Snapdragon X Series in 2024: Driving the AI revolution in computing
When it comes to disrupting the world of computing, few companies had a bigger year than Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
The debut of our Snapdragon X Series processors rocked the whole industry, driving a rebirth of the PC by restoring performance leadership to Windows and together with Microsoft, unleashing Copilot+ PC laptops. But it didn’t stop there. Both Qualcomm Technologies and Microsoft showcased the muscle behind this effort, tripling the number of Windows apps natively running on Snapdragon and introducing a slew of AI features that take full advantage of our neural processing unit (NPU).
Thanks in part to Qualcomm Technologies, 2024 marked a year in which AI in computers began creeping towards that critical turning point of mainstream awareness. More importantly, it showed users who bought a Copilot+ PC the many tangible benefits that AI enabled by Snapdragon processors could bring.
Beyond the new AI smarts, the Snapdragon X Series power efficiency meant users didn’t have to sacrifice battery life for these new capabilities, with laptops that lasted days on a single charge without any compromise.
The good news is we’re not letting up in 2025. We’ve got some big things brewing for CES, so stayed tuned. But until then, enjoy this roundup of our greatest hits from 2024.
The PC Reborn
After teasing the Snapdragon X Elite platform at Snapdragon Summit in 2023, Qualcomm Technologies made good on its promise by powering Microsoft’s next generation of Windows PCs with Copilot+ with a supercharged launch in May.
If there was any doubt that we meant business, that vanished with the debut of three brand new Snapdragon X platforms:
The three platforms powered more than 40 laptops from nine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Microsoft and its Surface PC, Dell, HP, Lenovo, HP, Samsung, Acer, ASUS and Honor.
These laptops all feature an NPU capable of performing 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS), a critical hardware spec that formed the new Copilot+ PC category.
Experience the power of Snapdragon for yourself.
More native support for Snapdragon
None of the additional power from the Snapdragon X Series platforms would mean much if there weren’t any apps that supported them, and here’s where we shined.
We saw the number of Windows apps running natively on Snapdragon increase by three times, with over 90% of most Windows users time now spent in native apps.
New key top applications include Google Chrome, Spotify, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft 365, Slack, Netflix and Prime Video. We also added popular security and VPN apps such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Crowdstrike.
Musicians are fully covered with Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) apps and hardware support, with an ecosystem including Cubase, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Focusrite, Steinberg, Audient, Martinic and native ASIO Drivers for use with USB Audio interfaces. There are also decades of guitar amps and effects that have been digitally recreated and available on Snapdragon.
Discover limitless creativity and productivity.
NPU-powered AI experiences
We made sure that apps made the most of the Snapdragon X Series platforms, with more than 50 apps that tapped into our NPU performance for AI experiences.
For example, Affinity Photo 2 users can quickly select objects and adjust their color or tint quickly. Pro photographers can use Capture One’s ability to apply consistent crops to a batch of photos, or likewise batch color grade sets of photos, saving tremendous amounts of time and energy.
Algoriddim’s djay Pro software enhanced its AI Neural Mix feature to run on the Snapdragon NPU, yielding instant music separation and significantly more accurate and higher quality results.
Other apps taking advantage of the NPU include BlackMagic Design DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Luminar Neo, Cephable, Copilot+PC features and more.
Unlock the full potential of your apps.
Accolades and a little fun
Our work hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Microsoft’s Surface Laptop powered by Snapdragon X Elite winning best laptop and Samsung winning best AI laptop from Tech Radar. CNET awarded the Surface Laptop as the best Windows ultraportable, called the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 the best detachable 2-in-1 laptop, and the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 the best long-lasting Copilot+ PC.
The Snapdragon X Elite Platform also won the 2024 Edge AI and Vision Product of the Year Award in the Edge AI Processors category.
Other PCs powered by Snapdragon such as the Lenovo Slim 7x and the Dell XPS 13 also garnered rave reviews.
The Snapdragon X Series also got time to shine in the limelight courtesy of appearances in some of the biggest entertainment and sports events, including a sponsored sketch with “Chief Technology Officer” Guillermo visiting Maui for the Snapdragon Summit on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and Snapdragon and Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs appearing on commercials during NFL and MLB games.
We were busy in 2024, but don’t expect things to slow down as we race into next year.
How did we make it all happen?
Dive deeper into Snapdragon X Series Platforms.
