At the Snapdragon Summit 2025 event held in Hawaii, Qualcomm focused on its newly launched flagship mobile computing platform.Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and new models launched in response to the strengthening of PC market development layoutSnapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. X2 Elite, and further elaborated on the imagination of future AI applications and explained how to work together with the industry.
Build a larger AI experience that truly integrates into life scenarios
Qualcomm's main focus at this event was on mobile computing platforms and a new computing platform built for the PC market. Unlike previous announcements, it did not emphasize application scenarios such as smart wearables and smart cars. However, it still emphasized the use of wireless communication technology to connect all computing platform usage scenarios, allowing AI applications to seamlessly connect across different vehicles. It also emphasized that proxy AI applications will be the next development trend, and that people will become accustomed to using AI as the primary interactive interface in the future.
Therefore, Qualcomm spent considerable time in its announcement explaining how its newly designed Hexagon NPU drives higher AI computing power. By leveraging the same generational architecture, it enables seamless integration of AI applications across mobile devices and PCs, allowing for continuous use across a wider range of vehicles. Furthermore, it enables AI agents to better tailor user needs and provide appropriate assistance in real time, such as more intuitively confirming upcoming itineraries, providing timely reminders of to-do items, or helping to arrange gatherings and events.
However, simply emphasizing the changes that can be driven by one's own computing platform is actually difficult to convince the market. Therefore, during this event, Qualcomm also worked with many industry players to explain AI and even the changes that can be brought about by AI application scenarios.
For example, in its collaboration with Adobe, Qualcomm stated that it will enable Adobe's creative tools, including Photoshop, to run natively on Windows laptops powered by Snapdragon X-series PC processors. This will leverage Adobe's Firefly AI technology to accelerate content creation efficiency and even help more people turn their inner imaginations and creativity into real works.
In a joint statement with Samsung, Qualcomm not only reiterated their close partnership in mobile devices, but also stated that Qualcomm technology will help promote Samsung's Galaxy AI and realize the development of its proposed environmental perception AI applications, allowing AI technology to help improve people's lives at all times.
At the same time, through Paage.AI, AnythingLLM, Collov.AI, and even through deep collaboration with Microsoft, Qualcomm has demonstrated its ability to bring AI applications to more life and work scenarios through its computing platform, thereby making AI a more important tool resource, no longer just a laboratory demonstration project or a general fun user experience project, but one that can truly assist in a variety of matters.
Continue to promote a larger market ecosystem
In addition to continuing to cooperate with market players to establish larger AI application scenarios, how to convince more people to choose to use its products obviously requires an approach from all aspects.
First, how will it compete with x86-based processors in the existing PC market, and how will it compare with Mac models in the face of Apple's full transition to the Arm architecture? Qualcomm has already leveraged its recently updated, fully proprietary Oryon CPU design, along with ongoing collaboration with Microsoft, to fully leverage the performance and long-lasting features of the Snapdragon X-series processors in Windows PC environments. Combined with Qualcomm wireless connectivity and NPU design, this allows users to easily connect to a variety of network services and AI applications.
In terms of price, Qualcomm currently categorizes its Snapdragon X-series processors into Elite, Plus, and standard versions, allowing for a wide range of device designs to meet varying price points. The newly announced Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme takes performance to the next level, leveraging a modular memory packaging design to boost performance while also controlling costs. This allows device prices to remain similar (according to Qualcomm, it's only slightly higher than the Elite version), while delivering significantly improved performance and AI computing power.
Qualcomm continues to collaborate with Microsoft to expand the application ecosystem, making the Snapdragon X-series processors more suitable for Windows platforms. This time, they even support the DirectX 12.2 Ultimate API, which means they will be compatible with more Windows games and more video editing tools in Windows environments.
Qualcomm is also collaborating with software companies like Adobe and Maxon to enable more professional software to run natively on the Snapdragon X-series processor platform. It is also collaborating with hardware companies like Yamaha and Razer to enable their MIDI devices and gaming peripherals to connect to Windows on Snapdragon-designed models, thereby connecting to more application market development opportunities and expanding the application possibilities of the Snapdragon X-series processor.
observe
Judging by Qualcomm's continuous updates to the Snapdragon X-series processors over the past few years, the "Windows on Arm" design has clearly diverged from previous experiences. At least in terms of general daily use, it's no longer a problem. While performance and compatibility issues may persist in certain scenarios, such as AAA gaming or specific software requirements, this gap should theoretically narrow over time.
After all, the x86 hardware architecture has been developed in the PC market for a long time, and many application software and services are built for this architecture. In addition, when Microsoft first promoted the design of Windows on Arm, it did not actively invest resources in its development, resulting in a poor user experience for such models in the early days, leading to a poor overall impression.
Qualcomm has recently redesigned its Windows on Snapdragon design, subsequently introducing the Oryon CPU, a new, proprietary architecture. Furthermore, Qualcomm has collaborated closely with Microsoft to make the Snapdragon X-series processors more suitable for the Windows platform and significantly improve software compatibility. Qualcomm has also revealed plans to expand its collaboration with the ecosystem on both software and hardware, which is expected to provide an even better user experience for products designed with Windows on Snapdragon.
