Snapdragon X2 Elite beats Apple's M5 in major benchmarks — New tests unveil Qualcomm's second-gen power, and it's now Microsoft's turn to deliver a strong Windows update

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

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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!

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