Cale Hunt
What I’m working on this week: I’m working on a desktop gaming PC test and enjoy Vampire Crawlers on Steam Deck in the evenings with playoff hockey playing in the background.
When Qualcomm announced first generation Snapdragon X Systems on a Chip (SoC) in 2023I hosted perhaps one of the hottest ideas on Windows Central.
Apparently, the Snapdragon X generation ARM-based PC silicon has somewhat revolutionized Windows PCs (As my Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino accurately predicted), it pushed Intel and AMD’s benchmarks out of the limelight where they had been for years.
That was it Zenbook A14Coming in early 2025, I think it forced our team to take the longest hiatus and reevaluate where we rank Snapdragon X laptops. The A14 was incredibly light, incredibly durable and an incredible value.
I’m not discounting the work ASUS put into the design of the laptop, but I don’t see how a device like this would be possible in 2025 without the Snapdragon X.
The Snapdragon X2 is here and I’m getting my first real taste of Qualcomm chips
Yes, I’m busy Windows on Snapdragon used first-gen Qualcomm chips, but it wasn’t until Lenovo sent me a Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) in early April that I really had to buy one. full the experience of the new Snapdragon X2 silicon.
Now mine Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) review published, it’s time for me to back up and restore my PC. But I so I don’t want to. Let me explain.
Snapdragon X2 Elite performance is better than I expected
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94) is currently at the top of our benchmark performance charts, and the X2 Elite (X2E-88), which I tested on the Yoga Slim 7x, sits just below it.
It is the best Core Ultra 9 285H chip from Yoga Pro 9i (10th Generation) we have tested, but also the newer “Panther Lake” Intel Core Ultra X7 358H On the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro. The M5 The chip in the 13-inch MacBook Air trails the X2 Elite’s single-core score, but Qualcomm’s chip easily beats it in multi-core performance.
I know, I know; criteria are just a slice of the pie. But for my daily workload, which includes high-quality photo editing, heavy web browsing, streaming, writing, spreadsheets, video calls, constant Slack use, and a few other random bits, the Snapdragon X2 Elite barely broke a sweat.
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The only and I mean the only time I heard the fans kick in was during the Cinebench render test using all the chip cores. Otherwise, it was completely silent on and off the charger.
That’s another thing – I’ve put up with noticeably slower performance from the charger for years using Intel and AMD chips. This does not happen with the X2 Elite.
The efficiency of the Snapdragon X2 Elite has changed the way I work
My office desk is where I usually work, either with a laptop I’m currently testing or a desktop computer mini PC and docking station installation. Sometimes I take the laptop to another room for a few hours of work.
After discovering that the Yoga Slim 7x was able to last a full workday without needing to be plugged in on Windows 11’s highest performance profile to boot, I’ve been getting more work done away from my desk without chasing the AC adapter.
As I mentioned in my review, the Yoga Slim with Snapdragon X2 Elite has a 7x 70Wh battery. I found it through Windows battery report that working hours were longer than average 14 hours Before I joined. After a week of daily use, that average dropped to just five minutes.
That’s as good an estimate as I can give. It’s much more accurate than the video stream summary or the PCMark 10 test; they mostly have their uses for comparison, but the Windows battery report is what you should really look at.
With these hours, I can work all day, stream videos in the evenings, and tune in at night to get ready for the next day. Standby battery life is something like 350 hours, so even if I forget to plug in at night, it won’t be dead when I wake up.
App compatibility issues? What about them?
The main argument I’m looking at Includes Windows software compatibility on Snapdragon/ARM. Because Qualcomm’s chips use the ARM64 architecture, applications designed for x86 chips from Intel and AMD cannot switch natively.
There are several points that make this issue fundamentally moot. The first is individual developer efforts to create native ARM64 versions of applications. I love seeing this and hope these developers know their work is appreciated.
The other one Microsoft’s Prism translation layer this allows x86 applications to run on an ARM64 system. Yes, there is sometimes a performance drop due to the emulation required, but I was lucky enough to avoid this entirely.
For a fairly casual Windows user like myself, ARM64 application compatibility isn’t exactly a problem.
My main apps like Slack, GIMP, Spotify, Telegram and Edge are all native ARM64 apps. This is still a small sample, but unless you’re into specific topics like you, it’s hard to find programs that require emulation. Adobe Premiere Pro and AutoCAD.
For a fairly casual Windows user like myself, ARM64 application compatibility isn’t exactly a problem. You can see for yourself if the apps you use are native or very useful WorksOnWOA website.
What about game compatibility?
ARM64 still struggles the most with the game, especially if using custom cheats that don’t have native support. That’s another discussion entirely; Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) is not a gaming laptopnor should you try to make it one.
Although The ARM64 gaming experience comes along nicelyI still recommend buying it, especially with lighter titles gaming laptop with an Intel or AMD chip to avoid problems.
I’m totally sold on Snapdragon X2 and Windows on ARM
Based on a lot of the negativity I’ve seen online, I was expecting to buy a Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) with a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and immediately start having problems.
But if you put two identical laptops, one Intel/AMD and the other Snapdragon, I wouldn’t immediately know which one it was. Finally, there will be symptoms such as how the Snapdragon system quickly drains from the charger and the Windows battery meter does not move.
Super performance for the average user, impressive all-day battery life, and massively improved app compatibility make it easy to recommend the Snapdragon.
And that’s before I even get into device costs. Qualcomm somehow manages to sell its chips for less than similar Intel and AMD specs, making laptops with the Snapdragon X2 one of the best prices out there.
Yes, I think the idea that the advent of Snapdragon chips would revolutionize Windows PCs was correct. It just takes a little longer than expected.
👉 The best Windows on ARM laptops in 2026 — Top-rated picks from Surface, ASUS, HP, and more
I want to know what you think about the Snapdragon X2. Have you used one of the new chips? Have you tried the first generation? How did it go? Let me know in the comment section below!
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