Qualcomm’s Latest Chips Outpace Apple’s M3 by 21%: A Game-Changer in Mobile Technology

According to Digital Trends, they had the opportunity to explore some demos and examine a dummy unit featuring the company’s new Snapdragon X Elite PC chip. Qualcomm is making significant performance claims against Apple’s latest silicon.

The Qualcomm Oyron CPU, part of the Snapdragon series, was announced in October, and comparisons were made with the Apple M2 Max chip. In October, Qualcomm claimed that its component could match the peak performance of an ARM-compatible competitor while using 30% less power. However, the competitive landscape has evolved since then.

Qualcomm Claims Its Chip is Faster than Apple’s M3 Chip

Following Qualcomm’s announcement of the Snapdragon X Elite, Apple introduced its M3 series chips. A week later, Apple followed with the announcement of Laptops with M3 chips. The primary point of comparison has been performance, particularly as Apple has not fully ventured into the AI space yet. Qualcomm has positioned its CPU against the new M3 chip, asserting that its chip surpasses the leading ARM-compatible competitor in single-threaded CPU performance. Additionally, Qualcomm claims the Oyron chip is 21% faster than the M3 in multi-core performance, making it a bold assertion.

According to Qualcomm, while there may be variations in software experiences, the consistent metric is the hardware when comparing the Snapdragon X Elite with Apple’s M3 series chips.

Sascha Segan, Senior Public Relations Manager at Qualcomm, mentioned to Digital Trends, “The experience is not going to be the same because they’re running macOS and we’re running Windows, but in terms of hardware, which is the only thing we can control, it’s good hardware.”

In October, Qualcomm also claimed that its Oyron CPU was faster than the leading x86 CPU on the market. However, Intel has since announced its latest 14th-gen Meteor Lake processors. Intel provided specifications for the chips, highlighting AI capabilities and various performance statistics, including impressive integrated graphics. Qualcomm, however, has not had the opportunity to compare the new Intel series to the Snapdragon X Elite.

Availability of PCs that will Feature Snapdragon Chips

Snapdragon-powered PCs are expected to be available from various vendors, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Honor, Lenovo, Microsoft Surface, Samsung, and Mi, by mid-2024. Qualcomm has received positive reviews internally, with staff members using unbranded reference devices. The reviews highlight not only the performance improvements but also the long-rumored addition of on-device AI capabilities for AI PCs.

Segan suggests that consumers looking to benefit from the first class of Snapdragon-powered PCs should hold off on purchasing laptops now and wait until the middle of next year. The anticipation is high, and soon we’ll find out if the products live up to the substantial claims.