Qualcomm has shared full details of its new Snapdragon C SoC, a platform designed for entry-level Windows laptops. With a target price of $300 , this chip aims to offer a balance of performance, battery life, and AI capabilities for budget-friendly devices. The company hopes this solution will drive the arrival of affordable laptops in a market where prices have skyrocketed due to rising memory costs.
The Snapdragon C arrives at a challenging time, with DRAM and NAND Flash driving up component costs. However, Qualcomm is betting on an efficient, low-cost design so manufacturers can launch devices for under €400. The first models will come from Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo, and promise to be a real alternative for those who only need a laptop for basic tasks.
Snapdragon C technical specifications
The processor features an octa-core Kryo CPU with a 1+3+4 configuration. The main core reaches 3,0 GHz, three performance cores reach 2,6 GHz, and four efficiency cores reach 2,0 GHz. It has a total of 2 MB of cache. The GPU is an Adreno A643 running at 900 MHz and is DirectX 12 compatible. It also includes a dedicated Hexagon NPU for AI tasks, although Qualcomm has not specified its TOPS performance.
In terms of memory, the Snapdragon C supports up to 16 GB of LPDDR4X, LPDDR5, or LPDDR5X RAM , with a 32-bit bus. This translates to a maximum bandwidth of 25,6 GB/s with LPDDR5X. For storage, it supports NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSDs, as well as UFS 2.2 or 3.1. Connectivity is handled by FastConnect 6700, which includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0.
The chip is manufactured on a 6-nanometer node , confirming its focus on efficiency and cost reduction. It also incorporates an Adreno VPU for video encoding and decoding, supporting 4K at 30 fps during encoding and 4K at 60 fps during decoding. External displays can achieve 4K at 60 Hz via DisplayPort 1.4.
Performance and efficiency compared to Intel N250
Qualcomm has compared its Snapdragon C to the Intel N250, a common processor in budget laptops. According to the company's internal tests, the Snapdragon C offers up to 67% better performance in the Cinebench multi-core test and 50% better in single-core tests. In Geekbench, the advantage is 44% in single-core and 24% in multi-core tests. These figures, while not independently verified, clearly demonstrate an intention to compete in this segment.
Energy efficiency is another strong point. Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon C is up to 2,1 times more efficient than the Intel N250. For example, streaming video on Netflix uses 106% less power, and voice calls on Microsoft Teams use 99% less. Even in standby mode, the improvement is 39%. This translates into longer battery life, a key factor for budget laptops.
Availability and manufacturers
The first laptops with Snapdragon C processors will arrive on the market over the next few months. Acer has already unveiled its Acer Aspire Go 15 , which combines this chip with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, at a suggested retail price of €499. ASUS, HP, and Lenovo also have models in development. Qualcomm hasn't confirmed an exact date, but the laptops are expected to be available before the end of the year.
The target price for these laptops is $300 , although increased memory costs could raise it slightly. Even so, Qualcomm's proposition is clear: to offer an affordable alternative for students, families, and small businesses that don't need extreme performance, but do need a smooth experience with office tasks, web browsing, and multimedia consumption.
With the Snapdragon C, Qualcomm aims to carve out a niche in the budget laptop market, a segment dominated by Intel and AMD. The specifications, while modest, are well-balanced to offer sufficient performance and noteworthy energy efficiency. The arrival of laptops from Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo at competitive prices could be a game-changer for many users. We'll have to wait for the first independent tests to confirm whether Qualcomm's promises hold true, but the proposition is certainly intriguing.