The Snapdragon X Elite will be a huge step forward for Windows — here's why

It's been a long time coming, but on May 20th, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and other partners including Asus will hold an event to officially unveil the first wave of laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Elite processors (along with the cheaper X Plus models). You can't downplay how big of a deal this is. It's been nearly four years since Apple took the world by storm with Apple Silicon and made the best MacBooks we've ever seen, but on the Windows side, there hasn't really been response.

Microsoft has been toying with the idea of Windows on Arm processors for over a decade, but those efforts have never been truly serious. Windows 8 RT was extremely limited in what it could run, and Windows 10 on Arm just didn't have proper hardware to support it. The Snapdragon processors we got were initially just mobile chips slightly tweaked for PCs, and even the Snapdragon 8cx series wasn't really rivalling the best of Intel and AMD. But with the Snapdragon X series processors, what we expect from a Windows laptop is going to change radically, and for the better. Here are a few reasons why.

4 Thinner and lighter laptops

Fanless designs are in

One big benefit of Arm processors compared to x86 processors (like Intel or AMD) is how much heat they generate to accomplish similar tasks. Arm processors are very efficient, so they heat up less, and they often don't need a cooling fan to offer top-notch performance. The cooling solution takes up a big chunk of space in a typical laptop, which is what makes them heavier and thicker.

By using Arm processors, more and more laptops can be thinner and lighter than ever. We've already seen this to some extent in the past, with the Surface Pro X being a noticeably thinner and lighter model than the Surface Pro 8 or 9. That didn't really happen with the Surface Pro 9 with 5G because Microsoft wanted to ensure that accessories worked with every model all the same, but the Surface Pro 9 with 5G was still a fanless PC, while the Wi-Fi model wasn't. If the Surface Pro 10 is only available with Qualcomm chips, it could also be thinner and lighter. And even if it isn't other laptops will take advantage of this benefit, so we can expect laptops to get thinner and lighter than ever.

3 Taking AI to the next level

Qualcomm's NPU is well ahead of the competition

AI is all the rage these days, and more and more features have been coming to Windows and other Microsoft services. However, the big one is what we've been hearing about is called AI Explorer, and it's going to be a pretty big deal. It basically keeps track of everything you do on your PC and helps you come back to it later by asking Windows to bring up documents you worked on in the past.

But here's the thing: according to a recent report, this feature will require the NPU in the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, so if you have an Intel or AMD PC right now, you won't get it. That's because the NPU in Qualcomm's processors is much more advanced than Intel's, and in fact, that's been the case for a long time now. Windows 11 has a feature called Windows Studio Effects that didn't work on most Intel-based PCs, but it did work on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. It was only with Intel Core Ultra that the feature come to Intel PCs at large.

There's a good chance this feature will appear on future Intel processors, but Qualcomm will still have kickstarted the trend, and it will probably remain at the forefront of AI features in the feature.

2 Always-on connectivity

Without the "hot backpack" syndrome

The idea of a "connected standby" or "modern standby" mode on Windows has been around since around Windows 8, and it's the idea that even when it's in sleep mode, your laptop can remain connected to the internet and perform certain low-power activities. This has been implemented despite the fact that x86 processors are terrible at going to sleep, which means that if you put a computer to sleep and put it in a backpack, it will start to heat up, and it might be very hot by the time you grab it.

But always-on connectivity is good. It allows you to receive notifications when your phone is in your pocket, or to install updates in the background, or to simply press the power button and have the screen instantly turn on. This is possible on our phones thanks in great part to Arm processors. With Arm processors like the Snapdragon X Elite becoming more mainstream on Windows PCs, this concept can be fully realized without the heating problems that come with modern standby on Intel PCs.

On top of that, Arm processors often have cellular modems built-in, so staying connected wherever you go should get a lot easier.

1 Better battery life

Finally, you can travel without a charger

And finally, the biggest thing Arm can do for Windows laptops is make them truly portable. Not just in terms of being lighter and always connected, but also when it comes to lasting long enough on a charge. Because of the problems x86 processors have with efficiency, battery life on them isn't ideal, and extending battery life comes at a big cost in performance. Arm doesn't have this problem, or at least not to the same extent.

Apple's MacBooks with Apple Silicon have incredibly long battery life for the level of performance they offer, and that's enbaled by the Arm architecture. An especially important part of this is standby battery life, too. As I just mentioned above, x86 processors are not good at handling sleep mode and will continue to use quite a bit of power when they're not supposed to be doing anything. Arm processors handle this much better, which means your laptop shouldn't unexpectedly die when you're not using it.

A big problem with almost every laptop today is that you can't really take it with you for a work day without taking a charger. There's almost no chance it will last you the entire day without charging it back up, but that's not the case with modern MacBooks, and if all goes well, it won't be the case with Windows laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Elite, either. And coming from someone who loves mini PCs for their lower power consumption, I'm also very excited to this efficiency come to the desktop, even if it's just to save energy at home.

The future is looking bright

While Windows on Arm has been the topic of conversation for years, there's never been a bigger reason to be hopeful than it is right now. The Snapdragon X Elite has everyone's support, with all major PC manufacturers expressing interest in building PCs with this new processor, along with software developers also supporting Windows on Arm for the first time, including apps like Google Chrome and even DaVinci Resolve.

At this point, we only have to wait a couple more weeks to know all about these laptops and what they can do, and I could not be more excited.