notice, and your eyes will thank you for doubling the refresh rate.

Is the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) powerful AND efficient?

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88) System-on-Chip (SoC) is a marvel. With 18 cores, a turbo boost clock up to 4.7GHz, and 53MB of available cache, it has crushed everything I've thrown its way over the weeks.

It comes in just behind the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94) chip that we tested in the awesome ASUS Zenbook A16, but believe me, just because it's a lesser SKU doesn't mean it's not for you.

The X2 Elite (X2E-88) in the Slim 7x (Gen 11) trounces the Apple M5 chip in the MacBook Air in Geekbench, and it also destroys the Intel Core Ultra 7 355 chip that's available in the sibling Yoga Slim 7 Ultra Aura Edition. Testing in Cinebench reveals a similar story.

The laptop's dual fans have mostly remained dormant. They ultimately only kick on if I'm editing high-res photos, and usually only if I'm charging the battery at the same time (which creates extra heat inside the chassis). Otherwise, this is a silent PC.

Does the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) have good battery life?

Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) has the best battery life of any laptop I've personally tested. The battery has a decent 70Wh capacity, and the lower-res FHD+ display at 60Hz no doubt helps push efficiency; nevertheless, it's a laptop that I use all day off the charger.

The longest the PC has been active without plugging in is around 24 hours. Now, that wasn't full-time use to be sure.

A more accurate reading of active battery life using Windows Performance mode comes out to about 14 hours from a charge. This is all based on the Windows Battery Report tool that delivers a history of charges and rundowns.

I've been consistently picking up the PC in the morning and using it for work all day without worrying about plugging in. The only thing I've found to sap battery faster than normal is Google Meet video conferencing.

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11)?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You're in search of a thin, light 14-inch laptop with high-end features in the $1,000 to $1,500 price range.

✅ You need a laptop with outstanding battery life and snappy performance.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You know for certain that your workload has issues with Windows on ARM.

❌ You're in search of a laptop to be used primarily for gaming.

The use of a Snapdragon X2 Elite SoC pushes the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) into the realm of remarkable efficiency and performance. You might have a personal issue with Windows on ARM, but for my workflow, it's no problem at all.

Combine this power and efficiency with a high-end build quality, premium features like Human Presence Detection, quad speakers, 9.2MP camera, and OLED display, and you have a lot of PC for the asking price.

It's not perfect — the glossy display finish can be annoying and the FHD+ model's 60Hz refresh rate is a drag — but these are fairly easy to remedy with a $60 upgrade to a brighter 2.8K display at 120Hz.

The Slim 7x (Gen 11) is a laptop I can see fitting in perfectly with students, home business pros, and casual users who simply want a laptop for around $1,199 (even less when it's on sale) that feels like it should cost a lot more.

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ASUS launched its new Zenbook A16 Windows laptop on April 7 this year, and it certainly earned high praise in my review after I tested the similarly new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor inside it. That chip comes from Qualcomm, part of the Windows on ARM platform and the Arm64 architecture in general, rather than the "traditional" x86-64 examples you'd see from manufacturers like Intel's Core Ultra and AMD's Ryzen.

It's undoubtedly a monstrous, monolithic SoC (System-on-Chip), offering a power-efficient combination of a high-end "Oryon" CPU and a wealth of on-package memory (RAM), particularly for the X2 Elite Extreme variant inside my Zenbook A16 sample. You also get a "Hexagon" NPU for local AI tasks, rated for up to 80 TOPS, alongside an "Adreno" GPU for graphics.

Now, ASUS never put much marketing emphasis on the Zenbook A16 to suggest it's a gaming laptop, despite a brief mention of "ultra‑smooth gaming" supported by the Snapdragon X2 processor. Then again, PC gaming handhelds like my still-beloved Steam Deck use integrated graphics, which should be much lower-spec than a 16-inch Zenbook, so — can the A16 play games?

TL;DR: Yes, the Zenbook A16 can play games because it is a computer. No real shock there. However, its reliance on Microsoft's Prism translation layer for titles that don't offer native ARM64 builds muddies performance expectations.

1. World of Warcraft: Midnight

• Verdict: ✅ Perfect

So, let's start with World of Warcraft, a game that I knew for a fact had native support for Windows on ARM since 2021. Even an MMO that's celebrating 21 years of gameplay raises its minimum PC specs over time, so it's interesting to see how an integrated GPU handles it. WoW isn't the most graphically impressive game in the world, but there certainly can be a lot to draw on the screen.

Using the improved Xbox Game Bar to track metrics, I saw the retail build of WoW running at a solid 60 FPS inside a major city while the Zenbook A16 was on battery power. I didn't need any resolution scaling, sticking instead to the native 2880 x 1800 desktop setting with whatever other graphical settings the game recommended, and the result was impressive.

I have to give Blizzard respect for supporting World of Warcraft's ARM64 build, even if it means borrowing my wife's account and having her see how well it performs with minimal fan noise. Now she wants the Zenbook. Either way, this is good news for anyone tempted by the A16 who moonlights in an active guild.

2. Cyberpunk 2077

• Verdict: 🟠 Playable

My first experiment with an x86-64 game didn't yield particularly encouraging results, and I deliberately avoided any community-led rabbit holes for "best settings" recommendations. No, this needed to be from the perspective of a casual gamer who might pick up a productivity-first laptop like the Zenbook A16.

Keeping Cyberpunk 2077 on its "low" preset and using upscaling tech to reduce the internal resolution in favor of blown-up graphical tricks didn't significantly improve performance, and I was lucky to maintain around 30–40 FPS.

In this state, it is technically playable, and some tinkering in the options could likely squeeze out a few more frames, but it doesn't feel worth it. At this point, I'd recommend playing the game on practically anything else that was built for gaming, whether that's an Xbox console or a dedicated gaming handheld.

3. Counter-Strike 2

• Verdict: 🟠 Playable

CS2 is a mess on the Zenbook A16. At its lowest settings, the game can't maintain a steady framerate and regularly hitches at bizarre moments in any match. Resolution changes didn't help with frame pacing, and while the metrics show hints of 100 FPS, it's never sustained for an extended period; crashing up and down like a tsunami of disappointment.

Counter-Strike 2 might stand as one of the world's most popular online shooters, but forget it, you won't be enjoying a second of it on this laptop. It's a sad result, considering how Valve is developing its upcoming Steam Frame VR headset for the "androidarm64" architecture (not Windows on ARM), but maybe things will improve in the future. Skip for now.

4. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

• Verdict: ✅ Great

Much like World of Warcraft, Minecraft has an impression of being simplistic enough that it seems like it should run on anything. However, the rendering demands happening behind the scenes can become quite intense on your PC, depending on what you build and how many creatures and monsters might be nearby at any given time.

Sticking to the default render distance of 12 "chunks" keeps a smooth, consistent framerate around 55–60 FPS without requiring any other changes, and you get exactly what you'd expect from Minecraft. It's not as pretty as the game can get, and visual mods would definitely have you turning to Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) for a chance at a few extra frames.

Ray tracing is out of the question, though. Completely grayed out in the options menu, the lack of support for Qualcomm's Adreno GPU means you'll be stuck playing Minecraft without RT, relying instead on standard lighting. No big deal, and not too surprising, considering the integrated graphics.

5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

• Verdict: ❓ TBD

The black sheep of the testing group, cut short early with a disappointing revelation that the Xbox PC app does not offer the same ARM64 build as Steam, and KCD2 falls back on x64 code. Given how much Cyberpunk 2077 struggled at its basement-level graphical settings, it's hardly worth pushing a year-old RPG through Prism emulation when a native build should be available to all.

Stick a pin in this one. Games with native support are already rare, so missing a chance to try the latest effort in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is frustrating. Still, I expect this update will soon be available to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and that's when I'll see how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip handles it. Until then, we don't need to dig into the specifics of its emulated performance.

A far cry from Valve's Proton efforts on Linux, but native support is inspiring

These results are what I expected from an integrated GPU that's already on the fringe of niche, and expecting developers to build native ARM64 versions of their games is a much bigger ask than requesting it from your average GitHub app creator. None of this affects my opinion of the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, but it does have me pondering the Windows on ARM platform.

Prism is certainly helping, even if it isn't delivering quite the same experience as Valve's Windows-to-Linux translation via Proton. However, I'd like to see more attention given to Windows on ARM, especially in this portable space.

We've discussed the idea of an ARM-based gaming handheld multiple times before, and it's still an interesting prospect — if we can figure out the software side. I will test more games for as long as I have this laptop sample; it just takes time, and fitting it into a busy schedule is an art form in itself. Still loving the Zenbook A16, though. Even after that surprise price change.

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Early last year, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was named "the perfect RPG sequel" in our review and praised for its "near-flawless" performance on PC. Already available for traditional gaming PCs running x86-64 processors from AMD and Intel, the game has since received an ARM64 build via Steam that's compatible with Windows on ARM devices.

Qualcomm's recent Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme processors are part of the latest expansion in the relatively niche device category, delivering a boost to power efficiency alongside a general performance leap in brand-new PCs like the "practically perfect" ASUS Zenbook A16. However, PC gaming on Snapdragon X is still marred by platform distribution problems.

Patch 1.5.3 for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is described as "a purely technical architecture update" that makes a native ARM64 build available to users with compatible hardware and Steam installed. However, players subscribed to Xbox Game Pass are currently unable to access the new build on PC, which still runs on Microsoft's Prism translation layer.

Windows Central's take: Another example of PC Game Pass disparity

Patch release gaps between Steam and Xbox PC aren't a particularly new annoyance, but they still feel like one that shouldn't happen to begin with. Some blame Microsoft's patch submission and analysis process, while others point fingers at the developers.

Realistically, it feels like the former would be the most likely roadblock if the ARM64 build is already out there. ASUS was already demonstrating Kingdom Come: Deliverance II performance in press previews for its MacBook Air-beating Zenbook A16 laptop, presumably with an early look at the native build.

I've maintained a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for years now, happily enjoying the cross-platform benefits across Microsoft's consoles and my PCs. Still, the number of games that natively support Windows on ARM is already small, and arbitrary delays don't help raise awareness of its benefits.

Still, the number of bugs and issues unique to its Xbox PC app is growing tiresome, and I'd like to see more proactive efforts to match Steam's methods to distribute game patches from developers. We've reached out to the game's publisher, Deep Silver, and Microsoft for comments.

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Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processors recently launched inside a range of ARM64-based laptops, and the highly praised ASUS Zenbook A16 stands out as an example of what the Windows on ARM platform offers in terms of power efficiency. Despite the excitement and praise around the MacBook-rivaling Zenbook and its high-end SoC, PC gaming on Snapdragon X still takes a back seat.

It's not that Qualcomm keeps any of its Snapdragon X gaming capabilities a secret. On the contrary, it listed "over 2,400 games available" in pre-release marketing for the X2 Elite chip, but its primary effort remained in appealing to productivity-centric workers. That strategy may have shifted slightly, as a recent collaboration with China-based NetEase games suggests.

A translation of a press release from Qualcomm China (via VideoCardz) claims that 25 titles published by NetEase, including popular team-based hero shooter Marvel Rivals, have been "adapted" for the Snapdragon X platform. Whether "adaptation" refers to native ARM64 support or improved x86-64 emulation with Microsoft's Prism layer isn't clear, but there's one way to find out.

Windows Central's take: Native or nah?

One way to know for sure whether this buddy-up with NetEase points to more natively supported PC games on ARM64 is to fire up the Zenbook A16 and try Marvel Rivals for myself. Sure enough, I was already downloading a handful of games from Steam, the Xbox App, and Epic Games Store for some real-world game tests now that post-launch Adreno graphics drivers have landed in the Snapdragon Control Panel.

Again, it's not like ASUS and Qualcomm never touched on gaming performance in press briefings around its new Zenbook laptop, but it was hardly a lengthy talking point. That, and a somewhat unusual selection of games, including Hollow Knight: Silksong and Diablo IV, were highlighted primarily for their performance against Apple's M5-based MacBook Pro.

Overnight, I'll be testing more well-known titles, like Counter-Strike 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, to see what the experience is like in 2026. If there are any other games (or apps, for that matter) that you'd like tested on the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) processor, then let me know in the comments. I already spent a couple of evenings playing Retro Rewind from Steam on the Zenbook A16, but a video store simulator is hardly a stress test, is it?

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Getting the most out of your gaming accessories just got easier if you have a PC running a Snapdragon X chip. Logitech G HUB now works on Windows on Snapdragon, opening the door to customizing mice, keyboards, headsets, and webcams.

Logitech G HUB is a hub for Logitech's "G" ecosystem. It lets you control and customize devices, such as setting the DPI of a mouse, setting up macros for a keyboard, remapping buttons, or controlling RGB lighting. You can also use Logitech G HUB to manage games from multiple libraries.

The app did not work on Windows on Snapdragon until recently. The change was highlighted in the r/snapdragon subreddit by Qualcomm's Senior Product Marketing Manager for Snapdragon X Series.

They explained "Gaming just got smoother on Snapdragon" in a comment in that thread.

The following devices are validated to work with Logitech G HUB and Windows on Snapdragon:

• Logitech G603 LIGHTSPEED Mouse
• Logitech G304 LIGHTSPEED Mouse
• Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury M-U0041 Mouse
• Logitech G430 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
• Logitech G231 PRODIGY Headset

That list isn't exhaustive, so you'll likely be able to control other gaming devices with the app and your Windows on Snapdragon PC.

While not marketed with a gaming focus, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 chips are better at running games than the previous generation.

Snapdragon X PCs also got a gaming boost in the form of Easy Anti-Cheat. Many games that do not work on Snapdragon X PCs are restricted due to anti-cheat measures. Support for Easy Anti-Cheat allows Fortnite and other popular titles to run on those systems.

I wouldn't claim that Snapdragon X PCs are now gaming PCs, but they are capable of running some games. ShortCircuit has an interesting video showcasing popular titles on the ASUS Zenbook A16, which runs on a Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.

Of course, you don't need to be playing a demanding game to enjoy synced RGB lighting or the ability to control your Logitech G accessories.

You can download Logitech G HUB through the company's website. Note that since the software runs through emulation, there is no separate Windows on Snapdragon version. You can just click "DOWNLOAD G HUB - Windows" to get the app.

Shoutout to r/snapdragon

We're big fans of Reddit here at Windows Central, and we're active in r/snapdragon and other communities.

That subreddit is full of passionate people who use and work on Snapdragon chips. Last year, Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm SVP & GM of Compute and Gaming, held an AMA (ask me anything) on r/snapdragon. That thread focused on the Snapdragon X Series and the Snapdragon X2 line of chips.

Members of that community also highlight apps that work well on Snapdragon X chips either natively or through emulation.

It's also quite normal to see Qualcomm employees in that subreddit seeking feedback or asking about which apps need to be optimized for Windows on Snapdragon.

The post about Logitech G HUB working on Windows on Snapdragon was shared by the Senior Product Marketing Manager for Snapdragon X Series at Qualcomm.

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When Apple introduced its new MacBook Air 15 with M5 chip on March 3, 2026, I knew it'd only be a short while before it began seeing serious competition from new Windows laptops powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X2 silicon.

ASUS has now launched its new Zenbook A16 for 2026, a laptop that Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson tested and reviewed thoroughly, only to have a hard time finding any faults.

👉 I tested ASUS' Zenbook A16 with Qualcomm's incredible Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme CPU, and I'm convinced: This is everything a flagship Windows laptop should be

I've put together this comparison between the Zenbook A16 and the MacBook Air 15 based on design, display, features, performance, and battery life to help you make the right decision.

How do ASUS Zenbook A16 and MacBook Air 16 specs compare?

Before I get into a more detailed explanation of the similarities and differences between the Zenbook A16 and MacBook Air 15, here's a table with raw specifications.

It's worth noting that ASUS lists a Zenbook A16 model (UX3607QA) sporting a last-gen Snapdragon X (X1-26) chip starting at 16G of RAM and 512GB of storage. This model is perhaps arriving later on in different markets.

The UX3607OA model I compare in the table above is the one that's arriving first for US markets.

Is the ASUS Zenbook A16 lighter than the MacBook Air 15?

Despite having a larger display, a larger battery, and overall slightly larger dimensions, the ASUS Zenbook A16 weighs less than the MacBook Air 15. It's not exactly a close margin, either, with the A16 coming in at 2.65 pounds (1.2kg) and the MacBook Air 15 weighing 3.3 pounds (1.51kg).

I also want to note that the Zenbook A16's footprint isn't wildly larger than the Air 15. The Z-height (thickness) is really the biggest difference, with Apple's laptop maintaining its lead at 0.45 inches (1.15cm) compared to 0.54-0.65 inches (1.38-1.65cm).

ASUS uses a "Ceraluminum" material for its chassis, and it's basically a magnesium alloy that's super light but durable. The MacBook Air also uses an aluminum base that's plenty rigid and refined.

Looking at ports, the Zenbook A16 easily bests the Air 15. The ASUS PC comes with dual USB4, USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), native HDMI 2.1 out, an SD 4.0 card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The MacBook Air 15 offers just two Thunderbolt 4/USB4 and a 3.5mm audio jack. That means that the Air 15 can only run up to two external displays, topping out at 4K@144Hz. With native HDMI and dual USB4, the A16 will offer better external screen support.

Both ASUS and Apple make excellent keyboards, and this area should come down to personal preference. One area where the MacBook Air 15 definitely pulls ahead, however, is with its pointer.

Apple's Force Touch trackpad uses haptics to simulate the feel of a click; this hardware is almost always preferable compared to traditional touchpads with moving parts below.

That's what the Zenbook A16 uses, and while its touchpad is certainly big enough with good accuracy, it's really the only downside we noted in our Zenbook A16 review.

Both laptops feature a six-speaker audio system, but only the MacBook Air 15 adds Dolby Atmos tuning. The webcams are similar with 1080p video capabilities, but because the Zenbook A16 is running Windows 11, its camera adds an IR sensor for facial recognition through Windows Hello. On the MacBook Air, it's fingerprint Touch ID or passwords.

And finally, both laptops feature cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. ASUS pairs it with Bluetooth 5.4, whereas the MacBook Air 15 gets newer Bluetooth 6.

TL;DR: Both laptops are impressively thin and lightweight; the MacBook Air 15 is thinner, but the Zenbook A16 is lighter. The A16 has a better selection of ports and facial recognition abilities, whereas the MacBook Air 15 has a better touchpad.

Does anyone prefer LED at 60Hz compared to OLED at 120Hz?

With the ASUS Zenbook A16, you're getting a 16-inch OLED display with a sharp 2880x1800 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and optional touch functionality.

It's a screen with 500 nits maximum base brightness, climbing all the way to 1,100 nits with HDR enabled. That makes it certified for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000, and a killer display for creators.

The MacBook Air has a 15.3-inch display with a slightly sharper 2880x1864 resolution, which works out to a higher pixels-per-inch amount due to its smaller dimensions. However, the display tops out at a measly 60Hz and doesn't have optional touch functionality.

It also doesn't get nearly as bright, often falling short of the advertised 500 nits brightness in SDR and HDR content.

TL;DR: With an OLED panel, twice as fast a refresh rate, far more brightness, and touch or non-touch options, the ASUS Zenbook A16's display is an easy winner compared to the MacBook Air 15.

Does the ASUS Zenbook A16 have better battery life than the MacBook Air 15?

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chips are a rather significant upgrade over the first-gen Snapdragon X silicon, and that applies to performance and efficiency.

We tested the X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94) chip in the Zenbook A16 for our review. It has 18 cores and a 4.7GHz maximum boost frequency. The Zenbook A16 is also available with the higher-tier X2E-96 chip with a higher boost frequency and a locked 48GB of LPDDR5x RAM. It costs $1,999.99 direct from ASUS.

If you want more power, it's available, but the X2E-94 chip we tested is impressive. In Geekbench 6, the X2 Elite Extreme hit 3,806 single-core and 22,872 multi-core scores. The M5 in the MacBook Air 15 hit 4,191 single-core and 17,276 multi-core scores.

Apple maintains single-core dominance, but not by a whole lot anymore. And multi-core isn't even close. We plan to test the GPU after the A16's launch when better drivers are available.

This is but a brief look at synthetic performance, and yet it suggests that Snapdragon X2 could be the true turning point for Windows on ARM that we've been waiting for.

Improved efficiency is another key ingredient in Qualcomm's latest silicon. During testing of the Zenbook A16, we basically used it for constant web browsing and some occasional photo editing and spreadsheets.

Windows 11's battery report estimates about 16 hours of life based on that type of use. In PCMark 10's local video playback test, the laptop ran for 20 hours and 30 minutes.

Streaming 4K video from YouTube with the screen set at about 65% brightness and volume at 10% resulted in 14 hours and 13 minutes of battery life.

Our friends at Tom's Guide ran a similar test on the MacBook Air 15 during its review process. With continuous web surfing and the display at 150 nits brightness, the MacBook Air 15 lasted 15 hours and 37 minutes.

That's roughly the same as what you can expect from the Zenbook A16, and it's a testament to the efficiency upgrade Qualcomm has promised from its X2 hardware.

TL;DR: The X2 Elite Extreme chip falls short of single-core performance compared to Apple's M5, yet it delivers superior multi-core performance. Efficiency is essentially the same between the two laptops.

ASUS Zenbook A16 (2026) vs. MacBook Air 15: Which should you buy?

There's one important aspect I haven't yet discussed: pricing. The Zenbook A16 makes its debut in the US for $1,599.99 at Best Buy. This price lands you the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94) System-on-Chip (SoC), 48GB of LPDDR5x-9600 RAM, a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and the usual 2.8K OLED display.

The MacBook Air 15 M5 starts at a lower $1,299 price at Best Buy, although it has just 16GB of RAM and half as much storage at 512GB.

Bumping the MacBook Air 15 M5 up to 24GB of RAM (still half as much as the Zenbook A16) and a 1TB SSD pushes the price to $1,699, a full $100 more than the ASUS laptop.

So while you can land a MacBook Air 15 M5 for a lower introductory price, Apple's laptop does become more expensive than the Zenbook A16, even without matching memory amounts.

With pricing and everything else I've covered above in mind, it quickly becomes evident that the ASUS Zenbook A16 is going to provide stiff competition for the MacBook Air 15.

If you're a regular Windows user, the choice is clear: the Zenbook A16 should be your next laptop. It's a tougher decision for regular macOS users. If you're beholden to Apple's OS, you're probably sticking with the MacBook anyway. But if you're considering a switch to Windows 11, the Zenbook A16 should be the best way to make an easy transition.

I dare say that the MacBook Air is no longer the best lightweight laptop on the market. The Zenbook A16 offers so much more for a lower price, and in this economy, that's perhaps the most important feature.

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ASUS already demonstrated the appeal of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors with last year's beloved Zenbook A14, and it remains one of our most highly-recommended Windows laptops for its all-around quality. Well, it's back again, and this time, it's bringing a 16-inch Zenbook A16 variant that promises to be even better.

Powered by the all-new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and alternatives with a lower-spec Snapdragon X chip, Qualcomm's "fastest and most efficient processors" promise to supercharge ASUS' flagship laptop. That, and you'll get Windows 11 26H1 pre-installed with Microsoft's modern features, so it should stand out as an attractive, flagship-grade PC. Here's what I think.

How much does the Zenbook A16 cost?

The ASUS Zenbook A16 (UX3607OA) starts at $1,599 $1,699 at Best Buy (ASUS points to Best Buy pricing errors for its unexpected $100 increase) as an exclusive touch screen model. You can pick up a non-touch Zenbook A16 for $1,999 at ASUS' eShop, though it uses the same Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 processor and 48GB of LPDDR5X-9600 memory (RAM).

In the United Kingdom, the non-touch Zenbook A16 starts at £2,099.99 at the respective ASUS eShop. Wherever you buy the X2 Elite Extreme models, you'll always get a 16-inch OLED panel with a 3K (2880 x 1880) display at a 16:10 aspect ratio that can switch between 60Hz and 120Hz.

All models include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless networking and devices, along with 2x USB-C 4.0 ports that support display output and power delivery. Plus, a single USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port handles common dongles and drives, while HDMI-out 2.1 connects to more traditional external monitors, and a full-size SD card reader handles common memory cards.

Finally, a built-in 1080p (FHD) webcam supports Windows Hello for secure face logins with a microphone for voice calls, all within a "Zabriskie Beige" chassis coated in ASUS' custom Ceraluminum (magnesium-aluminum) material, weighing 2.87 lbs (1.30 kg) with the touchscreen or 2.64 lbs (1.20 kg) without.

What about Windows 11?

Our sample with an X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 chip comes with Windows 11 Home for ARM64 in both the US and the UK. However, a more powerful Zenbook A16 can be configured for $1,999.99 (not yet listed post-launch) is expected to appear at the ASUS eShop, with a bump to the X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100, which should offer around a 300 MHz increase in its boost frequency, and comes with Windows 11 Pro.

For this review, we tested two Zenbook A16 (UX3607OA) models: one US-built touchscreen model (photographed) and one UK-built, non-touch model (described). ASUS provided both samples, though it had no input, nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

Is the Zenbook A16 well made?

After testing a collection of 14-inch laptops, I was convinced it was the perfect form factor. That's generally because it comes with a certain weight expectation, and a 16-inch laptop is often so much heavier that it can feel almost inconvenient when I have to throw one in a bag and travel.

There's a fine line between reasonable and lightweight, and many casual onlookers see Apple's 15-inch MacBook at 1.51 kg as the benchmark. In that, ASUS went even further and somehow managed to make my 16-inch Zenbook A16 weigh just 1.2 kg. Make no mistake, that's firmly in the lightweight category.

Natural skepticism has many, myself included, initially thinking that ASUS must have made some cuts to the Zenbook's internals to make it the same weight as the excellent Intel Lunar Lake-based Zenbook S 14 I've traveled with until now. On the contrary, I couldn't find anything detrimental about its featherweight chassis, one coated in ASUS' lavish and unique Ceraluminum material.

You can expect the same quality from the Lumina OLED display in the Zenbook A16 as you would with any other that uses the same panel, though the HDR-capable screen still looks great when I enable the feature for the first time. ASUS claims a peak brightness of 1,100 nits, and colorimeter testing showed a maximum of around 500 nits without HDR.

Otherwise, an automatic switch between 60Hz and 120Hz happens when you switch between AC and battery power, but you can permanently force the smoother option with a tweak in Settings if you want to. The bundled MyASUS app includes color profiles for creators, but the "Normal" setting scored 100% accuracy for sRGB and Display P3 anyway, so I never feel the urge to switch.

Does the Zenbook A16 have a good keyboard?

The Zenbook A16's backlit keyboard feels good, with a respectable 1.3 mm key travel distance and otherwise unremarkable design. It's mostly a sharp-edged, square affair that matches the rest of the laptop, and the function keys are mostly pedestrian. Exceptions include MyASUS on F11 and ASUS' "ScreenXpert" monitor management app on F12. No numberpad, but zero complaints.

An 18 cm glass-covered touchpad dominates the lower portion of the laptop, with invisible gesture points to control functions like volume and screen brightness. Despite not being a haptic touchpad, it's still a satisfying option that never caused any annoyances during my time with it. Defined physical edges also keep the Zenbook away from the "invisible" touchpads I always disliked.

How fast is the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme?

Improvements in the availability of native ARM64-based Windows apps mean that even benchmarking apps can skip Microsoft's Prism x86-64 translation layer to show off some proper scores. We already knew that the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme was dominating its competitors in pre-release testing, but it's another thing to see the results firsthand.

Per-app tests and gaming experiments with Qualcomm's Adreno GPU can come later, using post-launch driver updates to provide a more realistic view of what consumers can expect. Still, synthetic CPU testing is hard to resist, and comparing the Zenbook A16 against the M5-based 15-inch MacBook Air and M4 Pro-based 16-inch MacBook Pro tested by Tom's Guide shows exciting numbers.

It's one thing to see a new Windows laptop predictably outrank another, but sure enough, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme just edges past Apple's M4 Pro in multi-core testing, and flies past the standard M5 chip. Then again, it's admirable to see the Zenbook A16 pull ahead of Intel's latest "Panther Lake" Core Ultra X9 388H CPU, appearing in ASUS' recent Zenbook Duo.

Comparing the scores of first-generation Snapdragon X Elite processors in Microsoft's Surface Laptop 7 and, to a lesser extent, the Surface Pro 11, shows how much of an incredible jump the new X2 Elite Extreme provides. A Cinebench 2024 test even has the Zenbook A16 passing HP's "insanely powerful" ZBook Ultra 14 with AMD's Strix Halo chip, the Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395. Impressive.

Does the Zenbook A16 have good speakers?

For such a skinny laptop, the audio quality is surprisingly great. There's a six-speaker array inside, with two tweeters for high-end sounds and four woofers to cover the lower frequencies of bass. Without getting into the weeds, I can attest that I happily had Spotify playing throughout my day and enjoyed a few YouTube videos in my downtime. It all sounds great, and I'm left captivated. Great speakers.

The built-in webcam and microphone are decent, too. I've paid a lot of money for external cameras and mics over the years, even if only to avoid the usually lackluster options on laptops. Windows Studio Effects handles portrait blur better than Google Meet, and the pairing generally looks better than some creator-centric laptops that I've tried in the past.

Besides, if I wanted to use a dedicated replacement, I'm hardly struggling with connectivity. Two USB-C 4.0 ports on the left side and a single USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 on the right cover common dongles for mice and keyboards at the very least. Plus, HDMI-out 2.1 means my older monitors still work, and a full-size SD card is there for whoever needs that. Good news for photographers.

There's a 3.5mm combo audio jack if you want to get really old-school with wired headphones, or you can lean on Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless options. This variant of the Zenbook A16 also supports Wi-Fi 7, if you have a compatible router at home. I'm still using Wi-Fi 6E, but I'll never turn my nose up at future-proofing because I'll upgrade my mesh system at some point.

So, to ASUS' credit, it's implementing all the modern technologies on offer with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 chips, like USB 4 and Wi-Fi 7, without cutting out long-standing necessities like a USB-A port or opting for a proprietary charger. A beefy 130W charging brick is included, but the business end is still USB-C, so you could fall back on a lower-powered alternative if you accidentally traveled without it.

Does the Zenbook A16 have good battery life?

Once it's fully charged, ASUS claims around 21 hours of battery life with constant, offline video playback, or around 12 hours of constant web browsing. My workflow is certainly closer to the latter, and a Windows 11 battery report estimates I could expect around 16 hours. I ran experiments, and PCMark 10's local video playback test saw the Zenbook A16 last for 20 hours and 30 minutes.

After a full charge, a constant 4K video stream from YouTube with the screen at 65% (around 200 nits) and the volume at 10% delivered 14 hours and 13 minutes of battery life before it switched off, and that's without energy-saving mode. So, while 21 hours is certainly possible, the Zenbook A16 still realistically hit around 10 – 16 hours of battery life in my usual workflow at 60Hz.

Should you buy the ASUS Zenbook A16?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want one of the best Windows laptops around

✅ You need something lightweight and portable

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You only need a basic web browsing machine

ASUS is on a winning streak with its latest Zenbook range, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 processors are an absolutely perfect pairing. Just like the A14 before it, the A16 will stand as one of the absolute best Windows laptops you can buy. Any apprehension about Windows on ARM64 is a low-effort excuse, especially when the raw horsepower behind the X2 Elite Extreme would effortlessly run traditional x86-64 apps under Microsoft's Prism.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

HP introduced one of my most anticipated laptops of the year at CES 2026, and the new OmniBook Ultra 14 (G2) with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite chip is now finally available to buy directly from Best Buy.

Windows Central Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino went hands-on with the new OmniBook Ultra 14 (G2) ahead of its launch, and he found that the updated version for 2026 is thinner, lighter, and more durable than the 2024 model with Intel Core Ultra that we reviewed favorably.

The big attraction here is the Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-90) System-on-Chip (SoC) with 18 cores, a boost clock up to 5GHz, and an integrated GPU that hits a 1.7GHz clock speed. Can't forget the NPU that hits 80 TOPS of power for local AI tasks; that's higher than any other NPU from Intel or AMD.

We've already seen how the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip beats Apple's M5 in three major benchmarks, and it's overall a massive upgrade over the last-gen Snapdragon X1 Elite in terms of efficiency and performance.

The 14-inch laptop weighs only 2.83 pounds (1.28kg) despite a sturdy aluminum chassis with 11 MIL-STD-810 durability certifications, and it measures just 0.42 inches (1.06cm) thin. This is peak modern HP design language in full effect, with a lattice-free keyboard and oversized haptic touchpad providing cutting-edge input.

Best Buy has set the introductory price for the OmniBook Ultra 14 (G2) at $2,049.99. The model includes a gorgeous 14-inch 3K OLED touch display that can reach up to 1,100 nits brightness, 32GB of LPDDR5x-9523 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD. Yes, this laptop is going to absolutely rip.

I'm personally far more excited for the Snapdragon X2 Elite version of HP's OmniBook Ultra 14 (G2), but I know the same doesn't apply to everyone.

HP is also offering a version of its new laptop with Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" chips direct from its own website. Starting at $1,699.99, you can get a Core Ultra 7 365H CPU, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, and the same 14-inch 3K OLED touch display.

You can configure models with up to a Core Ultra X9 388H CPU, 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and 2TB of M.2 SSD storage space, but prices climb quickly.

An Intel model similar to the Elite X2 config, with Core Ultra 9 386H CPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD costs about $2,339.99, making Qualcomm's option the far more affordable choice when hardware is on par.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Typically, Windows laptops rely on x86 processors from Intel and AMD. In recent years, though, Qualcomm Snapdragon chips have started to gain ground, partly as the industry tries to catch up with the efficiency gains seen in Apple’s M series processors.

Now, Qualcomm is positioning the Snapdragon X2 Elite as a flagship Windows laptop chip, putting it directly up against Intel’s Panther Lake lineup. Early benchmarks suggest Qualcomm could have the edge this time, with the Snapdragon chip pulling noticeably ahead in early testing.

Early Geekbench results put Snapdragon ahead of Intel

Early Geekbench 6 scores for the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme have surfaced online, as reported by PCGuide. The chip appeared in testing inside an ASUS Zenbook A16 laptop.

Geekbench runs a series of simulated workloads and produces a score that can be compared against other processors. The results are split into single-core and multi-core performance.

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme scored:

• Single core: 4,033
• Multi core: 23,198

For comparison, Intel’s Core Ultra X9 388H scored:

• Single core: 3,066
• Multi core: 17,924

Of course, benchmark results do not always translate directly to real-world performance. Early tests should always be treated cautiously.

Looking at the hardware itself, though, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme features an 18-core design, while Intel’s Core Ultra X9 388H uses 16 cores. In this particular test, the Snapdragon chip was running at around 4.45GHz, while the Intel chip was recorded at roughly 4.0GHz; however, as PCGuide mentions, Intel does advertise 5.1GHz on its official website.

There are still some growing pains with ARM on Windows. Not every Windows app is built for it yet, although PRISM emulation has come a long way, and native ARM support is increasing.

One limitation is drivers. Unlike apps, old drivers cannot be emulated, which means some hardware or software may not work if it does not have an ARM-compatible driver.

This affects certain games that rely on kernel level anti cheat systems, such as Riot’s Vanguard used in Valorant. Without native ARM support for those drivers, the game simply will not run. You can actually look up if your game or app works on Qualcomm chips via the site Works on Windows on Arm.

But all of this is becoming a trope these days as generic rehash arguments against Qualcomm. Indeed, back in June of 2025, we reported how "100 of the most popular Windows apps are now Arm-native, and users are spending upwards of 90% of their time in non-emulated apps." Microsoft went on to boast about those numbers later in September, but for some reason, people who have never touched a Qualcomm PC are convinced "there are issues" for regular users. Funny how that is.

🗨️ Where do you think this chip race goes next?

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is already posting early numbers that put real pressure on Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips, and it’s setting the stage for one of the most interesting CPU battles we’ve seen in years. Qualcomm momentum, Intel’s response, and what these early benchmarks actually mean for real‑world laptops — there’s a lot to unpack.

So tell us: are you buying the early ARM lead, or do you think Panther Lake closes the gap once final silicon lands?

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Apple just announced its $599 MacBook Neo, which I was eagerly waiting to see if it might shake up the ~$600 Windows laptop market any more than Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors did. I've always found that pricing was the biggest roadblock to trying macOS, and it's the primary reason why I never built much of an opinion of its operating system.

iPad and iPhone variants have appeared several times in my life, and I can appreciate what Apple can achieve when it refines its best hardware as close to perfection as possible. Still, I've never picked up any model of MacBook, iMac, or even the far more reasonable Mac mini like one of my colleagues, because the prices never seem to match the specs — that much seemingly hasn't changed.

But, wait! Before we all get into a heated discussion about the implied efficiency benefits of macOS, and how it supposedly makes better use of lower-end hardware (something I've only been able to take at face value), let me at least explain the reason for my apprehension. There are Windows laptops with higher specs available for the same price, and that's where my mind goes first.

As a Windows guy, 8GB of unified memory certainly seems slim, and I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy a laptop with Windows 11 with the same count. My Surface Pro X (SQ1) already struggles when a few browser tabs eat up most of its RAM at the same capacity. Maybe MacBook users can educate me on what Apple has achieved here, but for now, I have a bigger, provable concern.

Is 256GB enough, even in a cloud-centric world?

I was hoping this long-rumored, affordable MacBook would have at least 512GB of (advertised) storage, but the trending $599 price tag locks us into an entry-level 256GB model with a Magic Keyboard — one that lacks Apple's Touch ID for biometric logins. Is that really enough, even for a "breakthrough" price tag?

Again, I'm painfully aware of how much I lack hands-on MacBook experience, which is a big reason why I'm writing this plea to any reader who might be able to clue me in (especially if you use both macOS and Windows). Looking around community support posts, I see comments that the latest macOS build (Tahoe) uses around 25GB for its core system and 30–60GB+ for system data.

It's no better with a fresh, space-harvesting install of Windows 11, and that's why I wouldn't suggest the same storage space would work on Microsoft's side either. Bump that MacBook Neo up to 512GB of storage, and we're looking at a $699 price tag, still relying on 8GB of unified memory. Even from an angle of intrigue and potential comparisons, this feels egregious — or is it?

I'm genuinely asking, because otherwise I'm failing to see the appeal. Can Apple's raw brand power outweigh the importance of specs to this extreme degree? In our initial coverage of the MacBook Neo announcement, Zac Bowden spoke on the average Mac buyer's mentality, saying, "Owning a Mac is less about the raw specs and more about it being a Mac, and not a Windows PC."

This is Qualcomm's stomping ground

Even if it were the case that Apple's operating system had a greater raw appeal than Windows, just on reputation and status alone (which isn't completely unbelievable, given community responses to things like Start menu changes), the MacBook Neo still doesn't feel cheap enough to sway me into directly comparing macOS against Windows and Linux with my own money.

If you came to me as a friend looking for a new laptop with $600 in your pocket, I'd point you towards ASUS' stellar Zenbook A14, previously seen with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $599 during one of its historical discounts. That, or walk them into Best Buy and show them matching storage specs in a 14-inch Dell Inspiron or some other affordable alternative.

Then again, I'm predicting comments that the MacBook Neo isn't supposed to be compared to a similarly-spec'd Windows laptop, because they're.. too different from one another(?) I can buy that to a point, but if anyone is drawn to Apple for its creator-centric advertising, then I'm not sure where they're saving their art, music, videos, or anything else outside of the cloud.

If creativity were your priority, I'd have pushed you towards an iPad before this Windows laptop vs. MacBook discussion even started anyway. At least you'd get a touchscreen and one of the best stylus experiences I've had to date, but then we'd be splitting hairs. For now, I'm passing on Apple's operating system for at least another year.

🗨️ Are you a macOS user with any insight into Apple's market potential with the MacBook Neo?

Maybe you can help me understand the appeal of macOS with specs like this. Does the OS offer enough advantages that seemingly low-end storage and memory won't matter, or is this more of an answer to Chromebooks?

Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear some first-hand opinions from anyone who uses both Apple's OS and Windows.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Qualcomm's ARM-based Snapdragon X Systems-on-Chip (SoC) kicked off a renaissance for Windows PCs when they launched in 2024, and the company announced the Snapdragon X2 as a successor in 2025.

We've had to wait patiently since the second-gen announcement for the PCs powered by X2 chips, and they're still expected to launch in the first half of 2026. Windows Central's Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino got an early look at the new chips late last year, running some benchmarks to discover just how much faster the new X2 Plus was compared to Intel's Core Ultra 7 265U and Ultra 7 256V.

At that time, several big questions remained. How would the Snapdragon X2 hardware compare to Apple's M5? How would it compare to Intel's impressive new Intel Series 3 "Panther Lake" Core Ultra chips?

Hardware Canucks got its hands on a sample unit from Qualcomm and was allowed to run tests with the understanding that the drivers are early, the firmware is beta, and Windows itself still isn't optimized for the new hardware. This also isn't Qualcomm's flagship chip; it's the X2E-88 that's one step down from the top (that'd be the X2E-96-100, aka the Elite Extreme).

Nevertheless, the results are impressive.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite beats Apple's M5 in three major tests

Cinebench tests performed by Hardware Canucks put the X2 Elite (X2E-88) at a 1,432 multi-core score running at 31W. The Apple M5 running at 26W puts up a score of 1,153.

Notably, Intel's "Panther Lake" Core Ultra X9 388H scored 972 in the same multi-core test, while AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scored 925.

Turning to single-core performance, the Apple M5 jumps ahead with a score of 200 compared to the X2 Elite's 146. The X2 Elite otherwise bests the latest chips from Intel and AMD.

In Blender 5.01 tests, it took the X2 Elite just 3:31 to complete frame rendering, compared to the 5:33 time posted by the Apple M5. The X2 Elite also easily beat the Intel Ultra X9 388H and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

In Handbrake, the X2 Elite wrapped up the test in 3:29, while it took the Apple M5 5:14. Same story for Intel and AMD — the X2 Elite is way ahead.

With the hardware by all means looking like a huge step forward compared to the first-gen Snapdragon X chips, it's largely going to be up to Microsoft to deliver a stellar "Windows on Snapdragon" experience in support.

👉 Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. X Elite: How do the new ARM64 chips compare to the old?

We already know that Windows 11 version 26H1 is arriving as an exclusive for Snapdragon X2 (and maybe NVIDIA N1) ARM-based chips later this year to coincide with the hardware launch. Microsoft has stated that 90% of users employ apps natively compiled for ARM already, but there remains work to be done regarding gaming support (especially anti-cheat) and specific GPU-heavy workloads.

What do you think about these early benchmark results? Are you concerned about battery life results when they become available? What would convince you to switch to an Arm‑powered Windows laptop?

Let me know in the comments!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

A surprise debut at last year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took home our "Best Laptop of CES 2025" award, and it ended up being one of our favorite (and most written about) device of the entire year.

I'm talking, of course, about ASUS' incredible Zenbook A14, which helped set the bar for thin-and-light Windows laptops powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon. I loved the ASUS Zenbook A14 (2025) in my 4.5/5-star review, and now the laptop is being refreshed with a whole lot more power at CES 2026.

The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 silicon is great, but the laptop itself isn't changing much. What's even more exciting is the new 16-inch version of this sleek device, which is arriving as one of the first to use Qualcomm's most powerful laptop chipset ever. I'm excited for this one.

The OG but better, and a new big sibling

First, let's get the simple stuff out of the way: ASUS didn't shake up the Zenbook A14 for 2026, which isn't all that surprising. The only major change is inside, where you can now equip the Zenbook A14 with the latest Snapdragon X2 silicon, including up to an 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite with an insane 80 TOPS NPU.

That means a massive increase in overall performance, especially for gaming and AI workloads. That's great, if not super exciting. I wish ASUS had also updated the 14-inch OLED display to be 120Hz instead of a measly 60Hz. That'll definitely hurt it in my final review.

The real star of the show is the new arrival to the family, though, and that's the ASUS Zenbook A16. It takes the same beautiful design, but scales it up to a 16-inch display with boosted firepower.

The new Zenbook A16 is among the very first laptops equipped with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme SoC, an 18-core monster with a 5.0GHz boost, Qualcomm's most powerful GPU yet, and massively increased memory bandwidth compared to other Snapdragon X2 chips.

The Zenbook A16 also gets up to 48GB of super-fast LPDDR5X memory, an SD card slot, and a gorgeous 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,100 nits of brightness with HDR content. All of that, and it's still among the lightest 16-inch laptops, weighing less than 3lbs (or around 1.2kg).

I definitely tend to prefer more compact, 14-inch laptops, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more interested in the 16-inch half of this Zenbook duo. This could end up being one of the best Windows laptops of the year, if the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme lives up to the hype.

What do you think about the new ASUS Zenbook A16? Could it be your next laptop? Let us know in the comments below!

Qualcomm is starting 2026 the same way it ended 2025: fast, confident, and very aware that the Windows PC world is shifting under everyone’s feet. At CES 2026, the company officially unveiled Snapdragon X2 Plus, the newest member of the Snapdragon X2 Series and the chip that’s poised to matter far more to everyday buyers than the flagship X2 Elite or the monster‑tier X2 Elite Extreme announced in September.

I had the chance to see early X2 Plus laptops in person during a press preview in New York City back in early December. Qualcomm let us run live benchmarks on pre‑production hardware, and—much like last year’s X Plus rollout—the numbers lined up almost exactly with what the company is now publishing.

Qualcomm has earned a reputation for giving reviewers honest, reproducible performance data, and the X2 Plus continues that trend (I even had one major OEM tell me this off the record, noting how Qualcomm always delivers on time and never overpromises; and yes, that was shade thrown at Intel).

And that’s important, because this chip is aimed squarely at the mid‑to‑upper‑range Windows laptop market. In this segment, most people actually buy PCs, where businesses refresh fleets, and where OEMs need predictable performance and efficiency.

The X2 Plus is the platform that will show whether Qualcomm’s momentum in 2024 and 2025 was a flash in the pan or the beginning of a long‑term shift toward Arm‑based Windows machines.

From what I’ve seen so far, it’s the latter.

A “Plus” chip that feels a lot like an Elite

Qualcomm is shipping two versions of the X2 Plus: a 10‑core model and a 6‑core model. Both use the same 3nm process node as the X2 Elite, the same Oryon CPU architecture, the same Adreno X2‑45 GPU family, and—crucially—the same 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU. That last part is what makes this chip feel far more premium than its branding suggests.

The 10‑core version is the one most people will see in higher‑end ultrabooks and business machines. It hits up to 4.0GHz, carries 34MB of cache, and runs the GPU at a healthy 1.7GHz. The 6‑core version keeps the same peak frequency but trims cache and GPU clocks to hit more affordable price points. Both support up to 128GB of LPDDR5x memory and 152GB/s of bandwidth—numbers that matter more than ever as AI workloads scale.

This isn’t a “lite” chip. It’s a slightly leaner X2 Elite, and in some cases, it behaves like one.

Performance that punches above its weight

Qualcomm’s own numbers show the X2 Plus delivering up to 35% faster single‑core performance and up to 17% faster multi‑core performance than the previous‑generation Snapdragon X Plus. That’s a solid generational jump, but the more interesting story is how it stacks up against the competition.

In the NYC preview, we ran Geekbench 6.5 on the 10‑core model. The results matched Qualcomm’s claims: the X2 Plus outperformed Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265U and 256V processors at the same power levels, sometimes dramatically so. Qualcomm’s own ISO‑power comparisons show the X2 Plus delivering up to 3.5× the CPU performance of Intel’s Ultra 7 265U and up to 52% faster multi‑core performance than the Ultra 7 256V—while the Intel chips needed 4× to 4.6× more power to hit their peaks.

But here’s where we need to hedge. Intel is about to launch its Core Ultra 3 “Panther Lake” processors, built on the new Intel 18A process and featuring upgraded P‑cores, E‑cores, LP E‑cores, a significantly improved Xe3 GPU, and a fifth‑generation NPU.

Intel has been making real gains in efficiency and graphics performance, and Panther Lake is expected to push that further. So while the X2 Plus clearly beats some current Core Ultra 2 chips, the competitive picture will evolve quickly once Panther Lake laptops hit shelves in the coming weeks and months.

Still, Qualcomm’s advantage in sustained performance on battery remains a differentiator. In my hands‑on time, the X2 Plus behaved like the X Elite: no thermal drama, no sudden drops when unplugged, and no need for fans to spin up aggressively. That consistency is something Intel and AMD still struggle with in thin‑and‑light designs.

AI performance: Qualcomm keeps its lead (for now)

If there’s one area where Qualcomm continues to run laps around the competition, it’s the NPU (neural processing unit). The X2 Plus uses the same 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU found in the X2 Elite, and the benchmark results reflect that.

In UL Procyon AI Computer Vision, the X2 Plus scored 4193 — more than double the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V and over six times the Ultra 7 265U. Geekbench AI told a similar story, with the X2 Plus hitting 83,624 versus Intel’s 48,041 and 13,615.

Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips (aka Core Ultra 3) will include a new NPU rated around 50 TOPS, which will close the gap somewhat, but Qualcomm still holds the advantage in raw throughput and efficiency. And with Windows 11 leaning harder into on‑device AI — Cocreator, Automatic Super Resolution, Studio Effects, and the new wave of agentic AI features—OEMs want an NPU that can handle real workloads without spiking power draw.

For now, Qualcomm is still the company delivering that.

Battery life and real‑world behavior

Qualcomm is promising multi‑day battery life again, and based on what I saw in New York, that’s not marketing fluff. The X2 Plus reference designs ran cool, quiet, and consistently, even under sustained load. Qualcomm says the chip uses up to 43% less power than the previous generation while delivering higher performance, and the idle‑normalized power numbers back that up.

This is the kind of efficiency that changes how people use their laptops. It’s also the kind of efficiency that OEMs love, because it gives them more thermal headroom to build thinner, lighter designs without sacrificing performance

Why the X2 Plus matters more than the X2 Elite

The Snapdragon X2 Elite (and especially Elite Extreme) is the halo product—the one that grabs headlines and pushes the envelope. But the X2 Plus is the chip that will actually reshape the Windows PC market.

Most people don’t buy $1,500 laptops. Most businesses don’t deploy $2,000 ultrabooks. The X2 Plus is designed for the $799–$1,299 range, where volume lives and where Qualcomm can make the most significant impact (see the success of the ASUS Zenbook A14, one of our favorite laptops of 2025).

And it arrives at a moment when the PC industry is dealing with rising component costs, especially DRAM shortages and price spikes driven by AI data center demand. LPDDR5x is getting more expensive, not less, and OEMs need platforms that can deliver strong performance without requiring exotic cooling or high‑wattage designs. The X2 Plus fits that need perfectly.

It also brings Snapdragon Guardian remote manageability — out‑of‑band updates, lock‑and‑wipe, device tracking — to mainstream machines. That’s a huge deal for IT departments, as that's Intel's vPro playground right now, and removes one of the last barriers to Arm adoption in enterprise.

Concerns (and possible criticisms) of the Snapdragon X2 Plus?

I'm writing this to be even-handed, but honestly, there's not a lot of cons with the X2 Plus, at least not on paper, but here are a few.

Windows on Arm has improved dramatically, but some niche apps, older enterprise tools, and GPU‑heavy creative workflows may still run inconsistently under emulation (though this is really becoming the rare exception these days).

Gaming support is better than ever, yet anti‑cheat and certain titles remain question marks, although, again, Qualcomm and Microsoft are actively fixing this, and Fortnite is now in the can. And because the 6‑core X2 Plus has a slower GPU and lower multi‑core performance, there’s a real risk of OEMs muddying the waters with confusing configurations.

The competitive picture is also shifting fast. The X2 Plus clearly outperforms several current Intel Core Ultra 2 chips, but Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 3 “Panther Lake” processors promise big jumps in efficiency, NPU performance, and especially graphics.

Add rising LPDDR5x memory prices and supply constraints heading into 2026, and some X2 Plus laptops could end up more expensive or under‑specced than buyers expect. These aren’t deal‑breakers, but they’re the practical realities that will shape how well the X2 Plus lands once devices hit shelves. And to be fair, the RAM situation affects AMD and Intel as much as Qualcomm.

Availability and what comes next

Qualcomm says the first Snapdragon X2 Plus laptops will ship in the first half of 2026, with announcements expected from all the major OEMs (many of which are being announced this week during CES 2026, including HP, Lenovo, and ASUS). Based on what I saw in New York, there will be a healthy mix of thin‑and‑lights, 2‑in‑1s, business ultrabooks, and even a few fanless designs.

But the bigger story is that Qualcomm now has a full stack: X2 Elite Extreme at the top, X2 Elite for premium ultrabooks, and X2 Plus for mainstream machines. I think this also means we should expect a more entry-level "Snapdragon X2" later this summer, possibly at Computex 2026. That would give Qualcomm an impressive range of price-per-performance offerings, and a slightly larger range than the original Snapdragon X series.

And with Intel preparing to launch Panther Lake and AMD readying its next wave of Ryzen AI chips, 2026 is shaping up to be the most competitive year for Windows laptops in a decade.

My personal experience with these new Intel, Qualcomm, and recent AMD chips is that we're all winners. This is some impressive silicon, including some serious GPU power, which may let enough people unshackle themselves from the increasingly cost-prohibitive NVIDIA.

The difference now is that Qualcomm isn’t the underdog anymore. It’s a real contender—and with the X2 Plus, it’s aiming directly at the heart of the market.

Is Snapdragon X2 Plus the moment Arm laptops finally break into the mainstream, or are you still waiting to see how Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips shake out before making the jump? I saw these machines running live in New York and came away impressed, but the real test will be how OEMs execute and how Windows handles the next wave of AI features.

Drop your thoughts below.

Are you ready to buy an Arm‑powered Windows laptop in 2026, or does x86 still have your trust? And if you’ve already used an X Elite machine, I’m especially curious how your real‑world experience lines up with Qualcomm’s claims. Let’s get into it!

A surprise debut at last year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took home our "Best Laptop of CES 2025" award, and it ended up being one of our favorite (and most written about) device of the entire year.

I'm talking, of course, about ASUS' incredible Zenbook A14, which helped set the bar for thin-and-light Windows laptops powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon. I loved the ASUS Zenbook A14 (2025) in my 4.5/5-star review, and now the laptop is being refreshed with a whole lot more power at CES 2026.

The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 silicon is great, but the laptop itself isn't changing much. What's even more exciting is the new 16-inch version of this sleek device, which is arriving as one of the first to use Qualcomm's most powerful laptop chipset ever. I'm excited for this one.

The OG but better, and a new big sibling

First, let's get the simple stuff out of the way: ASUS didn't shake up the Zenbook A14 for 2026, which isn't all that surprising. The only major change is inside, where you can now equip the Zenbook A14 with the latest Snapdragon X2 silicon, including up to an 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite with an insane 80 TOPS NPU.

That means a massive increase in overall performance, especially for gaming and AI workloads. That's great, if not super exciting. I wish ASUS had also updated the 14-inch OLED display to be 120Hz instead of a measly 60Hz. That'll definitely hurt it in my final review.

The real star of the show is the new arrival to the family, though, and that's the ASUS Zenbook A16. It takes the same beautiful design, but scales it up to a 16-inch display with boosted firepower.

The new Zenbook A16 is among the very first laptops equipped with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme SoC, an 18-core monster with a 5.0GHz boost, Qualcomm's most powerful GPU yet, and massively increased memory bandwidth compared to other Snapdragon X2 chips.

The Zenbook A16 also gets up to 48GB of super-fast LPDDR5X memory, an SD card slot, and a gorgeous 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,100 nits of brightness with HDR content. All of that, and it's still among the lightest 16-inch laptops, weighing less than 3lbs (or around 1.2kg).

I definitely tend to prefer more compact, 14-inch laptops, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more interested in the 16-inch half of this Zenbook duo. This could end up being one of the best Windows laptops of the year, if the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme lives up to the hype.

What do you think about the new ASUS Zenbook A16? Could it be your next laptop? Let us know in the comments below!

Qualcomm is starting 2026 the same way it ended 2025: fast, confident, and very aware that the Windows PC world is shifting under everyone’s feet. At CES 2026, the company officially unveiled Snapdragon X2 Plus, the newest member of the Snapdragon X2 Series and the chip that’s poised to matter far more to everyday buyers than the flagship X2 Elite or the monster‑tier X2 Elite Extreme announced in September.

I had the chance to see early X2 Plus laptops in person during a press preview in New York City back in early December. Qualcomm let us run live benchmarks on pre‑production hardware, and—much like last year’s X Plus rollout—the numbers lined up almost exactly with what the company is now publishing.

Qualcomm has earned a reputation for giving reviewers honest, reproducible performance data, and the X2 Plus continues that trend (I even had one major OEM tell me this off the record, noting how Qualcomm always delivers on time and never overpromises; and yes, that was shade thrown at Intel).

And that’s important, because this chip is aimed squarely at the mid‑to‑upper‑range Windows laptop market. In this segment, most people actually buy PCs, where businesses refresh fleets, and where OEMs need predictable performance and efficiency.

The X2 Plus is the platform that will show whether Qualcomm’s momentum in 2024 and 2025 was a flash in the pan or the beginning of a long‑term shift toward Arm‑based Windows machines.

From what I’ve seen so far, it’s the latter.

A “Plus” chip that feels a lot like an Elite

Qualcomm is shipping two versions of the X2 Plus: a 10‑core model and a 6‑core model. Both use the same 3nm process node as the X2 Elite, the same Oryon CPU architecture, the same Adreno X2‑45 GPU family, and—crucially—the same 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU. That last part is what makes this chip feel far more premium than its branding suggests.

The 10‑core version is the one most people will see in higher‑end ultrabooks and business machines. It hits up to 4.0GHz, carries 34MB of cache, and runs the GPU at a healthy 1.7GHz. The 6‑core version keeps the same peak frequency but trims cache and GPU clocks to hit more affordable price points. Both support up to 128GB of LPDDR5x memory and 152GB/s of bandwidth—numbers that matter more than ever as AI workloads scale.

This isn’t a “lite” chip. It’s a slightly leaner X2 Elite, and in some cases, it behaves like one.

Performance that punches above its weight

Qualcomm’s own numbers show the X2 Plus delivering up to 35% faster single‑core performance and up to 17% faster multi‑core performance than the previous‑generation Snapdragon X Plus. That’s a solid generational jump, but the more interesting story is how it stacks up against the competition.

In the NYC preview, we ran Geekbench 6.5 on the 10‑core model. The results matched Qualcomm’s claims: the X2 Plus outperformed Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265U and 256V processors at the same power levels, sometimes dramatically so. Qualcomm’s own ISO‑power comparisons show the X2 Plus delivering up to 3.5× the CPU performance of Intel’s Ultra 7 265U and up to 52% faster multi‑core performance than the Ultra 7 256V—while the Intel chips needed 4× to 4.6× more power to hit their peaks.

But here’s where we need to hedge. Intel is about to launch its Core Ultra 3 “Panther Lake” processors, built on the new Intel 18A process and featuring upgraded P‑cores, E‑cores, LP E‑cores, a significantly improved Xe3 GPU, and a fifth‑generation NPU.

Intel has been making real gains in efficiency and graphics performance, and Panther Lake is expected to push that further. So while the X2 Plus clearly beats some current Core Ultra 2 chips, the competitive picture will evolve quickly once Panther Lake laptops hit shelves in the coming weeks and months.

Still, Qualcomm’s advantage in sustained performance on battery remains a differentiator. In my hands‑on time, the X2 Plus behaved like the X Elite: no thermal drama, no sudden drops when unplugged, and no need for fans to spin up aggressively. That consistency is something Intel and AMD still struggle with in thin‑and‑light designs.

AI performance: Qualcomm keeps its lead (for now)

If there’s one area where Qualcomm continues to run laps around the competition, it’s the NPU (neural processing unit). The X2 Plus uses the same 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU found in the X2 Elite, and the benchmark results reflect that.

In UL Procyon AI Computer Vision, the X2 Plus scored 4193 — more than double the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V and over six times the Ultra 7 265U. Geekbench AI told a similar story, with the X2 Plus hitting 83,624 versus Intel’s 48,041 and 13,615.

Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips (aka Core Ultra 3) will include a new NPU rated around 50 TOPS, which will close the gap somewhat, but Qualcomm still holds the advantage in raw throughput and efficiency. And with Windows 11 leaning harder into on‑device AI — Cocreator, Automatic Super Resolution, Studio Effects, and the new wave of agentic AI features—OEMs want an NPU that can handle real workloads without spiking power draw.

For now, Qualcomm is still the company delivering that.

Battery life and real‑world behavior

Qualcomm is promising multi‑day battery life again, and based on what I saw in New York, that’s not marketing fluff. The X2 Plus reference designs ran cool, quiet, and consistently, even under sustained load. Qualcomm says the chip uses up to 43% less power than the previous generation while delivering higher performance, and the idle‑normalized power numbers back that up.

This is the kind of efficiency that changes how people use their laptops. It’s also the kind of efficiency that OEMs love, because it gives them more thermal headroom to build thinner, lighter designs without sacrificing performance

Why the X2 Plus matters more than the X2 Elite

The Snapdragon X2 Elite (and especially Elite Extreme) is the halo product—the one that grabs headlines and pushes the envelope. But the X2 Plus is the chip that will actually reshape the Windows PC market.

Most people don’t buy $1,500 laptops. Most businesses don’t deploy $2,000 ultrabooks. The X2 Plus is designed for the $799–$1,299 range, where volume lives and where Qualcomm can make the most significant impact (see the success of the ASUS Zenbook A14, one of our favorite laptops of 2025).

And it arrives at a moment when the PC industry is dealing with rising component costs, especially DRAM shortages and price spikes driven by AI data center demand. LPDDR5x is getting more expensive, not less, and OEMs need platforms that can deliver strong performance without requiring exotic cooling or high‑wattage designs. The X2 Plus fits that need perfectly.

It also brings Snapdragon Guardian remote manageability — out‑of‑band updates, lock‑and‑wipe, device tracking — to mainstream machines. That’s a huge deal for IT departments, as that's Intel's vPro playground right now, and removes one of the last barriers to Arm adoption in enterprise.

Concerns (and possible criticisms) of the Snapdragon X2 Plus?

I'm writing this to be even-handed, but honestly, there's not a lot of cons with the X2 Plus, at least not on paper, but here are a few.

Windows on Arm has improved dramatically, but some niche apps, older enterprise tools, and GPU‑heavy creative workflows may still run inconsistently under emulation (though this is really becoming the rare exception these days).

Gaming support is better than ever, yet anti‑cheat and certain titles remain question marks, although, again, Qualcomm and Microsoft are actively fixing this, and Fortnite is now in the can. And because the 6‑core X2 Plus has a slower GPU and lower multi‑core performance, there’s a real risk of OEMs muddying the waters with confusing configurations.

The competitive picture is also shifting fast. The X2 Plus clearly outperforms several current Intel Core Ultra 2 chips, but Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 3 “Panther Lake” processors promise big jumps in efficiency, NPU performance, and especially graphics.

Add rising LPDDR5x memory prices and supply constraints heading into 2026, and some X2 Plus laptops could end up more expensive or under‑specced than buyers expect. These aren’t deal‑breakers, but they’re the practical realities that will shape how well the X2 Plus lands once devices hit shelves. And to be fair, the RAM situation affects AMD and Intel as much as Qualcomm.

Availability and what comes next

Qualcomm says the first Snapdragon X2 Plus laptops will ship in the first half of 2026, with announcements expected from all the major OEMs (many of which are being announced this week during CES 2026, including HP, Lenovo, and ASUS). Based on what I saw in New York, there will be a healthy mix of thin‑and‑lights, 2‑in‑1s, business ultrabooks, and even a few fanless designs.

But the bigger story is that Qualcomm now has a full stack: X2 Elite Extreme at the top, X2 Elite for premium ultrabooks, and X2 Plus for mainstream machines. I think this also means we should expect a more entry-level "Snapdragon X2" later this summer, possibly at Computex 2026. That would give Qualcomm an impressive range of price-per-performance offerings, and a slightly larger range than the original Snapdragon X series.

And with Intel preparing to launch Panther Lake and AMD readying its next wave of Ryzen AI chips, 2026 is shaping up to be the most competitive year for Windows laptops in a decade.

My personal experience with these new Intel, Qualcomm, and recent AMD chips is that we're all winners. This is some impressive silicon, including some serious GPU power, which may let enough people unshackle themselves from the increasingly cost-prohibitive NVIDIA.

The difference now is that Qualcomm isn’t the underdog anymore. It’s a real contender—and with the X2 Plus, it’s aiming directly at the heart of the market.

Is Snapdragon X2 Plus the moment Arm laptops finally break into the mainstream, or are you still waiting to see how Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips shake out before making the jump? I saw these machines running live in New York and came away impressed, but the real test will be how OEMs execute and how Windows handles the next wave of AI features.

Drop your thoughts below.

Are you ready to buy an Arm‑powered Windows laptop in 2026, or does x86 still have your trust? And if you’ve already used an X Elite machine, I’m especially curious how your real‑world experience lines up with Qualcomm’s claims. Let’s get into it!

Millions of people have an Android or iPadOS tablet in their arsenal for entertainment, gaming, and creativity, but most people still opt for machines powered by Windows or macOS when it comes to getting work done.

That doesn't mean companies aren't trying to close the gaps between form factors and operating systems to create the ultimate all-in-one device that can do everything. The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus (Gen 1) falls into this category, being a premium Android tablet that's bundled with a kickstand and keyboard accessories to transform it into a pseudo-laptop.

Plenty of others have attempted to replace their Windows laptop with tablets like this, and I decided I wanted to take a crack at it — especially now that Lenovo is using the "Yoga" branding most commonly associated with its personal computers. I wasn't surprised by what I found, though, and that's great hardware being held back by software that simply isn't suited for this (yet).

This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by Lenovo. Lenovo had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

Beautiful hardware that's priced just right

The Yoga Tab Plus is a premium 12.7-inch Android tablet that competes with the likes of the iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S. Lenovo's offering isn't as refined or feature-packed, but it does undercut Apple and Samsung in price.

Lenovo did a great job with this hardware. The Yoga Tab Plus looks and feels great with its aluminum-and-glass build, and it's smartly designed with its six-speaker system, side-mounted power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor, and cleverly positioned magnets for the various accessories that come in the box.

Yes, Lenovo does include all the accessories you need in the box, too, including the Lenovo Tab Pen Pro, a magnetic kickstand attachment, a full-sized keyboard, and a 45W USB Type-C charger. All those extras will cost you a pretty penny elsewhere, so I love that it's all in the box here. They're good accessories, too.

The Tab Pen Pro active stylus is a nice shape and size, feels well-built, magnetically attaches to the top of the Yoga Tab Plus, wirelessly charges, and performs well. My only criticism is that it has a small touch-sensitive area for shortcuts and actions instead of physical buttons, which can be finicky and inconsistent.

Then there's the kickstand and keyboard. Instead of a bulky, awkward all-in-one case, Lenovo brilliantly splits the two. I especially love the design of the kickstand, which is slim and seamlessly connects to the back of the Yoga Tab Plus via magnets. It also means I can have the kickstand for watching movies or playing games without the keyboard being in the way.

I actually do like the keyboard, too. The layout makes sense, the key action is comfortable and responsive, and the touchpad feels good. I wish there were backlighting, but Lenovo did well with these accessories.

Of course, we can't forget about the core tablet. The 12.7-inch display may not be OLED or MiniLED, but it's still a genuinely fantastic, sharp, smooth, bright, and vibrant IPS LCD panel that's perfect for work and play. It pairs well with the surprisingly full and loud six-speaker system, too.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 may not be Qualcomm's cutting-edge mobile chipset anymore, but the Yoga Tab Plus still boasts excellent overall performance with its 16GB of memory. It's fast and responsive, even with multiple apps and browser tabs open at once. I also had no issues with its wireless connectivity, thanks to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

That doesn't mean I have no complaints. You can't expand the 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage because there's no microSD card slot, and you'll also want to avoid accidental splashes thanks to the lack of dust and water ingress protection.

The singular USB Type-C port does support DisplayPort-out and Power Delivery, but its meager 5GBps transfer speed limits your docking potential. Finally, the 10,200mAh battery only provides average endurance compared to the absolute best tablets, especially if you make use of that bright display or loud speakers.

The issue is Android, but we already knew that

The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus launched with Android 14 and a promise of three major OS updates and four years of security updates, and it's now on Android 16. That's a problem in itself — this tablet simply isn't being supported nearly as long as it should be (and it's regularly behind on security updates, too). Lenovo's promises for its "first AI tablet" also haven't panned out, despite multiple updates.

I'll give credit where credit is due in that Lenovo didn't slap stock Android onto the Yoga Tab Plus and call it a day. The company did make some subtle but important changes and additions to make this tablet work better as a computer replacement, with its own take on a desktop mode, a variety of keyboard shortcuts that work exactly as you'd expect, and various multitasking and interface improvements.

I was pleasantly caught off guard by the thought that clearly went into how to make Android work better with a mouse and keyboard, and I was successfully able to wrangle the Yoga Tab Plus to replace my laptop, at least temporarily. The red herring for this tablet, though, is unsurprisingly Android.

This isn't new information — Android is designed for phones first, tablets second, tablets-turned-laptops a very distant third. Whatever optimizations Lenovo makes, whatever desktop mode you turn on, Android is still optimized for touch and stylus input, lots of Android apps still don't have tablet or desktop modes, and many interactions are more awkward, slower, or simply take more steps to complete than on Windows.

Google apparently has big plans for how to change the status quo of Android on tablets, but even Lenovo doesn't seem to be super confident that the future of "Android PCs" will pose a real threat to your traditional laptop.

Yoga Tab Plus review: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if ...

• You want an Android tablet that can sometimes be your laptop.
• You want a premium device with all the accessories in the box.
• You need a great display paired with great speakers.

❌You should not buy this if ...

• You're mostly looking for a laptop that can also be a tablet.
• You rely on software that doesn't work as well on Android.

If you are looking for a pure tablet that can be your laptop when you need it, Apple is still way ahead with the iPad Pro. If you're looking for a 2-in-1 laptop that can be your tablet when you need it, Microsoft is still way ahead with Surface Pro. The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus (Gen 1) feels awkwardly caught in the middle, but I don't think that's entirely Lenovo's fault.

Honestly, this hardware is excellent for the price (when you include the well-designed accessories), and Android is a polished, intuitive operating system overall. I need a laptop more often than I need a tablet, though, and there's no reason for me to consider this over what I already have.

Still, I'm glad this exists, and I'm glad I gave it a chance to win me over. I hope Lenovo continues evolving this hardware, and I hope Google continues to optimize Android for this form factor. If you're interested, the Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus (Gen 1) is available for $739.99 at BestBuy.com (and at Lenovo.com). Be sure to watch out for the sales I've seen for it!

Back in May 2025, Qualcomm released the Adreno Control Panel into beta for developers, a graphics utility software specifically designed for Snapdragon X Elite devices as a way to optimize game performance.

Now, several months later, Qualcomm has finally released the Snapdragon Control Panel for anyone with a Snapdragon X Series device to take advantage of.

If you're excited to check it out, then you can download the latest version of Snapdragon Control Panel at Qualcomm's website.

RELATED: Best Windows on ARM latpops

According to a Qualcomm press release, the new Snapdragon Control Panel adds a few new features and improves others:

• Automatically detect games and modify settings to optimize quality and performance.
• Optimize game settings and keep drivers up to date.
• Experience better performance and support for more games with downloadable graphics drivers and AVX2 emulation.
• Play Fortnite and enjoy improved anti-cheat compatibility on Snapdragon X Series devices.

More specifically, when it comes to game optimization settings, Snapdragon Control Panel provides access to settings like "super resolution, framerate cap, anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, level of detail and texture filtering." Qualcomm also promises that more settings options are in the works.

In order to get Snapdragon PCs compatible with Fortnite, Qualcomm says it not only, "worked with developers to provide Kernel Level Anti-cheat support for Windows on Snapdragon," but is also working with the following anti-cheat providers for anti-cheat in other games:

• Tencent’s Anti-Cheat Expert (ACE)
• Roblox’s Hyperion
• Denuvo by Irdeto
• InProtect GameGuard
• BattleEye
• Uncheater

Could Snapdragon join the growing army of handheld gaming PCs?

Qualcomm has been having an excellent past few years as it continues to release and announce powerful chips, like the upcoming Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme.

But the chip manufacturer has shown time and time again that it isn't just content with producing SoCs for Windows on ARM business laptops; it also wants to make headway when it comes to gaming on Windows Snapdragon devices.

Whenever I talk with someone about Snapdragon laptops, I often get a mixed bag of responses. Some people tell me how much they love their laptops, while others are completely baffled to learn Qualcomm's chips dapple the market.

The one negative I repeatedly hear is that Snapdragon laptops don't really offer the best graphics performance — of course, this is by design since these laptops are typically intended to exchange GPU performance for long-lasting batteries, steady CPU performance, and lightweight frames.

And wouldn't you know it, that tradeoff sounds curiously similar to the kind of tradeoffs you get with a Windows gaming handheld PC. After all, devices like Xbox Ally X and Steam Deck don't have the most powerful internals, but they have still been optimized as portable gaming machines.

With all of Qualcomm's effort put into improving the gaming experience on Snapdragon PCs, I really won't be surprised if we get the news in another year or two that a Snapdragon handheld has entered the market. We'll have to wait and see how things go.

For now, enjoy your newfound freedom in Snapdragon Control Panel as you take advantage of the new anti-cheat compatibility in games like Fortnite or fine-tune settings on a per-game basis to get them running their best on Snapdragon PCs.

Qualcomm Snapdragon FAQ

Valve has announced its first all-in-one VR headset, dubbed the Steam Frame, which runs SteamOS and is powered by a 4nm Snapdragon SoC. The headset is the first Snapdragon-based SteamOS device on the market, meaning Valve is supporting Arm with the SteamOS platform, perhaps laying the foundations for an Arm-based gaming handheld future.

Up until now, pretty much all PC gaming handhelds on the market are powered by AMD chips. Even the latest Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are powered by AMD chips, instead of Qualcomm's own. So far, all official SteamOS devices are also x86 only, with no official support for Snapdragon-based PCs.

That might soon be changing now that the Steam Frame is official. The Frame is Valve's first Snapdragon-powered SteamOS device, running a 4nm Arm SoC paired with 16GB RAM. The chip will power the entire experience, from the OS to the games and the displays.

It's unknown what chip Valve is using exactly, but we know Qualcomm offers OEMs a range of specialist XR chips such as the high-end Snapdragon XR2+ Gen2 SoC, which would be the right call for a fully-fledged gaming VR headset like the Steam Frame.

Of course, a wearable headset isn't a gaming handheld at all, but that doesn't mean foundations aren't being laid with this device. Now that SteamOS officially supports Arm via the Snapdragon XR SoC, it's only a matter of time before we see SteamOS running on a gaming handheld that's also powered by a Snapdragon SoC.

It's quite unlikely that this will be the only Arm-based SteamOS device going forward. With NVIDIA rumored to be launching its N1X chips next year, it's reasonable to expect we'll see NVIDIA-powered Arm-based gaming handhelds in the near future too, and SteamOS will be well prepared to support it.

Although not directly, this should also benefit Windows on Arm. All Windows-powered gaming handhelds to date run an x86 processor, even though Windows has fully embraced Arm over the last handful of years. Qualcomm is eager to enter this market, and there's no reason why an OEM couldn't make a Snapdragon-powered Windows gaming device today.

But with SteamOS now beginning to support Snapdragon, perhaps OEMs will take a second look at the architecture. It'll be interesting to see how games perform on a Snapdragon-based SteamOS device, especially with Proton in the mix. In most cases, x86 gaming handhelds run better with SteamOS compared to Windows 11, so it'll be interesting to see if the same happens when both OSes are powered by Arm.

Valve hasn't announced pricing or exact availability for the Steam Frame, though it has said to expect it to arrive sometime in the first half of next year. The Steam Frame is a clear competitor to Apple's Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR headsets, both of which are premium high-end headsets, though Valve's will have an edge in gaming.

Of course, Microsoft only just recently threw in the towel on any and all XR efforts. It was first to market with AR glasses with HoloLens in 2015, followed up with a successor in 2019 that was even more capable. Unfortunately, Microsoft has scrapped plans to release any more XR headsets, conceding the market to Google, Apple, Valve, and Meta.

Alongside the Steam Frame, Valve has also announced a new Steam Machine "console," with an AMD processor. The company says it's 6 times more powerful than the Steam Deck, and is competing directly with Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC gamers. It also runs SteamOS and is a clear attack on Microsoft's vision to turn Xbox into an ecosystem.

Apple revealed its new M5 silicon for MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro on October 15, 2025, roughly three weeks after Qualcomm unveiled its new Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme ARM-based chips for Windows PCs.

I'm not expecting to see any of Qualcomm's next-gen X2 Elite and Extreme chips arrive in PCs until early next year, and Apple is remaining tight-lipped regarding any performance benchmarks before the M5 officially arrives in the MacBook Pro 14 October 22.

Regardless, I've put together an early comparison of the Apple and Qualcomm chips, including some early leaked benchmark numbers.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: CPU performance

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite platform is divided into three parts. There's the flagship X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) System-on-Chip with 18 cores, clock speed up to 5GHz, GPU clock up to 1.85GHz, and 228GB/s memory bandwidth.

One step down is the X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) with the same 18 cores but a lower 4.7GHz clock speed and 1.7GHz GPU clock. Then there's the X2 Elite (X2E-80-100) with 12 cores, 4.7GHz clock speed, and 1.7GHz GPU clock. Both of the X2 Elite chips offer up to 152GB/s memory bandwidth.

The new Apple M5 is home to just one chip for now; if Pro and Max versions are on the way, Apple still hasn't made anything official. Like the X2 Elite chips, Apple's M5 is built using 3nm technology.

👉 Related: Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4

Apple lays claim to "the world's fastest performance core" in the M5, and there are up to four of them in the 10-core CPU option (the other six cores are of the efficiency type). Compared to the M4, Apple says this combination delivers up to 15% faster multithreaded performance.

The M5's memory bandwidth hits 153GB/s, which is 1GB/s faster than the X2 Elite chips and 75GB/s slower than the X2 Elite Extreme.

A recent Geekbench leak (via Tom's Hardware) shows the M5 in a MacBook Pro ahead of the X2 Elite Extreme chip for single-core workloads. The M5 hit 4,253 in the leaked single-core result, higher than the 4,080 score that Qualcomm provided.

However, the X2 Elite Extreme comes out ahead in multi-core testing, hitting a score of 23,491 compared to the M5's 17,862. The performance difference there is mainly based on the X2 Elite Extreme's extra 8 CPU cores, so this result is a lot closer than I imagine Qualcomm would like it to be.

Qualcomm has mainly provided X2 Elite Extreme performance numbers at this point, which makes it hard to compare the non-Extreme versions of the chip. However, it's safe to assume that the M5 will maintain its single-core supremacy while inching closer to overtaking multi-core performance.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: AI performance

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips kicked off the Copilot+ PC era thanks to the inclusion of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with enough power to run local AI tasks smoothly.

With the new X2 Elite and Elite Extreme chips, the NPU has improved greatly, hitting 80 TOPS compared to 45 TOPS in the older hardware. That bump essentially prepares the chip for the future of local AI tasks, inside and outside of Copilot+.

Qualcomm shows off a Procyon AI Computer Vision score of 4,151 for the X2 Elite Extreme, besting Apple M4's score of 2,121.

But Apple has also improved its 16-core Neural Engine for the M5. It's optimized for Apple Intelligence tools, and it complements the Neural Accelerators in the CPU and GPU.

Apple hasn't yet provided numbers I can use for comparisons, so this section will have to wait for post-launch benchmarks. However, I do know that the M4 boasted 38 TOPS of power for AI, so the M5 should surpass that.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: GPU performance

Qualcomm has buffed its integrated Adreno GPU for the X2 Elite chips, significantly boosting the frequency and, in turn, performance.

For the X2 Elite Extreme, Qualcomm used 3DMark's Solar Bay benchmark — which tests performance in ray-traced games — to test. The chip hit a score of 90.06. To compare, Apple's last-gen M4 scored 62.7 in the same test.

Within the Windows world, the X2 Elite Extreme's new GPU, combined with increased ARM compatibility in popular anti-cheat systems, has the potential to make gaming a whole lot easier on the next generation of Snapdragon laptops.

According to Apple, the M5 represents "the next big leap in AI performance" for its custom silicon. Thanks to a redesigned 10-core GPU architecture and a Neural Accelerator within each core, it's touted as being capable of delivering more than four times the peak GPU compute power than the M4.

Buffed M5 shader cores are also expected to boost graphics performance by about 30% compared to the M4, and a new ray tracing engine should boost performance by up to 45%. That puts it roughly in line with the X2 Elite Extreme's early benchmark numbers.

External display support continues to favor Qualcomm. The M5 in the MacBook Pro can support up to dual 6K@60Hz displays, each running on Thunderbolt 5. It can also run one 6K@60Hz display and one 4K@144Hz display at the same time using Thunderbolt and HDMI. For one display, the ceiling is 4K@240Hz or 8K@60Hz.

The X2 Elite series can run up to three 4K displays each at 144Hz, or three 5K displays each at 60Hz.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: More to come

I plan to revisit this comparison once more information becomes available, but for now, it's looking like the flagship X2 Elite Extreme has some serious competition from Apple's baseline M5 chip.

It will be interesting to see how Apple's M5 Pro and Max versions, if they do arrive, compare as well to these chips, and I'm also looking forward to the potential of Qualcomm releasing something more powerful than the X2 Elite Extreme.

Best Buy's Techtober event so far has Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days beat when it comes to laptop sales, and this Zenbook A14 from ASUS is further proof.

👉 Related: 16 hottest new deals at Best Buy's massive Techtober event — Up to $700 off laptops, gaming PCs, monitors, and more

The Windows Central team agrees that this is one of the best thin and light laptops ever made, and the fact that you can pick it up for just $579.99 at Best Buy after a $420 discount makes it impossible not to recommend.

Why I love the ASUS Zenbook A14 even at full price

The ASUS Zenbook A14 debuted earlier this year as one of the lightest Windows laptops ever made, weighing in at just 980g (2.16 pounds) and measuring only 13.4mm (0.53 inches) at its thinnest point. That's 21% lighter than the 2024 MacBook Air.

ASUS achieved this feat with its "Ceraluminum" material, a magnesium alloy that's 30% lighter and 300% stronger than the average aluminum laptop. Just because this laptop is thin and light doesn't mean it's going to fall apart.

Despite the low price, ASUS includes a 14-inch OLED display with perfect contrast and exceptional color. It has an FHD+ resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate, and it comes with two low blue light certifications to help protect your eyes.

Perhaps the best feature, aside from the OLED screen and discount price, is the battery life. Windows Central laptop expert Zachary Boddy tested and reviewed the Zenbook A14, remarking:

"What happens when you take a massive pool of power, add a power-sipping System-on-a-Chip (SoC), and top it off with a modest display? You get incredible endurance, and the Zenbook A14 really delivers here. [...] Squeezing over 12 hours of actual screen-on usage from the Zenbook A14 isn't just possible, it's easy."

Performance from the Snapdragon X Plus System-on-Chip (SoC) is solid, with Boddy stating, "Windows is snappy and smooth, it's quick to boot up and log you in, apps open swiftly, and casual computing in general is a breeze."

And because the Zenbook A14 comes with Windows 11 Home installed, you won't have to worry any longer about the impending Windows 10 End-of-Life date on October 14.

I continue to recommend the ASUS Zenbook A14 to my friends and family when it's at full price, so this $420 discount that drops the price to $579 shouldn't be missed.

FAQ

During yesterday's Snapdragon Summit keynote, Qualcomm confirmed that major improvements are in the pipeline for games on Snapdragon-based Windows 11 on Arm PCs. It's fair to say that gaming has been somewhat of a letdown on Arm-based PCs so far, but Qualcomm is promising that big updates are on the way that will improve the experience.

"We've made some tremendous progress with gaming. We are collaborating across the industry to bring more titles to Snapdragon" said Qualcomm's Kedar Kondap on stage. With the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, popular AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are seeing 2x performance gains over the current Snapdragon X Elite, which is a huge jump in performance year-over-year.

Additionally, Kondap confirmed that Epic is bringing its Anti-Cheat Software and Game Services to Windows on Arm. "Epic's Anti-Cheat Software and Game Services are now available to Windows Insiders ... This will open up a whole new catalog of titles like Fortnite, Gears of War: Reloaded, and many more."

It's not just Epic that's looking to support Windows on Arm either. Razer has announced that it's bringing its Razer Synapse software to Arm, which will allow Snapdragon-powered PCs to configure and customize Razer's peripherals with RGB and more with no compatibility issues. Razer's CEO confirmed the plans during the keynote:

"We believe that devices powered by Snapdragon represent a powerful opportunity to reach more gamers with high-perf experiences. We are actively working with Qualcomm to bring Razer synapse to Windows on Snapdragon as part of the growing ecosystem that's reshaping how gamers connect, customize, and compete ... We are excited about what Snapdragon unlocks for the future of gaming."

Qualcomm also announced that the upcoming title Alien: Rogue Incursion will be available on Snapdragon PCs, and that it will leverage the on-board NPU to power a unique in-game AI experience that uses a large language model for real-time character recognition. No other details were given.

Voicemod, another popular app with gamers, is also gaining support for Windows on Arm and will leverage the NPU on Snapdragon PCs to process the real-time vocal synthesizers and effects that are possible using that application, letting you transform your voice into a robot and more without impacting the CPU or GPU.

Of course, it remains to be seen how long it takes for all these promises to materialize on Arm-based Windows 11 PCs. Qualcomm says Epic's Anti-Cheat support is already in testing in the Windows Insider Canary Channel, which should hopefully mean it'll begin rolling out some time in 2026. As for the rest, we don't know when Razer or Voicemod intend to begin rolling out their Arm-native updates.

Today at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit, the company finally unveiled its next-generation wave of Arm-based PC chips. This time, we're getting two high-end system-on-a-chips (SoCs) in the form of a Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme with even more performance designed to rival Apple's latest silicon.

Qualcomm has confirmed that these new chips won't launch until early next year, meaning we still have a number of months to wait before we can get our hands on this latest Snapdragon silicon. For now, the company has outlined how these chips are a huge improvement over the original Snapdragon X Elite, built on a new 3nm process that should make these chips more efficient.

The Snapdragon X2 Elite now features both 12- or 18-core configurations, with 6 performance cores and up to 12 prime cores, with a boost frequency up to 4.7GHz. Qualcomm says the X2 Elite boasts up to 31% faster performance at ISO power, while pulling 43% less power than the original Snapdragon X Elite. That translates to better overall performance and efficiency.

It's the same story in the GPU and NPU department. Qualcomm says the X2 Elite brings a 2.3X increase in performance per watt and power efficiency over the last gen Adreno GPU, though the company hasn't shared total TFLOPS output just yet. The NPU has also been upgraded, now sporting 80 TOPS of compute power compared to the 45 TOPS of the original generation. That should enable more complex and intensive AI compute workloads on device.

Be sure to check out our in-depth comparison between the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite, where we break down all the technical differences and improvements. Below, you'll find a spec table for all the new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips, including the X2 Elite Extreme:

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme shares many of the same specs with the standard X2 Elite when it comes to GPU and NPU, but the CPU boasts up to 75% more performance than the competition at ISO power. It can boost up to 5GHz, which the company says is a first for an Arm-based chip. It also has a higher memory bandwidth of 228GB/s.

Qualcomm says the X2 Elite Extreme is designed for "expert-level workloads with ultimate performance, multi-day battery life and blazing fast AI-processing power," positioning it as a viable alternative to Apple's latest M4 Pro/Max silicon, with a minimum of 48GB RAM and support for more than 128GB if configured.

Of course, it isn't just Apple Silicon that Qualcomm is interested in competing with. Both Intel and AMD have high-end mobile chips in the form of Arrow Lake and Strix Point, and Qualcomm is confident that its new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips will beat its x86 competition in performance and efficiency too.

Qualcomm expects these new X2 Elite chips to ship in a wide variety of Windows hardware, including 2-in-1's like the Surface Pro, thin and light laptops, workstation-grade laptops, and mini PCs. It's also possible that with chips like the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, we'll even see desktop tower PCs with a Snapdragon processor.

These new Snapdragon chips have come swinging right out of the gate. Qualcomm clearly wants the world to know that its chips are worth considering if you're looking for a Windows PC that's capable of professional grade resource intensive workflows. Notably, Qualcomm didn't announce a lower-tier model of the X2 at this event, as that's likely being saved for 2026.

If you've been waiting for Qualcomm to refresh its Snapdragon PC chips, the wait is almost over. The company says to expect the first Snapdragon X2 Elite-based PCs to ship in the first half of 2026, with the first devices likely being unveiled at CES 2026 if not sooner. Microsoft intends to ship its own updated Surface Pro 12th Gen and Surface Laptop 8th Gen with the Snapdragon X2 wave of silicon sometime next year.

OpenAI just released two generative AI models: gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b. While neither of them is the highly anticipated GPT-5, they mark a significant step forward for OpenAI.

Both gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b are open-weight models, meaning the parameters used to train the models are available to the public. OpenAI has not released an open-weight model since GPT-2 in 2019.

"We're excited to make this model, the result of billions of dollars of research, available to the world to get AI into the hands of the most people possible," said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Wired.

Neither of the models is meant to replace OpenAI's GPT models, such as the upcoming GPT-5. Both gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b are limited to text-only, though they are capable of browsing the web and working with cloud-based models to help with tasks.

The new models use chain-of-thought reasoning, which breaks big tasks down into smaller tasks to yield better results. It's a more "human" way to approach problem solving.

You can download the models through Hugging Face.

OpenAI partnered with several development platforms regarding its new models, including Azure, Hugging Face, vLLM, Ollama, AWS, and Fireworks.

Coinciding with the release of gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, Ollama released a new app that makes it easier to use local LLMs on a Windows 11 PC.

AI without the cloud

I'm going to focus a bit more on gpt-oss-20b because it is capable of running on PCs powered by Snapdragon processors. That's a big deal for Snapdragon-powered computing, which is often limited by compatibility issues.

This time, it is Snapdragon-powered PCs that are supported on day one (though Qualcomm cannot claim exclusivity to supporting the model).

Qualcomm discussed the milestone:

"OpenAI has open-sourced its first reasoning model, gpt-oss-20b, a chain-of-thought reasoning model that runs directly on devices with flagship Snapdragon processors. OpenAI’s sophisticated models have been previously confined to the cloud. Today marks the first time the company is making its model available for on-device inference."

The gpt-oss-20b, which delivers similar results to o3-mini on certain benchmarks, can run on devices with only 16GB of RAM.

That means the model can run on many of the best Copilot+ PCs.

Today was a milestone for Qualcomm, but NVIDIA was not left out. Both gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b were trained on NVIDIA H100 GPUs. The GPU giant shared the news in a blog post.

The more powerful of the models required 2.1 million hours of training on those GPUs. The less powerful gpt-oss-20b only took around one-tenth of that time, as reported by Hawkdive.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs can run the gpt-oss-20b model locally. Specifically, the model is supported on systems with at least 16GB of VRAM.

You'll need an NVIDIA RTX PRO GPU if you want to run the more powerful gpt-oss-120b model.

NVIDIA is now a $4 trillion company thanks in large part to its dominance in AI. The company is so dominant in the AI space that President Trump gave up any plans to break it up to increase competition.

Today, during AYANEO's 2025-2026 Strategy Sharing Session, the tech company's CEO, Arthur Zhang, revealed several of the devices AYANEO plans on releasing in the coming months, including mini PCs, a gaming tablet, a mobile controller, and more.

As part of these announcements, AYANEO revealed its new sub-brand KONKR, which it says is "a high-performance handheld console brand with high cost performance, to create more cost-effective handheld products for every player."

In other words, the KONKR sub-brand is AYANEO's more budget-friendly line of gaming handheld devices.

The company went on to show off two KONKR handhelds. Full specs and pricing aren't known yet, but here's what we know about these devices so far:

• KONKR Pocket FIT: A Qualcomm Snapdragon Android handheld that has been in the works for over a year.
• KONKR FIT: A handheld that is slightly smaller than the ROG Ally X, with a 7-inch display and 80Wh battery.

AYANEO's budget line announcement couldn't have come at a better time for me.

Literally just yesterday, I was talking to one of my coworkers here at Windows Central about how handheld manufacturers need to stop solely releasing only high-tier and premium options and start offering more budget-friendly ones.

Now, AYANEO's devices do tend to be rather expensive, so it's unclear how much more affordable these KONKR devices will be. Still, the idea of affordable handhelds is something ASUS, Lenovo, and other companies should be thinking about.

That's especially true if they want to better serve consumers and get a better hold on the gaming market.

We need more budget-friendly handhelds, no more of this high-end-only nonsense

Over the last three years, the handheld gaming PC market has modestly hit mainstream, largely propelled by the Steam Deck and then followed up by various devices like the ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and more.

Despite all of the competition, Valve has held onto its budget handheld PC crown. In fact, Steam Deck affordability has mostly gone unchallenged.

This is a major failing on the part of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like ASUS ROG, Lenovo, MSI, and more, who could be better serving consumers and thus capturing more of the market with more affordable devices.

As things currently stand, every few months I learn about yet another costly gaming handheld coming to the market, usually with the most powerful processors, or in Acer Nitro Blaze 11's case, a massive 11-inch display that drives up the price.

Just looking at the ASUS ROG Ally X selling for $899.99 at Best Buy, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ selling for $999.99 at Best Buy, or the Lenovo Legion Go with its $749.99 MSRP at Best Buy is enough to make your wallet cry from the high cost.

As you can see, the premium market is already getting served. What we really need at this point are more budget-friendly gaming handhelds that still run well but only cost a few hundred dollars.

Meanwhile, the Steam Deck has a starting price of $399.00 and its highest OLED configuration with 1TB sells for $649.00, making it more cost-friendly.

Of course, the Steam Deck is starting to show its age, with its smaller screens, lower display resolution, and less powerful processors. But that only gives competitor OEMs more reason to swoop in with a budget-friendly handheld that can replace the Steam Deck.

I really hope ASUS, Lenovo, Acer, MSI, and more learn from AYANEO's new budget line of handheld gaming devices. We need more affordable portable gaming machines on the market.

Learn more about AYANEO

If you're interested, the AYANEO 2025 - 2026 Strategic Sharing Session can be watched at the above YouTube link. Just note that the showcase is in Chinese without subtitles or translations.

If you didn't already know, AYANEO got its start in 2020, creating multiple Windows handheld gaming PCs. However, AYANEO wasn't jumping onto an existing train, the company actually released its first Windows handheld two years before the Steam Deck launched in 2022.

Since then, the company has broadened its portfolio by releasing mini PCs, battery packs, Android handhelds, and more. One of the best things I can say about AYANEO is that this company is always innovating and releasing new devices that serve somewhat limited niches.

As an example, you can check out my AYANEO Flip DS review to see a dual screen handheld with a foldable, clamshell design. Or you can also take a look at my AYANEO Slide review to see the company's handheld that features a full keyboard.

It's Amazon Prime Day week, and I've been on the hunt to find the cheapest Snapdragon X laptop. Earlier in the week, I saw a new low of $549 thanks to an ASUS laptop, but that record has already been broken.

Today, Snapdragon X is below the $500 mark, thanks to this Lenovo deal that brings the IdeaPad Slim 3x down to just $449.99 at Best Buy.

If you're in the UK, the same laptop is also reduced at Amazon, down to just £429.99 until the end of Prime Day. So you don't have long!

• Shop all Amazon Prime Day deals

With an original retail price of $679, that's a saving of $180 or 26%, which slashes this laptop to the lowest I've seen for a Snapdragon X laptop. For $499, you're getting one heck of a device, with a large 15.3-inch 1080p display, 16GB RAM, half a terabyte of storage, and a premium metal chassis.

Taking a closer look, the IdeaPad Slim 3x is actually an incredible laptop at this price. That 1080p display is a 16:10 panel, which is perfect for productivity work as it's slightly taller than your usual 16:9 display, making working in documents feel less claustrophobic. That, paired with the fact that it's 15.3-inch in raw size means you won't find this laptop screen too small.

That display is also flanked by thin bezels on all sides, which you don't often see on laptops at this price range. Coming down to the keyboard, we have a full-sized keyboard complete with a number pad for those who like that sort of thing, and a large mechanical trackpad below that which is a joy to use.

It's also just 0.7 inches thin, which is pretty good for a 15-inch laptop like this. On the inside, it has a large 60Wh battery which delivers all day usage, and rapid fast charge that nets you two hours of usage on a 15 minute charge. It also has a built-in fingerprint reader for quick and secure Windows Hello authentication.

It's what's on the inside that truly counts

On the inside, it's powered by a Snapdragon X SoC, which is Qualcomm's newest entry-level chip that offers a great balance of performance and efficiency. It features 8-cores, and packs quite a punch compared to Intel and AMD-powered laptops in the same price range, capable of your everyday productivity-based workflows, internet browsing, media consumption, and even light photo and video editing.

That chip is paired with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, which should be more than enough for multitasking between your downloaded apps, files, and media. The Snapdragon X also includes an NPU that outputs 45 TOPS of power, which means this device is also Copilot+ compatible.

A Copilot+ PC is one that gains access to exclusive AI features that are part of Windows 11, including Windows Recall, Click To Do, and Windows Studio Effects. Click To Do, for example, of an AI overlay that you can access at any point by holding down the Windows key on the keyboard and pressing the trackpad.

From there, Click To Do can analyze text or images on your screen, and offer quick actions such as summarizing the text, editing an image, and more. It's super handy, and only available on Copilot+ PCs like this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x.

If you've been looking to dip your toes into the Windows on Arm game, this deal for a Snapdragon X laptop for $499 is probably the best you're going to see this week. I don't anticipate it coming down any lower than this, and of course, it likely won't last, so hurry if you're interested!

Windows 10 End-of-Life is coming up quickly, with Microsoft expected to cut off the support lifecycle on October 14, 2025. While you'll still be able to use your Windows 10 PC after that date, it won't receive any security updates, and tech support won't be available, barring extra fees.

The end of the OS won't be immediate, but it's certainly time to start looking at your options for post-Windows 10 computing.

While you have a few avenues available — which I explain further at the end of this guide — chances are high that a laptop that's incompatible with Windows 11 is in dire need of replacement anyway.

But where to start when it comes to finding the perfect Windows laptop? I've been recommending laptops equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips to my family and friends, and I'm here to offer the same arguments for and against these PCs to help you make the right upgrade choice.

3 best reasons to replace your Windows 10 PC with a Snapdragon X laptop

Before getting into my top three reasons to buy a Snapdragon-equipped laptop, a bit of backstory for those who haven't been keeping up with Windows laptop news.

Qualcomm unveiled a new computing platform in 2023 with its Snapdragon X Systems-on-Chip (SoC). These chips have since arrived in laptops from all the major makers, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Surface.

👉 Related: Best Copilot+ PCs according to our experts

The Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus SoCs both use the ARM64 architecture, similar to what Apple uses for its own M chips that are famous for their efficiency.

Snapdragon X chips run Windows on Snapdragon, which is a version of the OS that looks and acts practically the same, albeit with a few restrictions on specialized app compatibility (which I explain in the next section).

For the average user, Windows on Snapdragon isn't going to feel any different than Windows 11 on an x64 processor like those from AMD and Intel.

Now, let's get into the three main reasons why I'm recommending Snapdragon X laptops to those replacing their Windows 10 PCs.

1. Snapdragon X laptops offer some of the best value on the market

Windows laptops equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips vary in price and features, but the bottom line is that you can usually find a stellar PC for far less than $1,000.

Indeed, Snapdragon X-equipped laptops offer some of the best possible value on the market. Not only that, it seems like laptop makers have extra budget room for high-end features like OLED displays, better speakers, and higher-res cameras.

👉 Related: Best AI laptops — Intel, AMD, and Snapdragon laptops with CPU, GPU, and NPU for artificial intelligence apps

Qualcomm has been busy expanding its Snapdragon X lineup since the initial launch in 2024, adding even more affordable options like the Snapdragon X (X1-26) chip aimed at "students, freelance workers, and budget-conscious consumers." These laptops start in the $600 range.

Buying a Snapdragon X laptop means you aren't shoehorned into one form factor, either. Whether you want the versatility of a convertible, the tablet style of a 2-in-1, or the classic feel of a notebook, there's a Snapdragon X PC available.

2. Snapdragon X laptops offer outstanding performance and efficiency

Qualcomm splits its Snapdragon X chips into Elite and Plus, with the former offering better performance at a higher price. X Elite is further broken up into X1E-84, X1E-80, and X1E-78 options, each with slightly different levels of performance but the same 12 cores.

Using Senior Editor Zac Bowden's Surface Laptop 7 review as an example, the X Elite (X1E-80) chip bests the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. As Bowden puts it, the "Snapdragon X Elite is a bit of a beast when it comes to performance."

The Snapdragon X Plus lineup includes X1P-66, X1P-64, X1P-46, and X1P-42 options, again with sequentially lower levels of performance. Bottom line, however, is that they all perform quite well.

For the average user, it offers more power than is required for web browsing, streaming, Office apps, email, homework, etc.

👉 Related: I traveled 13,528 miles with these Snapdragon-powered laptops — Three key things make them ideal for trips

Another big perk is that Snapdragon X performance doesn't feel any different when you're running on battery power. Plugged or unplugged, you can expect the same snappy responsiveness.

Laptops using the Snapdragon X platform have consistently offered some of the best battery life we've ever seen. Dell's XPS 13 that we reviewed with an X Elite chip, for example, hit more than 19 hours while running Microsoft Office apps on a loop.

Keep in mind the X Elite chip with super battery life is also able to compete with AMD's mighty Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 chip in Geekbench 6 and Intel's Core Ultra 9 185H in Cinebench.

3. Snapdragon X laptops are Copilot+ compatible

This one might be a bit controversial, but the more I explain Copilot+ to those near to me in my personal life, the more they want to try it out.

Part of the magic of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips — and one area where Intel and AMD have been playing catch-up for the past year — is the inclusion of a powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

The Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, as it's known, offers up to 45 TOPS of power for local AI work, surpassing the 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+.

This grants you immediate access to the best AI tools in Windows 11, including Click to Do, Cocreator, Windows Recall, advanced Windows Studio Effects, and many more coming in the near future.

While not everyone is excited about these features, they're currently the best way that the average user can leverage AI regularly, helping to boost productivity and make life on Windows that much easier.

Besides, if you're forced to make the switch to Windows 11, why not get the full experience?

2 best reasons NOT to replace your Windows 10 PC with a Snapdragon X laptop

Laptops with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips inside aren't the perfect upgrade path for everyone.

When someone asks me what the downsides are to these types of PCs, these are the two main points I always bring up.

1. Snapdragon X laptops have some software limitations

Windows 11 on Snapdragon is almost the same as the standard Windows 11 that runs on AMD and Intel processors.

Because of the different ARM64 architecture, running Windows on Snapdragon requires apps compiled a bit differently. And if they aren't natively compiled, Microsoft's Prism emulation layer does a good job of bridging the gap.

👉 Related: It doesn't matter if your computer runs on ARM, all of your apps will work on Windows 11

The good news is that we're now at a point where the vast majority of everyday apps are compiled natively for Windows on Snapdragon, and most users who aren't getting into specialized work won't notice a difference.

The WorksOnWoA website keeps a running record of compatible apps and games, so you can always do a check to see if your most-used software is supported.

Adding to that point, a recent report claims that Windows on Snapdragon users are spending 90% of their time in native Arm-based apps.

👉 Related: The best native Windows on Arm apps

If you do notice that some of your most-used apps aren't compatible with Windows on Snapdragon, Intel and AMD laptops will be the natural alternative. Both companies launched some monster chips in 2025, with excellent performance and improved efficiency.

2. Snapdragon X laptops aren't the best for gaming

The other reason against a Snapdragon X PC has to do with PC gaming.

While Snapdragon X PCs can run a lot of games without issue on the integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU — I again urge you to check out the WorksOnWoa website for a full list — there are better options for hardcore gamers.

If you are indeed a PC gamer looking for a laptop to run your favorite games day in and day out, a system with an Intel or an AMD processor and dedicated graphics from NVIDIA is my recommendation.

You won't have to worry about compatibility, and you'll get far better performance from a dedicated GPU. Check out the best gaming laptops we've tested so far in 2025 for more buying options.

I don't want to replace my Windows 10 laptop — what are my options?

Your Windows 10 PC isn't going to stop working on October 14. The Microsoft deadline is for security and feature updates, which will indeed end then. That doesn't mean you can't continue using the PC at your own risk.

Windows 10 PCs will continue to become less secure over time, and apps will likely stop being updated for the older OS as well, which can cause issues.

You have a few avenues available to address the situation, and I recommend you pick one and go with it lest you begin to run into issues over time once Windows 10 stops being supported.

First, I suggest verifying Windows 11 compatibility. If your current Windows 10 PC meets the Windows 11 system requirements, you can simply upgrade to the new OS and continue using the same hardware.

If you're hooked on Windows 10 and don't want to change — or can't change for some other reason — Microsoft will also let you pay $30 for one extra year of support for your Windows 10 PC.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Microsoft will continue the yearly fee after the first year. Beyond October 14, 2026, Microsoft is all-in on Windows 11.

If neither of these solutions work for you, the best route is to upgrade to a new Windows 11 PC.

As I've laid out above, laptops with a Snapdragon X chip inside are ideal upgrade candidates for most people. I've been recommending them to family and friends, as they're generally affordable despite great features, they offer snappy performance on and off the charger, and battery life can't be beat.

Lenovo's Yoga lineup ranges from versatile convertibles to premium notebooks, and attempting to choose the perfect PC for you isn't always easy.

That's especially true now that Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips have entered the room, offering a strong alternative to Intel and AMD for those who want excellent efficiency and don't mind using Windows on Snapdragon.

Now that we've reviewed both the Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) and Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) here at Windows Central — with both receiving a Best Award next to a high score — I've put together this detailed comparison to help you make the right choice for your next laptop.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Specs

Before I get into the in-depth comparison between these two Lenovo laptops, it's worth taking a look at the raw specs that go into the build.

I pulled this data from Lenovo's reference documents, so everything listed might not be available in all regions.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Price and availability

Lenovo's Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) is, by far, the more expensive laptop. At the time of writing, prices start at $1,819.99 at Lenovo for a model with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD.

Bumping the CPU up to the Core Ultra 7 258V option with 32GB of RAM costs about $2,049.99 at Lenovo. This model is cheaper elsewhere; you can pick it up for $1,999.99 at Best Buy.

If you're on a tighter budget, Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) should be your top pick. It starts at $1,199 at Lenovo for a model with Snapdragon X Elite System-on-Chip (SoC), 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

You can bump the specs up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, which usually costs about $1,399.99 at Lenovo. However, at the time of writing, it's down to $1,149.99 with a running discount.

The Yoga Slim 7x is also available at Best Buy starting at $1,199.99.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Design and features

According to Zachary Boddy in their Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) review, the PC "may be the best-looking laptop Lenovo has ever released."

That's thanks to a thin build that lives up to the Slim name, measuring just 0.57 inches thin and weighing in at 2.71 pounds. The laptop has "smooth, glossy, curved edges" and a glass lid, yet it passes MIL-STD-810H durability testing.

The Slim 7x is another beauty, with an aluminum chassis that's thinner than the Slim 9i at 0.51 inches. Windows Central's Zachary Boddy also reviewed the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9), remarking:

"If you think that means sacrificing premium materials or features, think again. The Yoga Slim 7x is constructed entirely of aluminum and glass, with a full multitouch display and certified MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability."

The thin design of both Yoga Slim laptops does have one major consequence: port selection. The Slim 9i (Gen 10) has just two Thunderbolt 4 hookups. That's it. The Yoga Slim 7x offers three USB4 ports — which are the non-Intel equivalent of Thunderbolt — but nothing else.

If you're using either of these laptops in a full desktop setup, chances are you're going to need a solid Thunderbolt dock to expand connectivity.

As for wireless, both laptops feature the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard for fast and reliable internet. Bluetooth 5.4 is available on both PCs for your wireless accessories.

The keyboard and touchpad, both designed by Lenovo, are a wash. Neither PC features a haptic touchpad, though the one on the Yoga Slim 7x is slightly larger. As always, I recommend trying out these keyboards first-hand before making a final decision.

Audio is also quite impressive across both laptops. The Yoga Slim 9i features a more powerful setup, however, which might make a difference if you often enjoy listening to music and watching movies on your PC.

It's set up with dual bottom-firing 3W woofers as well as dual 2W tweeters located underneath the keyboard, which makes it feel like audio is headed directly your way. Sound is supported by Dolby Atmos and a Smart Amp.

On the side of the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9), it also has four speakers but with a bit less power. There are dual 2W woofers on the bottom of the PC, as well as dual top-firing 2W tweeters flanking the keyboard. They won't get quite as loud as those on the Slim 9i, but they come with Dolby Atmos and a Smart Amp.

One area where the Slim 9i (Gen 10) falters is the camera. Because the PC has such thin bezels, Lenovo embedded the camera beneath the OLED display. When the camera isn't in use, it's not visible.

But when it is in use, you get a hole punch look on your screen. What's worse, the under-display camera (UDC) has to capture images through the 4K panel, making for a terrible picture. It also lacks facial recognition through Windows Hello and human presence detection.

The Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) takes a more traditional approach to the camera, offering an FHD camera with IR for facial recognition above the screen. It features human presence detection, which can automatically lock and unlock the PC when you depart or approach.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Display

The Yoga Slim 9i's defining feature is its incredible 4K OLED display. It has the thinnest bezels I think I've ever seen on a Windows laptop; so small that the camera is embedded beneath the display like a modern phone.

Reviewer Zachary Boddy calls it "the best screen on a 14-inch laptop," calling out the 120Hz refresh rate, 98% screen-to-body ratio, curved top corners, and excellent color reproduction.

In their testing, Boddy saw 100% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB, and 100% DCI-P3 color, with infinite contrast thanks to the OLED panel. Not to mention Dolby Vision and VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 600 certification to push HDR content to its best. Brightness climbs to about 395 nits with SDR content, and it can push 750 nits with HDR.

Boddy calls out a couple of drawbacks, including the locked 60Hz/120Hz refresh rates (no automatic adjustments) and the use of pulse-width modulation (PWM), which can cause eye strain and headaches in sensitive users.

The Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) has a slightly larger display at 14.5 inches, but it drops the resolution from 3840x2400 to 2944x1840 for less pixel density. It also tops out at a lower 90Hz refresh rate with no dynamic setting for automatic adjustments.

The panel is OLED with perfect contrast and super color reproduction; reviewer Zachary Boddy tested for 100% sRGB, 96% AdobeRGB, and 100% DCI-P3 gamuts.

If you're looking for a great laptop with a bright screen, the Yoga Slim 7x should be your first choice. The display climbs to roughly 500 nits with SDR, but it reaches 1,000 nits with HDR content. It comes with Dolby Vision and DisplayHDR True Black 600 certification.

The Yoga Slim 7x's display also uses the same PWM tech, so there's no difference on that front.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Performance and battery

There are some major differences between the two PCs when it comes to the hardware inside and the performance they offer.

The Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) uses an Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) 8-core chip as the centerpiece, meaning it runs standard x86 Windows with which everyone is familiar.

It's an Intel Evo laptop, so it benefits from speedy wake and boot times while sipping battery in standby mode. It keeps cool, for the most part, without making a ton of fan noise, but if you push the system, you'll definitely hear them running.

Reviewer Zachary Boddy notes:

"The Yoga Slim 9i is one of the best examples I've seen so far of how capable Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) can really be. [...] Performance is still more than good enough for what 99% of people do with their laptop, and the Yoga Slim 9i is future-proofed to survive years of software updates and feature creep."

On the other side, the Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip that runs Windows on Snapdragon. The ARM64 architecture is different from x86, but the Windows experience is practically the same.

What you'll have to watch for are apps that don't run natively on ARM. Microsoft's Prism emulation layer takes care of most inconsistencies without really harming performance, and 99% of users won't notice a difference.

To boot, more apps are always picking up native ARM64 compatibility, making it easier for users with specialized demands — especially in the design and development arenas — to have a worry-free Snapdragon X experience.

👉 Related: Best native Windows on ARM apps

Reviewer Zachary Boddy tested the Yoga Slim 7x model with a Snapdragon X Elite chip (which seems to be the only one available in most markets), remarking:

"There are fans, and they will buzz on when you push this laptop, but for the majority of laptop tasks the Yoga Slim 7x is as cool as a cucumber and just as quiet. That's also reflected in benchmarks, where the Yoga Slim 7x is fantastically consistent and reliable both on and off the charger (especially notable when traditional Intel and AMD laptops often throttle when running on battery power)."

I grabbed synthetic benchmark numbers from both laptops to directly compare performance. As you can see in the table below, the Snapdragon X Elite System-on-Chip (SoC) comes out ahead of the Intel CPU in Cinebench, Geekbench, and Handbrake, while falling behind in Time Spy.

Battery life also falls firmly in favor of the Snapdragon X-equipped Yoga Slim 7x. Boddy saw the laptop run for more than 17 hours in a video rundown test, and real-world averages were just as impressive.

The Windows Battery Report came back with an average of more than 14 hours following plenty of use during the testing period, and Boddy notes that they could easily expect more than 10 hours of real-world usage on a day-to-day basis, no matter the task at hand.

The Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) didn't fare nearly as well, and a lot of that has to do with the Intel CPU and the 4K OLED display. Following the testing period, the Windows Battery Report shows an average of roughly six hours of runtime.

Bottom line? The Yoga Slim 7x can deliver far superior battery life while besting the Slim 9i's multi-core performance.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) vs. Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9): Which should you buy?

Both of these Lenovo laptops received a Windows Central Best Award in their respective reviews, but only the Slim 7x (Gen 9) got a full five-star rating. After my comparison here, I can't argue with reviewer Zachary Boddy's scoring.

The Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) pulls ahead of the Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) in a number of key areas. It's the faster PC thanks to the Snapdragon X Elite chip inside, and battery life is far superior.

The screen, while not as high-res, gets brighter, and the OLED panel provides outstanding color and contrast. It has a superior camera above the display with an IR sensor and HPD, and its touchpad is slightly larger.

The biggest factor, however, is likely pricing. It starts at just $1,199 at Lenovo compared to $1,820 for the Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10).

That doesn't mean the Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 10) shouldn't be considered. It's the more attractive laptop with a superior OLED display that reaches a 4K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The keyboard is a bit more comfortable, and its audio is louder thanks to a full 10W of power. The real key here is its use of an Intel CPU, which allows you to run the standard x86 Windows without any limitations.

While Windows on Snapdragon continues to improve app compatibility, there are still some outliers that simply won't work on the platform. These exceptions are rare, especially for general users.

The vast majority of users won't have a problem with Windows on Snapdragon, and you'll be able to reap the performance and efficiency benefits from the platform.

Windows 10's support lifecycle is set to end on October 14, 2025, and any PCs that aren't eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11 will be left without support and security updates.

With what seems like perfect timing, Best Buy has dropped prices for a limited time on a bunch of Copilot+ PCs, including some great options from Surface, HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, and Samsung.

Prices start at only $599 and run up to $1,099, so there are plenty of options for all budgets and users. I handpicked the most popular PCs here, but there are plenty more to see at Best Buy.

🔥Best Copilot+ PC price of the week🔥

More great deals on Copilot+ PCs at Best Buy

Why now is the perfect time to upgrade to a Windows 11 PC

As I mentioned, Windows 10's support lifecycle ends on October 14, 2025. That is, at least, unless you're willing to pay $30 for an extra year of Windows 10 updates. Beyond that, you're on your own.

That makes right now — roughly four and a half months away from Microsoft's Windows 10 deadline — the perfect time to upgrade to a new Windows 11 laptop.

👉 Related: Best Windows laptops in 2025

If you are indeed using a Windows 10 laptop that is not compatible with Windows 11, there's a good chance it's feeling a lot slower than it used to.

Speaking from experience, I have an old LG gram from about seven years ago kicking around that I use for casual computing around the house, and I can tell it's on its last legs.

In that case, upgrading to a new Copilot+ PC with cutting-edge Qualcomm, AMD, or Intel hardware inside is going to make a massive difference.

👉 Related: Best AI laptops in 2025

Not only will these laptops feel like they're flying through any tasks you send their way, but they also have access to Windows 11's Copilot+ AI tools. That's all thanks to a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with at least 40 TOPS of power for local AI work.

Battery life has also come a long way, especially in the Snapdragon X PCs that run Snapdragon on ARM. You can reasonably expect true all-day battery life from many of these laptops.

The tradeoff is that some specialized apps built for x86 Windows have to run with an ARM64 emulation layer, but these instances are especially rare for users who focus on general computing tasks like browsing, email, streaming, word processing, and spreadsheets.

In my opinion, Snapdragon-powered laptops are the best avenue for those upgrading from an old Windows 10 PC, but AMD and Intel offer great Copilot+ PCs as well, which run standard Windows 11 without any of the Snapdragon-related restrictions.

Last week, I flew a total of 13,528 miles going to and from Taiwan for Computex 2025. Before my departure, Qualcomm was kind enough to send me two Snapdragon-powered laptops, so I brought the HP OmniBook X 14 (X Elite) and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 (X Plus) with me and used them throughout my work trip.

While these Windows laptops offer different use cases, the experience proved that laptops with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X chips are the perfect travel companions for personal or business use. Here's why.

What to know about these Snapdragon X laptops

The HP OmniBook X with a Snapdragon X Elite processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD has an MSRP of $1,449.99 at HP.com, but at the time of writing, it was on sale for $1,049.99. Strangely enough, reducing your configuration to 512GB brings the price up to an MSRP of $1,699.99 at HP. I'm not sure if that's a mistake, but it's a chance to save some money.

If you want to save even more, you can go with a configuration that utilizes a Snapdragon X Plus chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD for $899.99 at Best Buy.

Meanwhile, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 with its Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is a bit more affordable, selling for $859.99 at Lenovo.com.

I'll talk more about what makes each of these devices such good travel laptops, but first, take a gander at their specs.

Windows on Snapdragon makes for excellent travel companions

Thanks to their smaller 14-inch displays and slim, lightweight designs, both the HP OmniBook X and Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 were very convenient to travel with.

I easily packed both into my previously reviewed, carry-on Waterfield Air Porter Backpack (designed specifically for airplane storage) during my flights, and they easily fit on my Delta tray tables, so I could type while in transit.

Then, while at Computex, I was also able to take one laptop at a time to my appointments in my inconspicuous computer bag that I love so much. It sells for $39.99 on Amazon, in case you're interested.

As previously noted, these are both Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered laptops, which means they are Windows on ARM devices. Contrary to the outdated compatibility opinions some people have, these laptops are fantastic and were able to run all of the programs I needed for work, as well as after-work entertainment.

In case you didn't already know, Snapdragon X laptops are lauded for their battery life, and I was able to take full advantage of this while running around Taipei all week. I never got close to running out of juice, even though my work days were longer than eight hours each day.

I'll go over specific pros and cons for each device in the next section, but to sum up, Snapdragon X laptops are ideal work trip companions since they are slim, lightweight, and offer fantastic battery life.

You just need to choose a configuration and model that best suits your needs.

The HP OmniBook X 14 gives MacBook Air a real rival

The HP OmniBook X 14 came out in June 2024, but it's still a fantastic laptop, and one of the best MacBook Air M3 and Surface Laptop competitors on the market.

It ran smoothly and worked quickly with every application and task I set it to, from editing images in Photoshop to streaming Netflix.

I love how sleek and understated the chassis looks, since it never draws attention to me when I'm in formal settings. Some might find the design a little boring, though.

The configuration I used houses a Snapdragon X Elite chip, which is Qualcomm's latest flagship laptop processor, since the company hasn't launched a new one this year.

While performing some HP OmniBook X 14 performance testing, our sister site Tom's Guide compared it to the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 and found that the Snapdragon-powered laptop offered better multicore scores and a better display color gamut.

It even lasted up to 16 hours and 22 minutes in their testing, which was roughly an hour and 12 minutes longer than the MacBook Air 13.

Meanwhile, the 16GB of RAM and ample 1TB SSD perfectly suit this device and my storage needs.

I enabled Windows Hello when I first set up the OmniBook X, and it always detected me with the webcam quickly and easily. It's a simple thing, but one that I appreciated when listening to different speakers and taking notes.

As with most HP laptops, it does feature a controversial USB-A drop-jaw port design, but this also allows the OmniBook X to be thinner than other laptops. There are also two USB-C ports that support Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 for your added convenience.

One thing I found strange was that the display only goes back as far as 130 degrees. As it is, it reaches a somewhat abrupt stop and makes me worried that I might press too hard and break it.

While I wish the display could go back a little further, this won't be a big issue for most people.

Speaking of the panel, it's a little odd that HP doesn't offer a configuration with an OLED display. However, as it stands, the 2.2K IPS touchscreen panel offers very crisp detail with a respectable color gamut that I appreciated using when working in Photoshop.

Before I move on to the other laptop, I'll quickly say that the keyboard and touchpad are spacious and feel great to use.

The function row is also full of useful quick options, but I do wish the delete key wasn't quite so close to the power button. I ended up pressing it by accident a few times. Still, I could probably get more used to this placement over time.

You should buy this if ...

✅You want a lightweight AI laptop with long battery life

This Copilot+ PC and AI laptop offers reliable performance in a lightweight and slim design. Its long battery life makes it an ideal travel device for busy people on the go.

You should not buy this if ...

❌You need a laptop that offers more power or has a better screen

Snapdragon laptops aren't all-out powerhouses, so if you need to use graphically intensive software locally on your device, then this isn't the laptop for you. Additionally, if you want an OLED display, you'll have to go with another device.

The good and bad of Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1

My colleague, Zac Bowden, previously wrote a Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 review, so you can check out his full insights if you want more details on its performance. I'll largely just talk anecdotally about how useful this laptop was on my trip.

Unlike the OmniBook X, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a more versatile device that can be used as a traditional laptop but can also be folded back into a tablet.

I personally like standing it up in tent mode so I can conveniently interact with the screen while seated at a desk. If you'd like, you can even pay Lenovo a little extra to get the Base Pen 3, a stylus that works with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1.

I found the OLED touchscreen to be both very responsive to my finger swipes and beautiful to look at. As with most 2-in-1s, the keyboard deactivates when folded back, so I can't accidentally send inputs when in tablet mode.

While this laptop does not support Windows Hello with its webcam, it does have a fingerprint reader for quick biometric login. This feature worked beautifully each time I used it, so I could get back to work as soon as possible.

This laptop utilizes the Snapdragon X Plus with 8 cores, which is a step down from the flagship X Elite seen in the OmniBook X. Even so, this laptop was able to keep up with my busy workdays and didn't have a problem accessing the software I needed.

It offers 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and 512GB SSD, which is a good amount for most work and personal needs.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a little bit thicker and slightly heavier than the OmniBook X, but it also offers more ports and is thus more useful connection-wise.

There are three display connection areas in the form of two USB-C ports and an HDMI 2.1 port. On top of that, there are two USB-A ports, a microSD slot, and a headphone jack at my disposal.

So, when I was back in my hotel room and needed to plug in my external SSD, recharge my wireless Sony ANC headphones, and connect a wireless mouse, I found this laptop more suited to the task.

During performance testing in our review, this laptop earned scores that prove that "it's excellent for productivity-based workflows such as Office, online meetings, email, and entertainment."

Meanwhile, in our battery life testing, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 lasted 15 hours and 37 minutes, which is more than long enough for an average workday. I'm not surprised, given that it was able to keep up with me while I bustled around Computex.

You should buy this if ...

✅You're looking for a relatively thin AI laptop with long battery life and a good range of ports

While there certainly are more compact and slim AI laptops on the market, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 provides a lot of conveniences that some other devices don't offer. You'll easily be able to connect multiple displays and accessories to this laptop, and it will last all day too.

You should not buy this if ...

❌You specifically want a laptop with Windows Hello camera support

Having the fingerprint reader is useful, but if you'd rather have a laptop that unlocks via facial recognition, then this might not be the device for you.

Which of these Snapdragon X laptops should I get?

I can easily recommend both the OmniBook X and the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 thanks to their fantastic battery life, reliable performance, and relatively compact sizes.

That said, I recommend the HP OmniBook X 14 for busy people on the go, who just need a simple, slim, and lightweight laptop that can keep up with long workdays and trips.

Meanwhile, if you want a more affordable Snapdragon-powered laptop that offers a better range of ports and also can function like a tablet, then you should go with the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1.

Of course, you can always check out our list of the best Windows on ARM laptops if neither of these fits the bill.

Computex 2025 wrapped up on May 23 after a week of countless new product announcements from major tech players. However, one exception stands out: Qualcomm.

Qualcomm's AI-heavy Computex 2025 presentation notably avoided discussing the next generation of Snapdragon X chips. Instead, it went heavy on AI capabilities with its available hardware. AI performance numbers, AI integration plans, AI and Windows on Snapdragon ... you get the point.

It's no secret that Qualcomm didn't create its Snapdragon X platform as a one-and-done offering, so the lack of news regarding a new generation of hardware was particularly noticeable.

Qualcomm's side doesn't seem concerned with the delayed announcement scheduling. It has its annual Snapdragon Summit planned for September 2025, and it's now clear that Qualcomm is saving its next-gen chips for the occasion.

But why an extended delay between the next generation of Snapdragon X chips?

Qualcomm's 'tick-tock' Snapdragon X release cycle explained

I don't blame you if you haven't been closely monitoring the world of Snapdragon X computing.

To put things into perspective, it's been roughly a year and a half since Qualcomm announced "the most powerful computing processor it has ever created for the PC," the Snapdragon X Elite.

The new System-on-Chip (SoC) was eventually introduced alongside its sibling Snapdragon X Plus chip on May 20 at Computex 2024. This marked the official start of Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative that has now grown to include select AMD and Intel CPUs with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of more than 40 TOPS.

In the interim, Qualcomm has expanded its Snapdragon X chips with new SKUs mainly intended for budget systems. However, they've all been built on the same first-gen platform. The Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch are perfect examples.

Waiting until the Snapdragon Summit 2025 in September for a "Snapdragon X2" — the unofficial name — reveal, with what I assume is another few months of waiting for an official launch, will have us well into 2026 before PCs are available with the chips.

Considering both AMD and Intel work on a yearly release schedule, Qualcomm's lack of information regarding "Snapdragon X2" at Computex 2025 could be seen as a misstep.

Qualcomm's management doesn't feel the same way.

Speaking with Laptop Mag at Computex 2025, Qualcomm's GM of mobile, compute, and XR, Alex Katouzian, said:

"I'm not worried about our competitors coming out with something. [...] We're sustained in performance-per-watt, and we have relationships that are strong across retail and commercial, and we have marketing campaigns that are now very much concentrated on Snapdragon."

Katouzian further shored up the argument by pointing out that Snapdragon X devices haven't been available on the market since the initial 2023 announcement:

"We introduced our solution at Computex that would already have designs that we launched in May with Microsoft last year. And so, we're only in the market for nine months. I think a platform such as X Elite, X Plus, X — it needs more than nine months to become mature in multiple designs and SKUs."

These arguments might not be quite what you want to hear, but they're valid. Anyone who can't stand the current trend of releasing new, incrementally better hardware yearly is probably nodding their head.

Katouzian explained to Laptop Mag that Qualcomm is targeting a "tick-tock" release cycle akin to what Apple used to do with its iPhones.

"I think it's OK to come in as a tick-tock. We come in and then four months from now we're going to introduce our next-generation solution, and then it'll ramp into market early 2026. As long as people and OEMs understand that this continuous advantage is coming, I'm OK."

It's important to point out that the Snapdragon X SoC lineup isn't sitting dormant.

New PCs are launching all the time with the first-gen chips inside, and they continue to put up a strong fight in terms of efficiency, performance, and pricing compared to their closest competitors.

'Snapdragon X2' needs to make an impression at Snapdragon Summit 2025

With Qualcomm's decision to mainly reiterate its market standing and advancements during its Computex 2025 keynote, it leaves Intel, AMD, and even Apple open to pull ahead.

Intel has its next-gen "Panther Lake" mobile CPUs slated for a 2026 launch, and they're expected to significantly boost efficiency and performance, with new integrated Arc GPU capabilities.

Apple is also expected to debut its M5 chip sometime in 2025, and it'll be interesting to see how the design has been influenced by the push for AI computing.

Much of the hype surrounding Snapdragon X has died down since launch despite Qualcomm's aggressive ad campaign, and the company needs to make a big impression later this year when it finally unveils the next generation of SoCs.

I don't doubt that it has what it takes to pull this off, and I'm rooting for Qualcomm to once again make big waves in the PC world.

Microsoft has a big update for Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel or AMD processors. Several features previously exclusive to Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon chips inside are rolling out to the rest of the Copilot+ PC family.

Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator are among the features on the way to Copilot+ PCs with either AMD Ryzen AI 300 series or Intel Core Ultra 200V chips. Until recently, those experiences have been exclusive to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs like the Surface Pro 11.

Several features improve accessibility and make communication easier. Live Captions offers real-time translation for audio and video content ranging from conference calls to podcasts.

Other features, such as Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator focus on content creation. Overall, Copilot+ PCs will be more capable and accessible thanks to the new features.

Some of the experiences are already available for Copilot+ PCs with Intel or AMD processors through the March 2025 Windows non-security preview update. Microsoft will roll out the features gradually to more PCs over the coming month.

Staggered feature releases

The rollout of the new features to Copilot+ PCs is good news, but it also flags up inconsistency across the Copilot+ PC brand.

The Copilot+ PC launch was far from smooth. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden called it a "total disaster." Many are still confused about Copilot and the various devices and services that include that name.

Several tools by the tech giant are called Copilot. There are also Copilot+ PCs and Copilot Pro knocking about. Many items and services that feature the word "Copilot" are separate or largely unrelated, apart from the fact that they all involve AI in some capacity.

For example, you can run Copilot on non-Copilot+ PCs without any issues.

The fact that the best AI PCs are not all Copilot+ PCs hurts Microsoft's messaging as well.

But perhaps the most confusing aspect is that there are several types of Copilot+ PCs that do not have the same features.

Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator were all exclusive to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs until today's announcement. Microsoft's highly anticipated "Semantic Search" is in testing among Insiders but is also exclusive to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs for now.

Even in today's blog post about AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs getting previously Snapdragon exclusive features, Microsoft announced a new feature that, you guessed it, is exclusive to Snapdragon Copilot+ PCs for now.

"We’re also excited to introduce unique Voice Access capabilities for Copilot+ PCs, which are now available on Snapdragon X Series-powered devices and will roll out to others later this year," said Microsoft.

Voice Access simplifies PC control with your voice. The feature lets you use natural language to input commands. It looks like a great feature. It's just a shame it's locked behind a certain chip architecture at the moment.

Honestly, at this point I have to ask, "what even is a Copilot+ PC?"

There are some things that people can guarantee a Copilot+ PC will have regardless of the chip inside. All Copilot+ PCs have an NPU, for example.

But what you can do with those NPUs differs depending on if your Copilot+ PC has a Snapdragon chip or is powered by Intel or AMD.

Maybe Microsoft should have a tiered system for Copilot+ PCs. Perhaps Copilot -, Copilot+, and Copilot².

It’s been a long wait, but after years of user complaints about Windows Search's shortcomings, the OS is finally introducing a brand-new, AI-driven, NPU-powered system search engine based on semantics rather than keywords.

One of the ‘big three’ Windows AI features (including Recall and Click to Do), Semantic Search is a comprehensive system overhaul of how to find documents, images, file names, or even system settings.

However, there is one caveat: The new Semantic Search feature, now rolling out with Windows Update KB5053656 (Preview Release channel, OS Build 26100.3624), is only available to current Qualcomm Snapdragon X-series laptops like the Surface Pro 11 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7x.

Don’t worry; Microsoft says “support for AMD and Intel" is "coming soon" to join the best Copilot+ PCs out there.

Microsoft announced this update to the Windows Insider Release Preview channel just a few days ago, and it is likely a significant talking point at Microsoft’s forthcoming AI event.

Windows 11 'AI edition:' A work in progress

Microsoft introduced improved Windows Search last October, allowing users to leverage descriptive queries to locate settings and content. The update leverages the NPUs inside Copilot+ PCs, which are designed to have at least 40 TOPS for AI workloads and are available across File Explorer, Settings, and the universal Windows Search pane.

With AI-driven Semantic Search, you can describe the document or image you’re searching for, and Windows will locate it for you—no need to remember exact file names anymore.

Essentially, the system search in Windows 11 is now “smart,” a feature that has been long-awaited due to Apple’s popular Spotlight tool in macOS. While not AI-driven, Spotlight does allow Mac users to utilize natural language support and contextual understanding, making it superior to regular Windows Search. However, it likely trails the new NPU-powered Semantic Search, as NPUs are faster and more efficient.

Microsoft explains how the system works:

"To improve your search results, Copilot+ PCs perform semantic indexing along with traditional indexing. Supported file formats include .txt, .pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf, .pptx, .ppt, .xls, .xlsx for documents and .jpg/.jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .ico for images. Semantic indexing makes your searches more powerful since items that are close and related to your search terms would also be included in your search results. For instance, if you searched for pasta you might also get results for lasagna, including images that contain pasta or lasagna.

All data gathered from semantic indexing is stored locally on your PC. None of it is ever sent to Microsoft or used to train AI models. Semantic indexing is enabled by default on Copilot+ PCs. If you want to disable indexing and searching for specific locations or file types, you can do so by selecting the appropriate options under Settings > Privacy & Security > Searching Windows > Advanced indexing options."

Copilot+ PCs hit the market last June, but the launch lacked standout features tied to the branding. Senior Editor Zac Bowden labeled the rollout a "total disaster," with the absence of must-have exclusives being a key factor.

That narrative could shift as Microsoft enhances Windows Search and File Explorer with AI, potentially addressing long-standing frustrations.

Indeed, as noted above, Microsoft is set to take the stage next Friday, April 4th, at 9:30 AM ET (live streamed). The company will discuss consumer AI and Copilot, likely hinting at more extensive plans for its OS and connected systems. I'll be at the event to cover any breaking news.

Microsoft may also announce its new, slightly smaller Surface Pro and Surface Laptop editions, which are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors. We exclusively reported that these PCs were coming back in January. These editions align nicely with the latest Windows 11 KB5053656 update now rolling out to Windows Insiders (Release Preview).

A general rollout of this OS update for non-Windows Insiders is expected in the coming weeks.

Qualcomm-based Snapdragon X PCs have a new compatible app in two: Google Drive for Desktop. Initially announced as a beta in November 2024, Google has now given the Arm64-based app the green light for public distribution.

As noted on its blog, Google says the popular cloud-based storage service (akin to Microsoft’s OneDrive) is now ready to download for ‘Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.’

While general availability starts today, users may face a ‘gradual rollout’ of up to 15 days

Anyone previously enrolled in the Google Drive (Arm64) beta will be automatically upgraded to the public-release version, so there is no need to uninstall and redo the setup.

Those with Qualcomm-based laptops can navigate to Google's Drive page to download the app.

Google Drive was the missing app for many

Although Qualcomm and its partners have done a remarkable job of getting nearly all of the most popular apps compatible with Arm64 on Snapdragon X PCs, Google’s Drive app would not work in emulation. The app is critical for those who rely on Google Workspace in a corporate environment where access to cloud service is often mandatory.

While being in beta since last year was a great sign, only users who went out and looked for the beta could leverage it, as Google didn’t make it widely available or obvious to download (unless you searched Google and read my articles on it).

Google Drive allows users to store files, documents, photos, videos, and more online, which can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. Some of its key features include:

• Free and Paid Storage: Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos offer 15 GB of free storage, with more space available through Google One plans.
• Collaboration: Integrated with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for real-time file creation and editing.
• File Sharing: Share files and folders easily via links or permissions.
• Automatic Backup: Backs up files and folders from devices for safekeeping.

With today’s announcement, many who want to switch to a Qualcomm-based Windows laptop will lose one more point. In our testing, Qualcomm-based laptops often outperform Intel in power and efficiency (not to mention price).

Other major apps recently added to Arm64 include Telegram, Vivaldi browser, Davinci Resolve, Adobe Illustrator, and Slack. For even more, see our list of the best Windows on Arm apps.

Indeed, Qualcomm has a dedicated page set up to track all the major apps that are now Arm64-compatible, noting how “Based on research from Microsoft, 90% of the total app minutes people spend today have native versions.” While there are likely a few outliers, most people should be fine with a Snapdragon X PC in 2025.

Recently, Qualcomm announced its new graphics driver beta program for Snapdragon X Elite laptops (see our how-to for more information). Users can download the most recent driver that supports more video games, fixes issues with current games, and offers general improvements. That drive will eventually ship through Windows Update for all, but it's worth signing up for and installing for those who want immediate fixes and more compatibility.

Uploading its beta v31.0.96.0 driver, Qualcomm is "committed to continuously improving your experience" with a trio of newly supported games, upgrades to existing titles, and a batch of stability fixes for ARM64-native Windows 11 apps like Adobe Photoshop and Blender.

Playing PC games on Windows PCs running Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processors has been a mixed bag since the first batch of laptops, led by the launch of ASUS' Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ PC.

Early performance varied from passable to shockingly impressive in examples like Zac Bowden's review of the Vivobook S15, so it's great to see Qualcomm using these driver updates to improve the experience and support popular PC games like the "perfect sequel" of Kingdom Come Deliverance II.

If your Windows PC has a Snapdragon X Elite chip and not the Snapdragon X Plus (an important distinction), you can manually download the driver from Qualcomm's software center here.

Creators will benefit from the update, too, particularly if you use Adobe's suite in your daily workflow with apps like Lightroom on a Snapdragon X Elite PC with 16GB of RAM.

Patch notes: Games enabled

• Kingdom Come Deliverance II
• Helldivers
• Palworld
• Jagged Alliance 3
• World War Z
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• BodyCam
• Cities: Skylines II
• Forge of Empires
• Core Keeper
• Satisfactory
• Tiny Glade
• Genshin Impact

Improved performance for existing games

• Left 4 Dead 2
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla
• Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition
• The Sims 4
• Borderlands 3

Bug fixes for Windows 11

• Fixed corruption in WPS during zoom.
• Fixed Adobe Scene Edit Detection corruption.
• Improved performance in Adobe Photoshop.
• Fixed crashes in Adobe Lightroom on 16GB devices.
• Fixed cube rendering issues in Blender App.
• Fixed crash seen in Football Manager 2022 game during screen recording.
• Fixed AV1E MVHV failures.
• Fixed black screen issue during video playback in VLC Player.

Moving closer to Qualcomm's goals

We have always remained realistic when discussing the topic of gaming on Snapdragon X Elite laptops, but it doesn't stop ARM64 gaming performance improvements from being exciting.

Epic Games and Qualcomm are already pairing up to solve the issue of missing anti-cheat support and allow the phenomenally popular Fortnite to come to Snapdragon X laptops, so seeing similarly successful games like the crossplay-enabled Palworld come to the platform is encouraging.

Native ARM64 builds would always be better for gaming performance. Still, updates like these bring us closer to running these titles "just fine" using x64 emulation, as Qualcomm boasted in the early days of Windows on Snapdragon.

Selfishly, my long-term dream for Qualcomm is to see it partner with PC gaming handheld OEMs similar to the recently-announced Android-based devices running Snapdragon G chips and succeed in this evolving market.

The rapid progression of Intel's XeSS 2 upscaling technology and its competitors have legitimized the concept of AAA gaming in ultra-portable form factors with low-power processors running at maximum efficiency — whether Qualcomm can offer a comparable suite for PC gaming is up for debate, but more competition is always good.

One of my favorite laptop series is HP’s EliteBooks. While technically for business and enterprise HP’s designs, build quality and features always impressed me, which is why I ranked its EliteBook 1040 as the best business laptop for 2024 — it’s the one I use regularly.

Today, HP just announced its new EliteBook 6 G1q 14” Notebook Next Gen AI PC and it can be configured with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X processor, Snapdragon X Plus, and up to Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78100).

That also means optional 5G WWAN, which is something I prefer to have in my laptops.

So, why am I excited about this one?

HP’s new EliteBook designs are some of my favorites. Its using this new anti-smudge aluminum that feels soft and smooth while also not getting direct. HP also rounded the edges all around the device so there are no sharp points to dig into your hands. The result is a laptop that just feels … welcoming.

HP also reworked its keyboard with “Durakeys” and if it’s anything like the higher-tier EliteBook 1040 G11, I’m all for it, as it’s super comfortable to type on.

Ports are plenty with two USB4 with USB Type-C 40Gbps (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4); two USB Type-A 5Gbps (1 charging,1 power); one HDMI 2.1, one stereo headphone/microphone combo jack; RJ45 Ethernet (nice) and an optional Nano SIM slot for that 5G service.

HP at least gives you one Type-A on each side, which is great for accessories, but the Type-Cs are all on the left, which is a bummer.

Combined with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processors, which I’ll still argue feel more responsive for everyday tasks like Office work and web browsing (especially in Microsoft Edge), the 56WHr battery model should get some solid all-day battery life especially when combined with the modest 14-inch WUXGA 1920x1200 anti-glare panel (which only peaks at 300 nits).

Those specs are hardly ‘sexy,’ but mass-distributed laptops for work need to be affordable and power efficient. Plus, you could bump the display to a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) NeoLED panel with 400 nits of brightness and 100% color gamut, along with a powerful Snapdragon X Elite processor.

RAM tops out at 64GB LPDDR5X along with HP’s famed 5MP IR webcam, and up to 1TB of storage.

Yeah, the EliteBook 6 G1q 14 is a very modest laptop (hence its “6” designation, which is middle of the road, according to HP’s new branding), but for those of us who just want long battery life, and a fast and zippy laptop for office productivity this is one I’m eager to get my hands on.

We don’t have any information on when the EliteBook 6 G1q 14 will release or its price point, but HP’s EliteBook 6 series usually begins around the $1k range, but that was with Intel — Qualcomm tends to have lower prices, so it’s something we’ll keep an eye on.

At GDC (Game Developers Conference) Qualcomm announced its three new Snapdragon G Series chips that are specifically designed largely for Android gaming handhelds — Snapdragon G1 Gen 2, Snapdragon G2 Gen 2, and Snapdragon G3 Gen 3.

On top of that, Qualcomm gave a glimpse at upcoming handhelds from partner OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like AYANEO, ONEXSUGAR, and Retroid Pocket that are powered by these new chips.

Let's take a look at the specs for these three new Snapdragon G Series chips, before looking a bit at the recently revealed handhelds that they'll be in.

One of these handhelds, in particular, has a pretty crazy, customizable design with pivoting controllers and a detachable screen that is nothing like I've ever seen before. It makes me think of a Transformer in some ways.

New Snapdragon G Series specs

Let's start things off by looking at the new Snapdragon G Series specs.

• Snapdragon G3 Gen 3:
  • CPU: Qualcomm Kryo, 8 cores - 1 prime, 5 performance, 2 efficiency (30% performance increase)
  • GPU: Qualcomm Adreno A32 (28% performance increase)
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 | Optional: Qualcomm X61 5G Modem-RF System (Sub 6 Ghz support, up to 2.5 Gbps download, up to 900 Mbps upload)
  • Display: FHD+ 120Hz
  • Gaming features: Hardware Accelerated Ray Tracing, Unreal Engine 5 Lumen Global Illumination + Reflections support, Snapdragon Game Super Resolution, Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0
• Snapdragon G2 Gen 2:
  • CPU: Qualcomm Kryo, 8 cores - 1 prime, 4 performance 3 efficiency (2.3x performance increase)
  • GPU: Qualcomm Adreno A22 (3.8x performance increase)
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 | Optional: Qualcomm X61 5G Modem-RF System(Sub 6 Ghz support, up to 2.5 Gbps download, up to 900 Mbps upload)
  • Display: FHD+ 120Hz
  • Gaming features: Snapdragon Game Super Resolution, Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0
• Snapdragon G1 Gen 2:
  • CPU: Qualcomm Kryo, 8 cores - 2 performance, six efficiency (80% performance increase)
  • GPU: Qualcomm Adreno A12 (25% performance increase)
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 | Optional: Qualcomm X61 5G Modem-RF System (Sub 6 Ghz support, up to 2.5 Gbps download, up to 900 Mbps upload)
  • Display: FHD+ 120Hz

What can we expect from new Snapdragon G Series?

Two years ago, in 2023, I reported on the original Snapdragon G Series line. As you'd hope with any new product, these latest chips greatly improve upon the previous ones.

In a press release, Qualcomm explains that the flagship Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 is the first chip in the series to support Unreal Engine 5's Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections system, which shows one way that it will offer nicer graphics than the others.

The company also states that the flagship "Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 features 30% faster CPU performance and 28% faster advanced graphics capabilities, as well as greater power optimizations and energy efficiencies" for an even better gaming experience.

Snapdragon G Series-powered handhelds are great for Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce NOW

While I'm excited about the upcoming Xbox gaming handhelds and tend to focus a lot on Windows PC gaming handhelds like ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw 8 AI+, Android handhelds are also a fantastic way to enjoy games.

This is especially true in my case when I take advantage of Xbox Cloud Gaming or my NVIDIA GeForce NOW subscription. I can allow the games to be run on distant, powerful servers, so the device I use doesn't have to be as beastly as a gaming laptop or PC gaming handheld.

That also tends to make Android gaming handhelds a whole lot less expensive than PC gaming handhelds or consoles.

When Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon G Series chips, various manufacturers had the green light to reveal the handhelds they've been creating with this silicon.

So, what Android handhelds are going to take advantage of these new Snapdragon G Series chips? Let's take a look at three that I find interesting for very different reasons.

ONEXSUGAR dual-screen handheld with hinged controllers

Of the handhelds that will be powered by new Snapdragon G Series, this dual-screen one is arguably the most interesting and complex.

Plus, it reminds me of the Transformer toys I played with in the 90s.

The ONEXSUGAR is a dual-screen handheld with hinges that allow the controllers to pivot to different locations. That smaller screen is also detachable.

Rather than showing two different handhelds, the image above shows two of the same handheld models, just in different positions.

It's a wild design that, if built sturdy, could afford some convenient multitasking. Although, I'm also concerned about how breakable the moving parts might be.

This handheld is powered by the most powerful Snapdragon G3 Gen 3, so it's possible it could offer some really nice gaming sessions.

Pricing and configurations have not been announced at the time of writing. It will be available for preorder in May 2025.

AYANEO Pocket S2 with better battery and higher resolution

Knowing how prolific AYANEO's launch schedule usually is, I wasn't surprised to see Qualcomm mention the new flagship AYANEO Pocket S2 as a device that holds a Snapdragon G3 Gen 3.

In a clip from AYANEO, the company states that this device offers a larger 6.3-inch 2K ultra-clear display and longer battery life compared to the original Pocket S.

So, if you're already a fan of the sleek, phone-like Pocket S design, then this should be an even better version.

The AYANEO Pocket S2 will be available in March 2025, but pricing is not yet known.

Additionally, AYANEO is also releasing the AYANEO Gaming Pad, which is also powered by Snapdragon G3 Gen 3.

This handheld reminds of of the PlayStation portal due to it having a large display in the center and two controller halves on the side.

The display is an 8.3-inch LCD and supports up to 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.

It also has an "Esports-grade Turbo Fan Cooling system" and a "high-capacity battery for long gaming." More details are likely to come out in the near future.

It's unclear how much the AYANEO Gaming Pad will sell for but it will be available in May 2025.

Retriod Pocket Classic in a 90s rainbow of colors

Last, but not least, there's the Retroid Pocket Classic with its throwback GameBoy design powered by the Snapdragon G1 Gen 2.

It also has 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 5,000maAh battery, and a 1080x1240 AMOLED display.

The GoRetroid website shows that pricing starts at $119.00 but goes up to $129.00 if you choose a configuration with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

• RELATED: AMOLED vs other display types

This sweet device comes in a number of nostalgic colors, including Atomic Purple, Kiwi, Teal, PKM Yellow (with a royal blue back), and others.

I feel like I'm back in the '90s at the start of the Pokémon craze just looking at these.

Each device offers four back buttons for better compatibility with modern games. Additionally, the Classic 6 design, with its Super Famicom homage, is the only one that offers six buttons instead of the usual four.

You can preorder these in March 2025.

A new generation of Snapdragon-powered handhelds

It's pretty obvious to me that gaming is constantly evolving toward mobility. Over the last few years, this has become very apparent, with more companies pushing into console handhelds, PC handhelds, or Android handhelds.

While players may prefer one platform over another, there's no denying that mobile is the most used gaming platform of them all. As much as I love them, PC and console don't even come close.

Thanks to online services like Xbox Cloud Gaming, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and others, it's easier than ever to enjoy your favorite titles on an Android device.

As technology improves, I'm sure there will be more and more similarities between portable Android devices, consoles, and PC handhelds.

So, even if you're not a huge fan of Android gaming, it's always good to see gaming technology advancing.

Snapdragon-powered PCs had a strange 2024. Many of the laptops received positive reviews, but overall sales did not meet expectations. It appears the market shifted in December, however, as highlighted by Qualcomm during its most recent earnings call. This week, the company shared a few pieces of information that indicate Snapdragon-powered PCs are gaining popularity.

Specifically, Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips inside sold well in the $800+ market.

"While we are still in the early phase of the transition to Copilot+ PCs, we are pleased with consumer reception for our Snapdragon X Series, which has exceeded our expectations," said Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. "According to Circana, in December, Snapdragon X Series had more than 10% share of the greater than $800 Windows laptops in U.S. retail."

That stat has some specific caveats, such as only covering laptops rather than all PCs. It also is limited to sales in the United States. That 10% only applying to laptops over $800 also narrows the scope, but that price point is rather interesting. PCs with Snapdragon X processors offer better value than many devices that run on Intel or AMD chips. At first glance, that would suggest Snapdragon PCs would do better in the budget space than the mid-tier or premium segments, but Qualcomm hasn't targeted that price range yet. That will come with the Snapdragon X that aims to shake up the $600 laptop market.

Laptops with a Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus fall into higher price tiers but rate well in terms of performance and value. The best Windows laptop on the market right now is the Surface Laptop 7, which runs on a Snapdragon processor and starts at $999.99. The best laptop from CES 2025, the ASUS Zenbook A14, also runs on a Snapdragon X processor. That device will have an $899 version available later in March and the $1,099.99 model is available now.

It appears Qualcomm saw some victories to wrap up 2024, and it will be interesting to see if the trend continues in 2025.

Have Copilot+ PCs turned a corner?

Qualcomm only launched its Snapdragon X chips last year. As the company indicated in its recent earnings call, Copilot+ PCs are still in their infancy. But things did not start out well for Snapdragon X chips and Copilot+ PCs. Only 720,000 PCs with Qualcomm processors sold in Q3 24. That led to just a 0.8% share of sales in that quarter. At the time, Qualcomm chips were said to only power 1.5% of all Windows PCs.

The figures shared by Qualcomm do not cover the same exact categories as the stats we saw for Q3 24, but it appears that the company's PC efforts are trending in a positive direction.

Qualcomm also highlighted improvements for the app compatibility for Snapdragon-powered PCs. "The broader app ecosystem continues to expand, with Snapdragon-native apps now including 20 of the most popular VPNs, 50 of the most popular security and cloud storage apps as well as new applications for creators," said the company.

With the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus hitting their stride and the Snapdragon X on the way, there will be a much larger selection of laptops with Qualcomm chips in 2025 than in previous years. "We have now over 80 design wins launched or in development across the X series, and we're targeting commercialization of more than 100 devices," said the company during its earnings call.

The ASUS VivoBook S 15 was the first Copilot+ PC we got our hands on, and to this day it remains one of the very best. There's now a more affordable version with the Snapdragon X Plus inside, too, while keeping much of the rest of the laptop the same as the flagship-tier model. What's absolutely mind-blowing is that thanks to Best Buy's Cyber Monday sale, you can get one of these more affordable versions of the VivoBook S 15 for an absurdly low price of $499.99.

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An incredible laptop for the price of a half-decent Chromebook

The ASUS VivoBook S 15 was one of the first Copilot+ PCs to hit our desk and immediately made an impact. Not only is the Qualcomm chip inside a strong performer that also helps deliver long battery life, but the laptop it's all wrapped up in isn't half bad.

The Copilot+ PC requirements help with some of that. You have to have 16GB of RAM, so that's what you've got. Even on this stepped-down Snapdragon X Plus version, you still get a 45 TOPS NPU to make use of the Copilot+ AI suite of tools, too.

ASUS also decided, much for the better, to slap a 3K resolution OLED display on the VivoBook S. So this is also one of the cheapest laptops you'll be able to get any time soon with an OLED display. And it is glorious. For the price of a half-decent Chromebook, you're getting a tricked out Windows laptop with the latest ARM chip inside.

A lot of review units have come across my desk in the last couple of years, but the VivoBook S is one of a small number I was genuinely sad to see go back.

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You shouldn't be buying anything but a Copilot+ PC now

My colleague, Senior Editor, Zac Bowden, has recently written that you should ONLY consider a Copilot+ PC right now, and I'm inclined to agree. The only caveat to that would be if you're buying a gaming laptop, because Snapdragon-powered machines aren't really there yet.

Copilot+ PCs have exclusive features that regular Windows laptops don't have, and that will only continue to grow. While AMD and Intel will be joining the party soon enough, Qualcomm laptops have the advantage of delivering these features and comparable performance with higher efficiency. That means longer battery life.

As this deal proves, you're not getting a better deal by NOT getting a Copilot+ PC, either. This version of the VivoBook S 15 has a gorgeous, high resolution OLED display, plenty of RAM and storage, and the latest wireless connectivity. It's like living in the future, but not spending over $500 for the privilege.

What you need to know

• Google has announced Drive for Desktop ARM64 support.
• The updated app is currently in open beta, but lacks “Outlook Meet plugin.”
• Google Drive is a “make or break” app for many people who want new Copilot+ PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors.

Even more good news has arrived for those running new or older Qualcomm-based Windows laptops (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite): Google has finally shipped a working beta of its popular Drive for Desktop app just in time for the best Windows on Arm laptops this holiday season.

The refreshed app was announced on the Google Drive help page (via Thurrott). It is functionally the same as the x86-64 version, except it currently lacks the Outlook Meet plugin (which few people tend to use).

From the Google Drive announcement:

This is a beta version and may contain bugs. It should be used with non-production data only. Alternatively, ensure that your data is backed up separately.

Google also stated the requirements for its Drive for Desktop app, most of which is pretty obvious:

• Windows 11 Required: The beta version of Google Drive for desktop is compatible exclusively with devices running Windows 11.
• Microsoft WebView2 Required: This component is typically included with Windows 11; however, if it is missing or was previously removed, our installer will prompt you to download and install it.

Users can download the setup package right from Google here.

Google Drive is a big deal for ARM64 and Windows 11

When Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X platform and all the new laptops shipping with powerful but efficient chips, many questions remained about app compatibility. Since then, many significant apps have come on board, including Telegram, Vivaldi browser, Davinci Resolve, Adobe Illustrator, and Slack. For even more, see our list of the best Windows on Arm apps.

However, Google Drive was not one of them and was one of the few apps that couldn’t run in compatibility/emulation mode. We heard from many Windows 11 users that Google Drive for Desktop support was critical to their daily usage and one of those apps that make or break the entire experience.

Now that Google Drive for Desktop is here, at least in beta form, Microsoft and Qualcomm have one less headache when people protest about switching to ARM64.

Indeed, another sore spot, Windows 11 ISO packages, was missing until a few days ago when Microsoft made an ISO package for Windows 11 for Arm64-based PCs available to download. Google also recently announced that its Quick Share file-sharing app is headed to Windows on Arm.

Qualcomm is expected to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January in Las Vegas. It’ll be interesting to see if it reveals any more software momentum, advances, and hints at the Gen 2 of the Snapdragon X processor platform.

What you need to know

• At its annual Snapdragon Summit event in Hawaii, Qualcomm has briefly teased some performance figures for its 2nd Gen Oryon CPU.
• The (admittedly slightly vague) graph charts the CPU performance of the chip against the current version, as well as AMD and Intel's competition.
• The TL;DR seems to be that we can expect significant performance gains, but at a much lower power, scoring more efficiency wins for users.

It's that time of year again where Qualcomm hosts a big shindig out in Hawaii and talks about its latest and greatest. While we haven't gone this year (Hawaii is pretty far away, after all), and much of the focus has been on mobile, PC fans aren't completely left out.

Among all the talk about the current generation Snapdragon X Elite and how it's fared against the old guard in AMD and Intel, is a nugget of exciting information on what's coming next.

On stage at the event, Qualcomm showed off a graph that, frankly, has my mouth watering. You can see it courtesy of my old pal Tomi, aka GadgetsBoy, who did make the long trek to Hawaii.

So, what can we draw from this? Not much, but enough to get excited. The graphs only show one benchmark, Geekbench, and for single-core performance. But there are still some juicy tidbits to pull from it.

For one, the 2nd Gen Oryon (the CPU part of the Snapdragon X Elite) uses much less power than what's currently out there. Qualcomm says it requires 57% less power, which is remarkable for a single generation leap. But beyond that, the single-core performance being reported is not only higher than Intel and AMD's competing chips, but also at significantly lower power. The killer detail here is that the 2nd Gen Oryon benchmark was run on Android, not on Windows, since Oryon is now going into phones as well. But nevertheless, it paints quite the picture.

Comparing to the Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 256V (seriously, who comes up with these names?), Qualcomm is making bold claims. It's said to have 62% higher performance at the same power, which in this case looks to be about 6W. But it's also able to match the Intel chip's peak performance using a whopping 190% less power. And in this case, Qualcomm is talking about a phone, remember.

Of course, this is a Qualcomm graph, at a Qualcomm event, referencing a single benchmark on a chip that we have no information about with regard to laptops. So apply the regular caution. However, it does set an interesting tone before these things actually do appear. Battery life to performance is already fantastic on the first generation Snapdragon X Elite, and all the signs point towards Qualcomm taking this up a few notches with the successor. Batteries aren't getting any bigger, so the more life we can squeeze out of them, the better.

The big play here is that using a 2nd Gen Snapdragon X Elite would appear to be not only a leap forward in performance, but also in the type of battery life we can expect while still getting most, if not all, of that performance. Either way, I'm already looking at my watch, wondering when we're going to see these chips out in the wild.

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What you need to know

• Dell just unveiled new models of its Inspiron 14 and Latitude 5455 that feature the Snapdragon X Plus processor with eight cores.
• The new eight-core Snapdragon X Plus promises 45 TOPS of performance but is more affordable than the 10-core variant of the Snapdragon X Plus launched earlier this year.
• The refreshed Inspiron 14 and Latitude 5455 will start shipping on September 24, 2024.
• Dell confirmed that the Inspiron 14 will start at $899 but has not shared pricing details for the Latitude 5455.

Dell just unveiled new versions of its Inspiron 14 and Latitude laptops that run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus (8-core). The new processor inside the laptops has a lower cost than its more powerful 10-core sibling but still promises 45 TOPS of performance. That means the new PCs can handle AI tasks such as image generation and Windows Studio effects without requiring as much power.

The announcement came during IFA 2024, which has already seen quite a bit of news related to AI PCs and Copilot+ PCs. We now know that other chipmakers will update systems to become Copilot+ PCs later this year, so Qualcomm now has to compete to stand out in that space.

Dell Inspiron 14

The new Dell Inspiron 14 runs on either the newly announced Snapdragon X Plus with eight cores or the more powerful Snapdragon X Plus with 10 cores. Regardless of the processor you choose, the NPU of the Inspiron 14 will have 45 TOPS. That level of AI-focused performance is a big draw of the new Snapdragon X Plus, which aims to handle AI tasks without requiring a high price tag.

Dell announced Qualcomm Snapdragon versions of the Inspiron 14 (and the Inspiron 14 Plus) earlier this year. Today's announcement builds on that lineup by offering a more affordable option. The Inspiron 14 is a productivity-focused laptop that's now "ready for business," according to Dell.

Thanks to its Snapdragon X Plus processor, the Inspiron 14 is a Copilot+ PC. That means it meets certain specs that allow it to perform AI tasks without taxing the system's CPU or GPU. Generating text and creating images are among the most advertised uses for AI at the moment. Windows Studio Effects will likely be more useful for a broader range of business users. When Microsoft rolls out Windows Recall in the future, that feature will ship to Copilot+ PCs as well, though it could be a while before Recall reaches general availability.

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Dell Latitude 5455

Dell gave the Latitude 5455 a similar chip refresh to what the Inspiron 14 received. The Latitude 5455 will have options with either a Snapdragon X Plus (8-core) or Snapdragon X Plus (10-core). The business laptop promises up to 27 hours of battery life, though that figure will vary quite a bit based on usage.

Dell confirmed that the Latitude 5455 will be available on September 24, 2024 but has not shared pricing information at this time.

Snapdragon X Plus (8-core)

Qualcomm announced a new eight-core variant of the Snapdragon X Plus today. That processor has the same 45 TOPS of performance from its NPU as the 10-core version of the Snapdragon X Plus but is more affordable than its sibling. Qualcomm lowered the cost of the eight-core Snapdragon X Plus by featuring a less powerful GPU on the processor and lowering the CPU clock speed.

Generally, laptops with a Snapdragon X Plus (8-core) start at $999. The Inspiron 14 with the new Snapdragon X Plus variant starts at $899. We may see some laptops with the new chip start at as low as $800, though that will depend on other specs of the respective systems.

Like the other Snapdragon X processors, there are several versions of the Snapdragon X Plus with eight cores. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden broke down all the differences while covering IFA 2024.

Earlier this week, Intel announced its new Core Ultra Series 2 processors. Those aim to compete on the higher end of the consumer space. Today's newly unveiled chips from Qualcomm are on the other end of the spectrum, providing a value play to businesses and productivity-focused PC users.

What you need to know

• Windows Subsystem for Android will be deprecated on March 5, 2025.
• Despite the fact that support for Windows Subsystem for Android does not end until next year, new PCs powered by Snapdragon X processors cannot run Android apps.
• A third-party developer has managed to get Windows Subsystem for Android to work on Snapdragon X PCs, such as the Surface Pro 11.

Microsoft announced plans to deprecate Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) on Windows 11 earlier this year. WSA will continue to work until the feature is deprecated on March 5, 2025. But despite the subsystem being supported at the moment, new PCs running on a Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus are not able to use WSA at all. 

Strangely, WSA comes preinstalled on new Snapdragon X PCs like the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. Despite being preinstalled on the systems, WSA is not functional. Microsoft is aware that WSA is broken on these new PCs but has no plans to fix the situation, according to statements made to XDA.

Jeremy Sinclair, an avid Windows developer, decided to fix the situation himself. He created modified images that allow WSA to function and sent those images out to some Snapdragon Insiders. Sinclair says, "overall it's working," though the developer notes some bugs are present.

XDA notes that WSA relies on Armv7, which does not work on Snapdragon X PCs. Sinclair had to find a way around this, and the solution is a tad tricky. To replicate Sinclair's setup, you'd have to modify protected folders on your PC. We'll need to spend more time with the process before we can outline steps and recommend trying it, even with a disclaimer. But it is technically possible to run Android apps on a Surface Pro 11, Surface Pro 7 or other Snapdragon X-powered PCs.

It's odd that a feature that's still supported does not work on flagship Surface hardware, but it appears that will be the case until next March. If you want to use Android apps on Windows 11, you'll have to use Sinclair's solution or look at alternatives like BlueStacks.

Why is Microsoft ending Android apps on Windows 11?

When Microsoft announced that it would end support for WSA, some were surprised. The feature is technologically impressive and provided access to more apps on Windows. But according to Andrew Clinick, who worked for Microsoft for over 29 years, said the "nails were in the coffin" as soon as Google decided to not back WSA. If Google not backing WSA was the nail in the coffin, Amazon pulling the Amazon Appstore from WSA was burying the feature.

"Store revenue pays the bills and salaries of the wsa team," explained Clinick. "WSL acrues to azure and vs so has a profit center. WSA without a store is awesome but doesn't help windows financially."

READ MORE: Amazon Appstore removed from Microsoft Store

Without a clear path to monetization, WSA is not long for this world. Android apps on Windows 11 were always a bit limited when run through WSA. The Amazon Appstore, which was officially supported on WSA, pales in comparison to the Google Play Store. Sideloading apps closed some of the app gap, but not enough for everyone. Even with the Amazon Appstore, people struggled to find must-have Android apps on Windows 11. Without the Amazon Appstore, WSA is essentially just a technical marvel.

What you need to know

• NordVPN will make an Arm-native version of its application in the near future.
• The company confirmed that the Arm-native version of NordVPN is in its final stages.
• Being optimized for Arm should make NordVPN perform better and have better efficiency when running on devices powered by the Snapdragon X Elite or other Arm processors.

Windows 11 on Arm PCs are about to get a big boost when it comes to security and privacy. NordVPN, a popular tool for securing devices by hiding your IP address, will have an Arm-native version soon. That's good news for people who already have a NordVPN subscription or that are interested in grabbing one for use on an Arm-powered PC like the Surface Pro 11 or Surface Laptop 7.

"We are building an Arm-native NordVPN application and the launching process is on the final stages," said NordVPN to TechRadar. "We are now in close cooperation with Microsoft to receive driver signing certificate. We expect to release the application in the near future."

NordVPN is one of the most popular VPNs around. It also tops the lists of the best VPNs and best VPNs PC maintained by our colleagues at TechRadar. NordVPN is easy to set up and use, allowing you to improve your security or unblock international streaming libraries by pretending to be somewhere you are not. What NordVPN is not, at least at the moment, is an option for those using Windows on Arm PCs. In fact, very few VPNs work on PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors due to VPNs relying so heavily on specific drivers.

VPNs on Copilot+ PCs / Windows 11 on Arm

At the moment, you cannot use NordVPN on a Windows on Arm PC, even through emulation. While the best experience will come by using native Arm applications, Windows on Arm PCs can run other apps through emulation. Running non-native apps got a boost in the form of Microsoft's Prism technology, but there are still some apps that will not work on Arm-powered PCs.

The first wave of Copilot+ PCs, all of which run on the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus, have received positive reviews (in the future there will be Copilot+ PCs with non-Arm chips). Generally speaking, the best native Arm apps perform great on these PCs and non-native apps run fine. 

"An important aspect of the Snapdragon X platform is how the emulated apps feel when used. On older generations of Windows on Arm chips, running even basic apps under emulation felt slower than running an Intel or AMD machine," said our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino in our Surface Laptop 7 review.

"That's no longer the case here on Snapdragon X. Many of the apps I've tried that run under emulation feel fine, with no scrolling lag or frame dropping when navigating through an app."

While performance of those non-native apps is generally fine, efficiency drops when using apps that are not native to Arm. There are also some apps that perform noticeably slower in emulation. NordVPN and some other apps are not able to run on Windows 11 on Arm at all due to drivers or other limitations.

Certain apps not working with — or working well on — Windows on Arm PCs is a deal breaker for some. It doesn't matter how sleek the designs of the Galaxy Book4 Edge or other laptops if those PCs can't run the apps you need. The addition of an Arm-native version of NordVPN should close a noticeable gap in the Windows on Arm ecosystem.

What you need to know

• The first wave of PCs running on Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors started shipping this week.
• Those Arm-based chips promise impressive performance but require an emulation layer to run certain apps, which lowers performance and efficiency.
• Adobe will release compatible versions of Illustrator and InDesign in July 2024 and Premiere Pro and After Effects later this year.

Adobe apps are about to get better on Windows on Arm PCs like the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. Some of Adobe's apps are already optimized for Arm64, but Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects are not. Fortunately for creators hoping to get the best performance from the Adobe suite while using a PC running on a Snapdragon X processor, that situation is about to change.

In a briefing attended by Windows Central on the new Surface Pro 11 it was stated that Illustrator and InDesign will have native Arm versions compatible versions in July 2024. That means the apps will run emulated via Microsoft PRISM (its new emulation layer in Windows 11 24H2), not native ARM64. Still, that's an improvement, as Adobe currently has blocks for some of its apps when it comes to installing them on ARM64 devices, like the new Snapdragon X PCs.

Premiere Pro and After Effects users will have to wait a bit longer, as those apps will have Arm-native versions "later this year." The rollout of more Adobe apps native to Arm should help creators and boost the viability of the best Copilot+ PCs.

Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom are already ARM64 native, having arrived on the platform in late 2020.

The first wave of Copilot+ PCs shipped this week, and several other devices running the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus are on the way. These chips promise better battery life and efficiency than their x86 counterparts, but they have limitations. Apps not native to Arm have to run through emulation, which is not as efficient. Microsoft's Prism emulation layer is technologically impressive but does not deliver the same performance as running apps natively.

Lighter applications should still perform well when emulated. The ultimate goal is for everyday users not to notice or care if an app is emulated. We're not there yet, at least regarding specific applications.

Can Snapdragon X Elite run Adobe Premiere Pro?

Until recently, you could not run Adobe Premiere Pro in emulation. That has changed, making it possible to use the video editing application on Windows on Arm PCs. That being said, the experience is not ideal. While using the PC for his ASUS VivoBook S 15 review, our Senior Editor Zac Bowden ran into issues when trying to use Adobe Premiere Pro. In fact, it was the primary exception to an otherwise smooth experience of running x86 apps in emulation:

"So, what was the exception I mentioned? I could only find one that I could tell would benefit from being Arm64 native: Adobe Premiere Pro. On these new devices, Adobe finally lets you run Premiere Pro under emulation, but Premiere Pro is a massive application that's very heavy even on Intel systems, so unsurprisingly, it doesn't run amazingly here.

Can you edit and render a video with it? Yes! But your experience will depend on the kind of video you're editing. You should be golden if you're editing a simple 1080p 30fps video. You will see the app struggle if you're working with multiple layers and effects or 4K and 60fps. You'll see frame-dropping in the timeline preview feed and rendering the video will take longer than on an Intel machine."

Adobe releasing a version of Premiere Pro that can run on Arm natively should make video editing with the app much better on PCs with a Snapdragon X Elite processor. DaVinci Resolve, a video editing app that competes with Premiere Pro, already has an Arm64 native version which works smoothly on Snapdragon X Elite-powered PCs.

Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects should also see boosts in performance and efficiency when they make the jump to being Arm-native. The first two of those programs will have native Arm versions next month, while Adobe expects to ship Arm-optimized versions of Premiere Pro and After Effects later this year.

What you need to know

• Apple unveiled its M4 chip, which will power the new iPad Pro.
• The M4 promises 50% faster CPU performance than Apple's M2 and is four times faster than the M2 in GPU performance.
• Apple's announcement comes just weeks before Microsoft is expected to announce new Surface PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite CPUs.
• Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite has also compared well against Apple's M2 processor.

Apple just unveiled its M4 processor, which promises impressive AI performance. The M4 processor will power the OLED iPad Pro, an impressively thin device featuring an OLED display. And presumably, make its way through Apple's lineup over time. Our colleagues at iMore covered the M4 concerning the new iPad Pro, plus other fun stuff like a new Apple Pencil that can do a barrel roll. However, Windows enthusiasts and those curious about Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X Elite are likely more interested in how Apple's new chip compares to what Qualcomm offers.

2024 looks to be the year for Windows 11 on Arm. Microsoft has new Surface hardware powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors. Qualcomm's new chips will also power PCs from other big-name manufacturers. But did Apple steal Qualcomm's thunder and undercut the Snapdragon X Elite (and the recently announced Snapdragon X Plus)?

Let's break things down.

What we know so far

We still need benchmarks and more figures to judge Apple's M4 properly (Apple is notoriously not a fan of actual numbers), but a few things we know help us compare the new chip to the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus.

Right now, we can't compare the M4 and Snapdragon X Elite on the CPU side since we lack benchmarks for the M4. There's a fair chance Apple's M4 will outperform the Snapdragon X Elite in CPU benchmarks, but both processors are expected to impress.

The Snapdragon X Elite is the top dog for TOPS (Tera Operations per Second). TOPS measures the performance of Neural Processing Units (NPUs), which are specialized to perform AI tasks. NPUs will become increasingly important as more AI tasks run on devices locally rather than through the cloud. Apple states the M4 offers 38 TOPS, while Qualcomm promises up to 45 from the Snapdragon X Elite and the lower-tier Snapdragon X Plus. 

Based on what we know so far, Apple's M4 seems to take the cake on the GPU side, an area that Apple has heavily invested in, starting with the M3.

Apple built the M4 using 3nm technology (technically 3.5nm), and the processor has a 10-core CPU, specifically four performance and six efficiency cores. The Snapdragon X Elite has 12 performance cores, two of which can clock higher for turbo, at 4nm (although discussion of "nodes" in 2024 is mostly marketing at this point). Meanwhile, the Snapdragon X Plus has 10 performance cores, but none can turbo.

The reality is that these next-gen Arm processors will be suitable for computing for the largest swatch of the market. While it is tempting to pick a side, Apple and Qualcomm have done impressive work here, and that's good for consumers.

Early figures and details suggest that the Apple M4 may win regarding CPU performance (but see below) and definitely win for GPU performance.

Still, the Snapdragon X Elite will be more capable of AI processing. Of course, that's all based on hardware specs. We still have to see how Windows 11 handles the new chips from Qualcomm. Luckily for those interested, Build 2024 will focus heavily on Windows 11 on Arm.

Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M4 vs Apple M2

When Snapdragon X Elite benchmarks, and performance results started leaking and then being officially shared by Qualcomm, some mocked Qualcomm's comparison of its upcoming processor to the Apple M2. Apple had since released the M3, so a comparison to the latest processor would make more sense.

Well, not exactly. Back in November, the original title of one of our articles was "How does the Apple M3 compare to the Snapdragon X Elite? The hell if we know." That piece has since been updated since we have more benchmarks and figures. We now know much more about M3 and the Snapdragon X Elite. However, the fact remains that a comparison to Apple's M2 proved useful. That became truer when Apple framed the M4's figures against the M2.

Apple's presentation and official graphics highlighted that the M4 has a 50% faster CPU than the M2, not the M3. That's because 50 is a big number and looks good on a slide (and the previous iPad Pro used the M2, not the M3, making it a realistic comparison). The GPU figures also stack the M4 against the M2, stating the new processor is 4x faster on the GPU side of things than the M2.

That said, Qualcomm's latest numbers from a few weeks ago show that the Snapdragon X Elite trounces the M3 with multi-threaded performance (15,610 versus 12,154 on Geekbench v6.2, a difference of 28%). Going core-to-core, the M3 (12,154, Geekbench) still falls behind by about 10%, going against the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus (13,350, Geekbench).

Going up against the beefier Apple M3 Pro (15,387 on Geekbench) and the Snapdragon X Elite, a top-tier SKU still edges out that SoC (15,610).

So, seeing as the Snapdragon X Elite is 28% faster in multi-threaded performance than the Apple M3, the question is this: Does the new Apple M4 make up that 28% difference in performance? Considering that the M3 was only about 15% faster than the M2 and Apple did not do a node switch, we will avoid caution and say no, the new M4 is not 28% faster than the M3, or rather, it seems unlikely. 

Apple's M-series and diminishing returns

The jump to Arm architecture represented a significant shift in computing. Apple (rightfully) received praise for its M1 chips, which blew away expectations and delivered a previously unheard-of combination of power and efficiency. The M2 then saw significant improvement, but not as much as expected. The bump to M3 saw even less of a jump despite the node jump.

You've likely sensed a pattern by now. Apple burst onto the scenes with the M1 but is now starting to run into physical limitations. Even Apple can't defeat the laws of physics, so it isn't easy to continue the pace of improvement seen from M1 to M2 across future generations. YouTuber Snazzy Labs has a comprehensive video that breaks down the limits Apple faces and what the company can do to innovate.

The long-in-short is that companies like Qualcomm have an opportunity to play catchup. Apple is ahead of the competition regarding Arm chips for now, but the gap will close quickly if tech giants like Qualcomm and Microsoft keep investing.

What you need to know

• The annual Qualcomm Snapdragon summit kicks off from Hawaii on October 24. 
• The event will be streamed live and is expected to give us our first look at the new X Series of chips that will power Windows laptops. 
• Recent reports have also suggested Microsoft's VP of Windows and Devices, Pavan Davuluri, will be appearing. 
• The main keynote begins at 12 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. BST). 

The annual Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit is upon us, and this year is set to be a big one for Windows. As it stands, Qualcomm is the exclusive partner for Microsoft on ARM-powered Windows machines, but this year's event is particularly interesting. 

Qualcomm has already revealed that its next generation chips for Windows laptops will be known as the Snapdragon X Series, built on the Oryon CPU that was devised by ex-Apple engineers. Oryon is not an ARM Ltd design, as was the case with the Snapdragon 8cx, and given the credentials of its designers, you can see why we're excited. 

Not all of us can be in glorious Hawaii to take in the event live, we'll leave that to our Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Rubino. But those of us confined to our homes or places of work can still follow the action live. 

The keynote will be broadcast live on the Snapdragon YouTube channel (which is also embedded just above), as well as the Snapdragon Summit website and there will be a watch party for Snapdragon Insiders in the company's Discord server.

Things kick off at 10 a.m. local time, which is 12 p.m. Pacific Time. For those in Europe, it's a late one. Things start at 8 p.m. in the UK and 9 p.m. for most of mainland Europe. 

Beyond just the debut of the Snapdragon X Series, there will also be news on what's next for Android devices, and a recent report suggests Microsoft's VP of Windows and Devices, Pavan Davuluri, will also be making an appearance. 

And of course, the Windows Central team will be covering everything you need to know from the event, so stick around. This is one you probably don't want to miss.