Cheaper Copilot Plus PCs are coming thanks to this new Snapdragon chip

The first Windows computers running Snapdragon X chips were launched back in June, featuring either Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus chipsets. These devices aren’t cheap, starting at ~$900 and higher. Now, Qualcomm has announced a new, less capable Snapdragon X processor aimed at slightly cheaper PCs.

The Snapdragon X Plus 8-core unsurprisingly differs from the standard Snapdragon X Plus chip by having eight CPU cores, while the standard chip has a 10-core CPU. The new chip also has less cache than the vanilla Snapdragon X Plus (30MB versus 42MB) and a weaker GPU (1.7 TFLOPs versus 3.8 TFLOPs). You’re still getting a processor built on a 4nm process, though.

Qualcomm’s new chip also brings an NPU with up to 45 TOPs of AI performance, which means computers with this chip should gain the Copilot Plus PC designation. Copilot Plus PCs enjoy features like Microsoft’s controversial Recall capability, Live Captions, studio effects for the camera, and AI Super Resolution for games.

Other notable features include optional 5G support, AV1 encode/decode, Bluetooth 5.4, support for three 4K/60Hz monitors at once, and Snapdragon Seamless capabilities for cross-device experiences. It’s also worth noting that Snapdragon chips tend to be more efficient than most of Intel and AMD’s processors, so you should expect good battery life on laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core.

Qualcomm says Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung will all offer PCs with the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip, with the first computers launching today. The company added that laptops powered by this processor will start at $799, so it’s not a huge price drop compared to current Snapdragon PCs. But this price is still cheaper than Apple’s $999 M2 MacBook Air.

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