Qualcomm Advances Next-Gen Snapdragon X2 CPUs for PCs; SC8480XP Model Under Testing

Reports say that Qualcomm is gearing up for the testing of its Arm-based Snapdragon X2 chips, meant to power PCs, with their upcoming “SC8480XP” tested lately. A few months ago the Snapdragon X lineup was released, promising a powerful CPU and GPU combo that sounded an awful lot like AI PC excitement.

The Upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 CPUs

Despite the initial hype, early reviews and performance results fell slightly short. On the one hand, we saw single-core and IPC (instructions per cycle) performance improve along with battery life efficiency, but on the other hand multi-core (and to a lesser extent graphics) gains were less compelling. The company provides different solutions for various budgets based on price points such as 12, and 10, and you need eight cores of newly-introduced system-on-chips (SoCs) in the X Elite and X Plus families.

The first generation used the Oryon core architecture, and we only just unearthed some high-res die shots of it. On the other hand, x86 rivals AMD and Intel have made great advances from their Ryzen AI 300 “Strix” and Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” SoCs, boasting better NPUs, powerful CPUs as well integrated GPUs that deliver best-in-class performance.

According to a new report from Winfuture, Qualcomm has been testing its next-gen Snapdragon X2 SoCs for some time. SC8480XP SOCs with the codename “Glymur” or “Project Glymur,” were tested by an unspecified company during July and August, but its target timeframe for commercial availability is Q3 2024 according to internal databases. One in dev is the current Snapdragon X SoCs, listed as “SC8380XP” and codenamed “Hamoa.”

Qualcomm is still in the early testing phases of its next-gen SoCs, using development boards that can be equipped with various NAND and memory components. Earlier leaks from Dell confirmed that Qualcomm is working on at least two next-gen variants of the Oryon CPU architecture for Snapdragon X-based AI PCs.

The Snapdragon X V2 is expected to launch around mid-2025, followed by the Snapdragon V3 anticipated in Q4 2027. Additionally, a new entry-level variant in the Snapdragon X Plus lineup, named “X1P-24-100,” is being prepared, likely featuring an 8-core design with lower clock speeds or GPU performance. As Qualcomm continues to refine its Snapdragon X lineups, the tech community eagerly awaits further developments.

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