Snapdragon X Elite Laptop: When Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon X Elite platform in late 2024, it promised to revolutionize Windows laptops — blazing performance, all-day battery life, and seamless AI integration. Now, after 6 months of real-world use, the question is: did it live up to the hype?
We used, tested, and compared multiple Snapdragon X Elite laptops over months. Here’s our full 6-month review.
Snapdragon X Elite – Quick Recap
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Qualcomm Oryon 12-core ARM (up to 4.3GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno X1 with DirectX 12 |
| NPU | 45 TOPS Hexagon AI Engine |
| RAM Support | LPDDR5x up to 64GB |
| OS | Windows 11 ARM |
| Battery Life | Claimed 20+ hours |
| Launch | October 2024 |
Designed to rival Apple M3 & Intel Core Ultra — with AI as the core strength.
Real-World Performance: Fast, Efficient, Consistent
Snapdragon X Elite isn’t just fast on paper — it’s responsive and smooth in everyday work:
Benchmarks:
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Geekbench 6 (multi-core): 14,500+ (beats M3 and Intel Core Ultra 9)
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Web Browsing & Office Work: Instant app launches, 25+ tabs open easily
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Photo Editing (Lightroom, Photoshop): Smooth previews, no stutters
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Video Editing (DaVinci Resolve, Clipchamp): 4K edits possible, but not as fast as M3 Max or RTX-based PCs
It handles 90% of real-world tasks without breaking a sweat.
Battery Life – The Real Superpower
Where Snapdragon X Elite truly shines is in battery efficiency:
| Use Case | Battery Life |
|---|---|
| Web + Docs + Streaming | 17–21 hours (yes, seriously!) |
| Zoom + Office + Multitasking | 14–16 hours |
| Standby (overnight) | Drops only 1–2% |
| Light gaming (native ARM) | 6–8 hours |
No fan noise, no heat, no battery anxiety — truly MacBook-like experience.
Gaming & App Compatibility – Still a Work in Progress
Native ARM games (like Asphalt 9, Minecraft) run flawlessly.
But traditional x86 games? Not quite.
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Emulation works via Prism but with performance hit
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No support for dedicated GPUs (yet)
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Game Pass Cloud and streaming games run smoothly
Snapdragon X Elite isn’t for pro gamers — but cloud gaming + casual games = solid.
Best Laptops with Snapdragon X Elite (As of June 2025)
| Laptop | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| HP OmniBook X AI | ₹99,999 | Ultra thin, 18 hr battery |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x | ₹1,09,000 | OLED screen, silent design |
| Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge | ₹1,29,000 | Touchscreen, beautiful build |
| Acer Swift X AI | ₹89,999 | Cheapest X Elite, minimalistic |
All come preloaded with Copilot+ AI features and no fan noise!
What’s Great After 6 Months?
Pros:
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Mac-level battery + thermals
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Amazing for students, business pros, creators
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AI-powered Copilot integrations in system settings, file search, and image editing
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Instant-on resume even better than many Intel laptops
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No fan = silent working for hours
Where It Still Falls Short
Cons:
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No native support for Adobe Premiere Pro, some dev tools (yet)
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Game library is limited if you’re not cloud streaming
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External GPU support still unavailable
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Windows ARM ecosystem is growing, but not mature
If your workflow depends on legacy software, tread carefully.
AI Features – Not Gimmicks Anymore
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Real-time live captions & translations (offline!)
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Automatic photo cleanup & object removal
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AI Summarizer for any doc/webpage
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AI Recall (coming to India soon) – memory timeline of everything you did
These tools actually save time and don’t need cloud processing. NPU does it all locally.
Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3
| Feature | Snapdragon X Elite | Apple M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | Better in most scenarios | Excellent |
| OS Fluidity | Windows ARM improving | macOS polished |
| App Ecosystem | Still developing | Mature |
| AI Features | Copilot+ integration | Limited |
| Gaming | Mostly cloud or casual | Same |
Who Should Buy Snapdragon X Elite Laptops?
| Use Case | Buy It? |
|---|---|
| Office + Browsing + Docs | Yes |
| Photo/Video Editing | Basic to Moderate only |
| Gaming | No (unless cloud-based) |
| Coding | Check app support |
| Students | Best battery + no heating |
Final Verdict – Is Snapdragon X Elite Worth It?
Yes – if you want MacBook-level performance on Windows with all-day battery.
After 6 months, it’s clear that Snapdragon X Elite isn’t just hype. It’s the future of Windows laptops, especially with AI-powered workflows becoming the norm.
If your apps work fine on ARM and you don’t game professionally, this is a great time to go fanless, powerful, and portable.
FAQs
Q1. Can I run full Windows apps on Snapdragon X Elite?
Yes, via emulation or native ARM64 versions.
Q2. Is Snapdragon X Elite good for coding?
Yes, for Python, web dev, and most modern tools — but check for x86 dependencies.
Q3. Does it support external GPUs?
No. eGPU support not available as of June 2025.
Q4. Are Snapdragon laptops good for video editing?
Yes for basic editing (1080p, light 4K). Not ideal for professional-grade work.
Q5. Is it better than Intel or AMD laptops?
For battery life and AI features – yes. For legacy app performance – not always.