Microsoft has touted its new range of Copilot+ PCs as the future of Windows laptops, and we're generally on board. But it's hard to turn a computer into a mainstream product when it costs more than $1,000 (sometimes a lot more). Fortunately, that could soon be fixed with a new range of much more affordable Copilot+ PCs that are reportedly about to launch.
That's because well-known tech expert Evan Blass has just shared a slide from Qualcomm detailing what we can expect from the next generation of Snapdragon X chips that will power upcoming Copilot+ PC models.
According to the slide, we could see octa-core chips with 1.7 TFLOPS of output, support for three 4K displays at 60Hz, Wi-Fi 7, and 45 TOPS of artificial intelligence (AI) performance. The slide also notes that the chips will be manufactured using a 4nm process and come with 30MB of total cache.
What was missing from the slide was a hint at pricing, but Blass filled that gap by saying that notebooks equipped with Snapdragon X Plus chips will start at $800. That’s a significant savings on current lineups like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, and could help make Copilot+ PCs much more accessible to a broader swath of users.
What will they miss?
That lower price is apparently due to a few cutbacks in features. The 1.7 TFLOPS output is noticeably lower than what you'll get with existing Copilot+ PCs, and that alone largely explains the reduced price. But if you'd prefer a more affordable device, you might not mind.
The slide purportedly comes from a presentation by Qualcomm, the company that makes the Snapdragon X chips found inside the Copilot+ PC range. While we can't independently verify its accuracy, Blass has a pretty solid track record when it comes to accurate leaks.
Blass suggests we'll find out more about these chips at the IFA 2024 event in Berlin next month, where Copilot+ PCs are known to make an appearance. IFA runs from September 6-10 and would be an ideal opportunity for Snapdragon to introduce its new octa-core chips to the world.
