Qualcomm has just announced its latest Snapdragon X2 Plus CPU at CES 2026, further expanding its lineup of Snapdragon X Series processors for upcoming laptops this year.
The Snapdragon X2 Plus follows the same pattern as the tech giant’s last-gen chipsets, being a step down from the already revealed Snapdragon X2 Elite (and X2 Elite Extreme). However, a significant jump in performance, battery efficiency and AI power compared to its predecessor.
Snapdragon X2 Plus: What we know
Like the Snapdragon X2 Elite chips, the X2 Plus brings advanced performance to Arm-based laptops and aims to achieve multi-day battery life along with native built-in AI features. Think of the Plus as the mid-range to Elite’s (and Extreme’s) premium lineup.
There are two models available: the Snapdragon X2 Plus X2P-64-100 and the Snapdragon X2 Plus X2P-42-100. The former comes with a 10-core CPU, while the latter sports a 6-core CPU. Here’s a quick rundown of the specs and how they compare to their Elite counterparts:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | CPU cores | Max MultiCore Frequency | Max Boost Frequency | Cache | Qualcomm Adreno GPU | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (TOPS) | Memory |
Snapdragon X2 Plus (X2P-64-100) | 10 (6 Prime Cores, 4 Performance Cores) | 4.0 GHz | 4.04 single-core | 34MB | X2-45 | 80 | 128 GB/s LPDDR5x |
Snapdragon X2 Plus (X2P-64-100) | 6 (6Prime Cores) | 4.0 GHz | 4.04 single-core | 22MB | X2-45 | 80 | 128 GB/s LPDDR5x |
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) | 18 (12 Prime Cores, 6 Performance Cores) | 4.4 GHz | 5.0 GHz single-core / 5.0 GHz dual-core | 53MB | X2-90 | 80 | 228 GB/s LPDDR5x |
Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) | 18 (12 Prime Cores, 6 Performance Cores) | 4.0 GHz | 4.7 GHz single-core / 4.7 GHz dual-core | 53MB | X2-90 | 80 | 152 GB/s LPDDR5x |
Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-80-100) | 12 (6 Prime Cores, 6 Performance Cores) | 4.0 GHz | 4.7 GHz single-core / 4.4 GHz dual-core | 34MB | X2-85 | 80 | 152 GB/s LPDDR5x |
Impressively, the Snapdragon X2 Plus also features the same Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, integrated Adreno GPU (up to 1.7GHz) with a near-30% improvement over its predecessor and the same TOPs to make it the “world’s fastest NPU for laptops.”
“Modern professionals and creators want to do more, create more, and push the limits of generative AI and all-day performance,” says Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of computing and gaming at Qualcomm.” Snapdragon X2 Plus platform delivers the power, efficiency and intelligence to surpass their ambitions, making each experience more responsive and personal.”
That should bring a significant step up compared to the Snapdragon X Plus chip, and at a more affordable price than the Elite series. We can expect to see these chips in laptops arriving in 2026, and who knows, they may just make our list of the best laptops this year once we put them through their paces.
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