Now that Apple's M5 chip has arrived in the latest MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, we finally see the impressive performance gains it offers. But it's already found a powerful Arm-based Windows rival that's set to arrive soon: the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.
With Qualcomm's upcoming X2 Elite chipsets coming to power a new generation of Windows Copilot+ laptops in the first half of 2026, Apple will already have a fight on its hands as the CPU race heats up (not to mention Intel Panther Lake).
Now, after benchmarking the M5 MacBook Pro in our testing labs, and testing the high-end Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, we can see just how well these chips perform — and there are some surprising results.
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There's still more testing to be done with the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, as this was tested on a reference laptop with 48GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Still, it gives us a good idea of the performance to expect in upcoming machines.
So, which CPU comes out on top? Let's dive into the numbers.
Apple M5 vs Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: CPU tests
With Qualcomm boasting a 50% increase in CPU performance over its original Snapdragon X Elite chip and Apple seeing a 15% jump in power over the M4, there's clearly a drive to deliver the biggest gains over its last-gen processors.
For the most part, both tech giants achieve this, leading to some of the highest scores we've seen when it comes to CPU performance. That shows in the Geekbench 6 benchmark, which measures how fast a CPU is through handling tasks.
Just for reference, I've gathered results for both Apple and Qualcomm's previous-gen chips to show the jump in generational performance below.
CPU | Geekbench 6 single-core | Geekbench 6 multi-core |
|---|---|---|
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 4074 | 23449 |
M5 (MacBook Pro 14-inch) | 4288 | 17926 |
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 (Dell XPS 13) | 2797 | 14635 |
M4( MacBook Pro 14-inch) | 3807 | 15114 |
M4 Pro (MacBook Pro 16-inch) | 3910 | 22822 |
When it comes to single-core performance — which is best for handling basic tasks on your laptop — Apple's M5 chip comes out on top with a 4,288 score. That's actually one of the highest scores we've seen when it comes to single-core power. However, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 (the highest chip from the X2 Elite series) isn't far behind with a 4,074 score.
With the M5 chip already beating the Snapdragon's unreleased processor, it goes to show how far Apple has come with its M-series chipsets. But this all changes when it comes to multi-core performance, which performs best at multitasking and handling demanding apps.
The X2 Elite Extreme scored a whopping 23,449, which even outshines the powerful M4 Pro MacBook Pro's score. The M5 chip can't quite keep up, but considering the leaps it's made over its predecessor, it should still be applauded.
It's clear that the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is dishing out some majorly advanced CPU performance. However, let it be known that this is Apple's base M5 chip, as we're expecting to see the M5 Pro and M5 Max make an appearance early next year.
Apple M5 vs Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: GPU tests
We're now seeing SoCs delivering extremely impressive graphics performance, without the need for a dedicated GPU. And if the M5 chip is anything to go by, with frame rates up to 55 FPS at 1080p resolution in Resident Evil 4 Remake, and up to 120 FPS with MetalFX enabled, we're all in for a treat.
But does the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme also have the gaming chops? It sure does, with the chip bringing up to 2.3x faster performance compared to the Snapdragon X Elite when playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA V.
When it comes to GPU testing, I only got to check out a few 3DMark benchmarks: Solar Bay, Wild Life Extreme and Steel Nomad Light. That's without trying to play popular PC titles, but it gives us a good comparison to measure against the M5 chip.
CPU | Solar Bay score (FPS) | Wild Life Extreme (FPS) | Steel Nomad Light (FPS) |
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 88.05 | 69.04 | 41.69 |
Apple M5 | 90.4 | 73.6 | 39.1 |
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | 49.6 | 38.6 | N/A |
Apple M4 | 62.7 | 54.9 | 26.9 |
As it turns out, the graphics performance in several 3DMark benchmarks for both the M5 chip and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme aren't too far apart! Although, the M5 takes the overall win here, with up to 90 FPS in Solar Bay and 73 FPS in Wild Life Extreme. Still, in Steel Nomad Light, the X2 Elite Extreme takes the win.
Both chips are well above the scores of their predecessors, and considering the results, we should be seeing the latest games run at over 60 FPS at this point. Apple has the upper hand, though, with MetalFX being able to deliver even high frame rates.
In any case, the Apple M5 with its advanced 10-core GPU and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme's next-gen Adreno GPU are seeing an uplift in the graphics department, and that's more than a welcome sight in slim, lightweight laptops.
Apple M5 vs Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: AI tests
As with all the latest chips, AI performance plays a major role in powering the latest laptops. Apple and Qualcomm look to double down on this, with the Hexagon NPU in the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme featuring 80 TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) and the M5 chip delivering up to 3.5x the AI performance over the M4.
So, how can these chips handle juggling AI tasks on PCs? Well, Qualcomm was right to claim it's offering the "world's fastest NPU for laptops."
CPU | Geekbench AI 1.5 |
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 88615 |
Apple M5 | 57242 |
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | 22182 |
Apple M4 | 52193 |
Compared to its M5 competitor, the X2 Elite Extreme wiped the floor with its 88,615 score. Despite its strong improvements, the M5 chip still falls far behind. It's actually more than double what the previous Snapdragon X Elite could offer up.
This goes to show how much effort Qualcomm has put into its latest chipsets to achieve its superb AI performance results, so much so that it aims to continue to take a helpful load off the CPU with doing multiple tasks at once.
Apple M5 vs Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: Outlook
With Qualcomm's new chip set to be fitted in next-gen laptops in 2026, we won't have full test results until we finally get our hands on them. As you can see, though, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and the rest of its X2 lineup are a beast to compete with.
Will this make Apple sweat with its latest M5 chip? Doubtful. Sure, while the X2 Elite Extreme offers up some exemplary CPU performance, especially when it comes to multitasking, this is Qualcomm's strongest chip. And Apple has yet to reveal its full hand, with M5 Pro and M5 Max expected to be coming down the line.
Still, the latest Snapdragon X2 Elite processors impress, and are sure to give Windows Copilot+ PCs a major boost in CPU, GPU and AI performance. But Apple's M5 is already turning out to be a mighty chip for productivity and gaming, and this time next year, we may already have its M6 chip in an OLED MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.
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