Next-gen AI PCs are within reach, as ASUS joins Microsoft and Qualcomm to unveil a new Snapdragon X laptop on May 20
The virtual event hosted by ASUS promises to show off a “premium ultraportable laptop.”
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What you need to know
It’s no surprise that new laptops powered byQualcomm’s Snapdragon X platformare headed our way soon. It was revealed in October 2023 that nine major laptop makers are on board with the newSystems-on-Chip (SoC), including heavy hitters like Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, and, ASUS. These new PCs are expected to begin hitting the market in mid-2024.
Until now, we had no confirmation about when these new laptops would be officially unveiled. In arecent press release, ASUS said it will announce its version of a “new-era ASUS AI PC” at itsNext Level. AI Incredible.eventon May 20, 2024. The event is exclusively available for virtual viewers, and it’s set to kick off at 11AM PST. ASUS will host the event on its website, with theproper link to the presentationgoing live on May 7.
This coincides nicely withMicrosoft’s special Windows and Surface event also planned for May 20, where it’s expected that the company will show off newSurface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 PCs with Snapdragon Xand next-gen AI features coming to Windows 11. We will be attending Microsoft’s event with full coverage of all the announcements.
ASUS says that its own launch event will “feature a collaboration between Microsoft, Qualcomm, and ASUS,” which drives home the point that its PC is powered by the Snapdragon X platform. Whether the laptop has an X Elite or X Plus chip remains to be seen.
ASUS also says that Co-CEO S. Y. Hsu will accompany speakers from both Microsoft and Qualcomm to “provide invaluable insights into their contributions to the development of the new generation of ASUS AI PCs, shedding light on the collaborative efforts that have brought this remarkable innovation to fruition.”
Furthermore, the press release mentions that Computex 2024 attendees will be able to check out the “ASUS AI PC lineup” firsthand, signaling that there could be multiple new Snapdragon X-powered ASUS laptops headed our way. Computex is held in Taipei between June 3 and June 7, 2024.
Some Snapdragon X laptops have already leaked
In an exclusive report by Windows Central Senior Editor Zac Bowden, it wasrevealed that Microsoft is cooking up ARM-powered Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 PCswith Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips.
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We still don’t know what these new Surface devices will look like, but we can assume fromleaked benchmarksthat there will be a mix ofSnapdragon X EliteandSnapdragon X PlusSoCs in these PCs.
Yoga Slim 7 14(.5) 2024 Snapdragon Edition pic.twitter.com/k29LupeWk6April 17, 2024
We also received what could be a first look at Lenovo’s unannounced Snapdragon X AI PCs thanks tosupposed leaksfrom X (formerly Twitter) user WalkingCat. They showed off a Yoga Slim 7 and ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6), both slim and sleek laptops with a Copilot button on the keyboard.
With May 20 shaping up to be a big day for Microsoft, Qualcomm, and now ASUS, we can expect to see more laptop makers jump on board soon for their own announcement events.
Why we’re so amped for the Snapdragon X platform
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform, which so far includes the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus SoCs, is expected to bring major changes to Windows laptops. There are already somegreat AI PCson the market, but the Snapdragon X platform could be the revolution for which we’ve been waiting.
If the performance and efficiency benchmarks that we’ve seen so far turn out to be true — and we don’t have much reason to doubt them — Windows users who wish for the power and battery life available in Apple laptops (myself included) are about to be very happy.
We saw last year that theX Elite chip beats Apple’s M2 Max and Intel’s Core i9-13980HX chipsin some tests, with better power efficiency to boot. We also saw theX Elite beat the Apple M3 Proin multi-thread Geekbench tests.
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Qualcomm isn’t just content with CPU performance. Its integrated Adreno GPU should fare very well with 1080p gaming, andWindows games are expected to run smoothly thanks to x64 emulation.
Perhaps most intriguing, at least for those keeping up with the world ofAI PCs, is theNeural Processing Unit (NPU)that offers performance far beyond what Intel and AMD have to offer in their current-gen chips. The Snapdragon X’s NPU boasts 45TOPSof power for local AI acceleration, well above the 10 TOPS in Intel Core Ultra and 16 TOPS in AMD Ryzen 8040.
We’re expecting Microsoft to firm up expectations for local Copilot functionality, which so far looks to be set at a minimum of 40 TOPS. And now, with aWindows 11 “AI Explorer” updateexpected to be announced May 20 at Microsoft’s event, the need for strong local AI performance should become even more important.
Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it.
