New 3nm chips bring 75% faster PC performance, first ARM 5GHz speeds, and advanced AI capabilities to Windows and Android devices.
Qualcomm has made waves at its annual Snapdragon Summit 2025, announcing two groundbreaking processor families that promise to reshape the landscape for both Windows PCs and Android smartphones. The company unveiled the Snapdragon X2 Elite series, including the flagship X2 Elite Extreme, alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 mobile platform, both built on cutting-edge 3nm technology.
Breaking the 5GHz Barrier on Windows
The star of Qualcomm's PC lineup is the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, marking a historic milestone as the first Arm-compatible chip to hit 5.0 GHz clock speeds. The flagship processor features an impressive 18-core configuration with 12 Oryon Prime cores and 6 Performance cores, delivering what Qualcomm claims is up to 75% faster CPU performance compared to competitors at equivalent power levels.
"It enables personalized AI agents to see what you see, hear what you hear, and think with you in real time," said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm's mobile handset division, highlighting the chip's AI capabilities.
The X2 Elite series comes in three variants, each tailored for different performance needs. The top-tier X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) boasts 53MB of cache and supports 192-bit LPDDR5X-9523 memory with 228 GB/s bandwidth. The standard X2 Elite models (X2E-88-100 and X2E-80-100) offer 18 and 12 cores, respectively, with the latter featuring a more modest 34MB cache.
Graphics performance sees a massive leap with the new Adreno X2-90 GPU, delivering a 2.3x increase in performance-per-watt efficiency. All variants feature an upgraded Hexagon NPU delivering 80 TOPS of AI processing power, which Qualcomm positions as "the world's fastest NPU for laptops."
Mobile Dominance with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
On the mobile front, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 continues Qualcomm's legacy of powering flagship Android devices. Built on TSMC's N3P 3nm process, the chip features the third-generation Oryon CPU with two Prime cores running at 4.6GHz and six Performance cores at 3.62GHz.
Qualcomm says "improves performance by 20 percent and CPU power efficiency by 35 percent." The overall platform achieves a 16% reduction in power consumption, promising extended battery life for next-generation smartphones.
The mobile platform introduces several groundbreaking features, including support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec—a first for mobile processors. This enables near-lossless video capture quality previously reserved for professional equipment. Additionally, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Audio Sense technology promises "pro-level" audio recording with advanced wind noise rejection and HDR audio capabilities.
"Snapdragon X2 Elite strengthens our leadership in the PC industry, providing legendary leaps in performance, AI processing and battery life to enable the experiences that consumers deserve," said Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of compute and gaming at Qualcomm Technologies.
While the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 smartphones are expected to launch in the coming days, PC enthusiasts will need to exercise patience. Qualcomm has confirmed that the first Windows devices powered by Snapdragon X2 Elite processors won't ship until the first half of 2026, with announcements likely at CES 2026.
Arpit is a dreamer, wanderer, and tech nerd who loves to jot down tech musings and updates. With a knack for crafting compelling narratives, Arpit has a sharp specialization in everything: from Predictive Analytics to Game Development, along with artificial intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, IoT, and let’s not forget SaaS, healthcare, and more. Arpit crafts content that’s as strategic as it is compelling. With a Logician's mind, he is always chasing sunrises and tech advancements while secretly preparing for the robot uprising.
