The first Snapdragon X Elite laptops are still nowhere to be found and in the meantime Qualcomm unveiled a 10-core chip called the Snapdragon X Plus. Based on leaks, it seems that Samsung and Lenovo are working with the Elite variant, while Microsoft is testing the Plus for a Surface slate.
That is not to say that the Samsung Galaxy
Book4 Edge, rumored to be one of the first Snapdragon X Windows laptops, will
not have a cheaper version with the Plus chip. The CPU is weaker (10-core vs.
12-core) as is the GPU, but the AI acceleration and the 5G modem are the same.
Either way, even the Plus is much better than previous Windows-on-ARM chips
from Qualcomm.
Ice Universe raises an interesting point,
why is Samsung resurrecting the “edge” name for this device? This was used for
curved display technology back when it first launched, it was never about the
chipset. A few years ago Samsung launched the Galaxy Book S – a fanless Windows
laptop based on the Snapdragon 8cx. Later, it used the “Galaxy Book Go” name
for a fanless Snapdragon 7c laptop. There isn’t a lot of consistency when it
comes to the company’s Windows-on-ARM laptops and “edge” just might be the
latest word pulled out of a hat.
Anyway, time is running out if Samsung
wants to be the first, it looks like Microsoft is ready to present Snapdragon
X-based devices on May 20 (though that hasn’t been officially confirmed yet).
The goal for all involved is clear – take down the MacBook Air.
