Snapdragon X2 Plus 6-core and 10-core processors target low-power Windows Copilot+ PCs

After announcing the high-end Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and X2 Elite processors last year, Qualcomm has now introduced the mid-range Snapdragon X2 Plus platform at CES 2026. While the Elite SKUs target premium laptops, the X2 Plus series is designed for affordable, mainstream Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs.

The new lineup includes the X2P-64-100 (10-core) and the X2P-42-100 (6-core), both manufactured on a 3nm process. What’s interesting is that they share the same 80 TOPS AI accelerator, 9523 MT/s LPDDR5x memory support, Snapdragon X75 5G modem, and FastConnect 7800 WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 as the flagship Elite models. This means that the X2 Plus reduces CPU core counts and GPU frequencies to maximize battery life for thin-and-light Windows 11 Copilot+ laptops, but it does not compromise on I/O, media capabilities, or AI performance, as it features the same USB4, PCIe Gen5, and AV1 video support as the top-tier models.

Snapdragon X2 Plus Series specifications:

CPU – Qualcomm Oryon 3rd Gen CPU, ARM64-Compatible architecture
- X2P-64-100 – 10 cores (6 Prime + 4 Performance) up to 4.04 GHz (Single-core boost) / 4.0 GHz (Multi-core); 34 MB Cache
- X2P-42-100 – 6 cores (6 Prime) up to 4.04 GHz (Single-core boost) / 4.0 GHz (Multi-core); 22 MB Cache
GPU – Qualcomm Adreno X2-45 GPU
- X2P-64-100 – Clocked at 1.7 GHz
- X2P-42-100 – Clocked at 0.9 GHz
- Sliced-based architecture; Support for DirectX 12.2 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, OpenCL 3.0
NPUs – Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with 80 TOPS (INT8) AI performance; Dual Micro NPU on Qualcomm Sensing Hub
VPU – Qualcomm Adreno VPU
- Encode – HEVC, AVC up to 8Kp30; AV1 up to 8Kp15 or UHD at 60 FPS
- Decode – AV1, HEVC, AVC up to 8Kp60
- Concurrency – UHDp60 Encode + 8Kp30 Decode
Memory – Up to over 128GB LPDDR5X-9523 MT/s; 128-bit bus width; 152 GB/s bandwidth
Storage
- NVMe via Dual PCIe 5.0
- UFS 4.0
- SD v4.0 support (SDUC with SD Express, SDXC with UHS-I)
Display
- Qualcomm Adreno DPU
- eDP 1.5 up to 4K at 144 Hz
- DP v2.1 for up to 3x displays with to 4Kp144 resolutions, or 1x display up to 5Kp60
Camera
- Qualcomm Spectra ISP (Dual 18-bit ISPs)
- Up to 36 MP dual camera or 36 MP single camera
- Up to 4K @ 30 FPS video capture; Always Sensing support
Audio – Qualcomm Aqstic Audio Codec, Qualcomm aptX Audio Technology
Wireless connectivity using external chips
- FastConnect 7800
  - Tri-band WiFi 7, WiFi 6E, WiFi 6 with up to 4x spatial streams
  - Bluetooth 5.4
  - Implemented through a WiFi M.2 card over PCIe Gen 3
- Snapdragon X75 5G modem-RF system
  - Cellular – 5G NR, LTE, LAA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, GSM/ Edge, CBRS, Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), EN-DC, NR-DC, mmWave, sub-6 GHz
  - 5G Modes – mmWave-sub6 aggregation, sub-6 carrier aggregation (FDD-TDD, FDD-FDD, TDD-TDD), FDD-TDD support for uplink-CA,
  - Carrier Aggregation – Up to 10CC mmWave, 5CC sub-6, mmWave–sub-6 aggregation
  - Bandwidth – Up to 1000 MHz
  - Peak Speeds – 10 Gbps down / 3.5 Gbps up
  - AI and RF
    - 5G AI Suite Gen 2 (beam management, CSF, antenna tuning, GNSS), AI Processor Gen 2
    - Converged mmWave–sub-6 transceiver, QTM565 mmWave module
  - Power – 5G PowerSave Gen 4, Smart Transmit Gen 4 (Satellite ready), RF Efficiency Suite
  - Implemented through M.2. card over PCIe Gen 3
USB – 3x USB4 Type-C ports (40 Gbps)
Expansion – 8x PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes; 4x PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes
Security – Qualcomm SPU with Microsoft Pluton; Automatic presence detection; Snapdragon Guardian Technology for Out-of-Band (OOB) Management via Cellular & Wi-Fi
Process – 3nm

Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon X2 Plus delivers 35% faster single-core performance while using 43% less power than the first-generation Snapdragon X Plus. The biggest upgrade is the NPU, which was 45 TOPS and just enough for Microsoft Copilot+ requirements, whereas the new X2 Plus jumps to 80 TOPS, matching the X2 Elite series. This means local AI workloads such as live captions, image generation, and agentic AI tasks should run just as fast on an entry-level X2 Plus laptop as on a premium X2 Elite system. The biggest difference is in the GPU, where the 10-core model runs at 1.7 GHz, while the 6-core version is significantly slower at 0.9 GHz.

There is not much about software support, and Qualcomm mainly mentions Windows 11 at launch, but Snapdragon laptop chips are typically also supported on Linux (to some extent).

Like the Elite series, the new X2 Plus series also supports Snapdragon Guardian Technology for out-of-band PC management using Wi-Fi and 5G, allowing devices to be remotely managed, located, locked, and wiped even when the OS is offline.

Qualcomm mentions that laptops powered by the Snapdragon X2 Plus platform will be available from leading OEMs starting in H1 2026. This likely means we will see announcements from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung in the coming months, with pricing expected to be below the $1,000 mark for the 6-core models. More details can be found in the press release and the product brief.

Debashis Das

Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication