Just yesterday, we wrote about the Qualcomm Dragonwing Q‑7790 and Q‑8750 AIoT SoCs, and on the same day, Quectel launched the SP895BD-AP smart AIoT module based on the Dragonwing Q-8750. It is designed for high-performance IoT applications, including video conferencing, 8K computing power boards, and smart retail terminals, running on Android 15 or Linux. Earlier in November, we saw Qualcomm introduce the Dragonwing IQ-X series of SoCs for industrial PCs running Windows. The Q-8750 in the Quectel SP895BD-AP seems to be a variant of the high-end version, with an 8-core Oryon CPU (up to 2x 4.32 GHz + 6x 3.53 GHz) and an Adreno Series 8 GPU. It supports 8K video encoding and decoding with three ISPs for up to 3×48MP camera inputs, or a single camera input of 108MP. The module comes in a compact LGA package and supports standard interfaces like MIPI DSI/CSI, PCIe, USB, I2S, UART, I²C, […]
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 […]
Qualcomm Dragonwing Q‑7790 and Q‑8750 AIoT SoCs target AI-enhanced drones, cameras, TVs and media hubs
Qualcomm has made a range of announcements at CES 2026, and notably introduced the Dragonwing Q‑7790 and Q‑8750 processors supporting on‑device AI for drones, smart cameras & industrial vision, AI TVs/media hubs, and video collaboration systems. The mid-range Dragonwing Q-7790 targets both consumer and industrial IoT devices, and offers up to 24 TOPS of on-device AI, 4K video outputs and camera inputs, and AV1 hardware video decode. The higher-end Dragonwing Q-8750 is designed for more advanced IoT applications, delivers up to 77 TOPS (dense) for real-time inference and up to 11B LLMs, handles 8K displays and 8K cameras, and supports up to 12 physical cameras for drones, media hubs, and multi-angle vision systems. Dragonwing Q-7790 Dragonwing Q-7790 (CQ7790M/CQ7790S) specifications: CPU – Octa-core Kryo processor up to 2.8 GHz 1x Gold+ core @ 2.8 GHz 4x Gold cores @ 2.4 GHz 3x Silver cores @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Qualcomm Adreno […]
Radxa Dragon Q6A Arm SBC gets official Windows 11 preview
While most people use Linux on Arm SBCs, it’s typically possible to run Windows 11 on Arm boards with UEFI support, but with caveats such as the GPU and VPU not working and other issues. One solution is to avoid the Arm architecture altogether and go with an x86 SBC like the Radxa X4, ODROID-H4+, or LattePanda IOTA, among others. But things may change for the better now that Qualcomm SBCs are becoming a thing, and Radxa has just announced official Windows support for the Radxa Dragon Q6A. Note that it is only a preview image for now. Nevertheless, here’s what is working without installing additional drivers on Windows 11: HDMI output (inherited from UEFI GOP) PCIe – Note: NVMe available; system does not include network card drivers eMMC flash UFS USB 2.0 USB 3.0, but devices must be connected before booting into the system But once you install drivers, […]
Linux 6.18 LTS release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures
Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 6.18 on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), which will likely become the next LTS kernel [update: it’s now official]: So I’ll have to admit that I’d have been happier with slightly less bugfixing noise in this last week of the release, but while there’s a few more fixes than I would hope for, there was nothing that made me feel like this needs more time to cook. So 6.18 is tagged and pushed out. Most of the last-minute fixes are minor fixes to drivers, with some random noise elsewhere (bluetooth, ceph, afs..). Nothing strikes me as standing out, but hey, there’s a shortlog appended if you want to see the details. And this obviously means that the merge window will open tomorrow, and I already have three dozen pull requests pending. Thanks. And as I already mentioned a couple of […]
Qualcomm launches Dragonwing IQ-X SoCs for industrial Windows PCs
The Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ-X family, comprised of the IQ-X7181 and IQ-X5181 SoCs, offers eight or twelve Oryon cores clocked at up to 3.4 GHz, an Adreno GPU, and up to 45 TOPS of AI performance for industrial PCs running Windows LTSC. Those are upgrades to the Dragonwing IQ9/IQ8/IQ6 SoCs introduced last year, offering faster cores, higher speed interfaces, and more. The IQ-X chips support up to 64GB LPDDR5x memory, UFS 4.0 and SD 3.0 storage, eDP and USB-C display interfaces, up to six cameras, PCIe Gen4 connectivity for optional Ethernet, WiFi 7, and 5G cellular connectivity, and feature eleven USB interfaces and 221 GPIOs. As industrial-grade parts, they are rated for -40°C to 105°C operation. Qualcomm DragonWing IQ-X7181 and IQ-X5181 specifications: CPU IQ-X5181 – Custom Qualcomm Oryon 8-core 64-bit Armv8 CPU clocked up to 3.4 GHz IQ-X7181 – Custom Qualcomm Oryon 12-core 64-bit Armv8 CPU clocked up to 3.4 GHz […]
Qualcomm acquires Arduino, introduces Arduino UNO Q “dual-brain” SBC
Qualcomm has just signed an agreement to acquire Arduino, and the goal of the purchase is to “combine Qualcomm’s leading-edge products and technologies with Arduino’s vast ecosystem and community to empower businesses, students, entrepreneurs, tech professionals, educators, and enthusiasts to quickly and easily bring ideas to life.” They also took the opportunity to launch the Arduino UNO Q “dual-brain” SBC powered by a Qualcomm DragonWing QRB2210 SoC running Linux and an STMicro STM32U585 MCU for real-time control, as well as the Arduino App Lab integrated development environment to “unify the Arduino journey across Real‑time OS, Linux, Python, and AI flows”. Will the acquisition change anything? I suppose we’ll see more and more Arduino boards based on Qualcomm processors, but the company also promises to preserve Arduino’s open approach and community: Arduino will retain its independent brand, tools, and mission, while continuing to support a wide range of microcontrollers and microprocessors […]
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and X2 Elite processors target high-end Windows PCs
Qualcomm has recently announced the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) and Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100 and X2E-80-100) processors for Windows PCs, which the company claims are the “Fastest and Most Efficient” for laptops. All three 3nm parts are equipped with six Performance cores clocked at up to 3.6 GHz, six or twelve Premium cores clocked at up to 5 GHz (single core) or 4.4 GHz (multi-core), an Adreno X2-85 or X2-90 GPU, an 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU for Copilot+, and an LPDDR5x memory interface for up to 128+ GB memory with up to 228GB/s bandwidth. Other highlights include the Snapdragon X75 5G modem, FastConnect 7800 WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 chipset, 4K video resolution for built-in and external displays, USB4, PCIe Gen5 interfaces, and more. Let’s check the full specifications and differences between the three Snapdragon X2 Elite devices in the table below. Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme […]

