Snapdragon C arrives as the “cheap” path to Windows on Arm
It seems that Qualcomm has decided to take the fight to the MacBook Neo with the Snapdragon C platform. Specifically designed to power affordable Windows PCs priced from $300 (~RM1,200), Snapdragon C is based on a mobile chip design, although Qualcomm has declined to specify exactly which one. It will be based on the mobile-focused Kryo CPU cores, rather than the more performance-oriented Oryon cores found in the laptop Snapdragon X and flagship mobile Snapdragon 8 chips.
Snapdragon C: all-day battery life, non-Copilot+ NPU
The main selling point of the Snapdragon X series was the impressive battery life and their beefy NPUs, starting from 45 TOPS. With Microsoft specifying at least 40 TOPS of NPU performance to power Copilot+ PC features, Qualcomm beat Intel and AMD by almost half a year, before Lunar Lake and Strix Point hit the market.
This year, the Snapdragon X2 lineup builds on that, sacrificing some of that sweet battery life for some massive performance gains and an even beefier NPU, up to 85 TOPS, to power even more advanced AI features. However, for Snapdragon C, you do get an NPU, but not one that’s powerful enough to meet the Copilot+ PC minimum requirement of 40 TOPS.
However, I would say that most of the Copilot+ PC features are somewhat irrelevant to the target market that Qualcomm designed the Snapdragon C for:
Snapdragon C is engineered for power efficient everyday computing experiences people rely on in entry-level laptops without sacrificing portability or all-day battery life. The platform is designed for consistent performance of daily workloads in cool, quiet designs.
Press note by Qualcomm
Ignoring the marketing fluff, the Snapdragon C is going to power the Windows on Arm equivalent to the MacBook Neo. Similarly, the Snapdragon C is based on a mobile chip, with a limited memory bus that will reportedly cap the maximum configurations to just 8GB RAM. Just like how the MacBook Neo is perfect for those who just need a basic laptop, Snapdragon C-powered laptops are not going to blow your mind in anyway, but hopefully nail the basics help you get your work done.
Snapdragon C to power entry-tier laptops from $300 and up
I would highly recommend paying attention to the “and up” portion, too. While the Snapdragon X was intended for laptops $600 (~RM2,400) and up, the cheapest Snapdragon X-based laptop we have seen thus far in Malaysia is the ASUS Vivobook 16 (A1607Q) which comes in at RM2,999. That’s quite a bit up.
In any case, the first Snapdragon C-powered laptop is apparently going to be the Acer Aspire Go 15 with a paltry 8GB RAM. Reminds me of the Surface Laptop for Business, but hey, this shouldn’t cost $1,299 (hopefully).
