Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite at Hot Chips: Desktop Platforms Next

At Hot Chips 2024, Qualcomm showcased its Oryon CPU design, which promises better performance in what remains one of the most energy-efficient parts on the market in its class. While the level of execution of this part remains amazing, one of the things that has continued to bother me is, “Why isn’t there a desktop part?” The reason I wonder is that while the mobile part is all about battery life, for many of us with homes and companies running on limited solar power, we are looking for PCs that don’t spin the power meter like a top. This Snapdragon X Elite is just such a part.

Well, I just spoke to Qualcomm about that and found out that desktop products are coming to market shortly. Let’s talk about why that is a good thing.

New Class of PC: Energy Conservation Desktops

Those of us on solar power have a significant need for PC hardware that is more efficient than what we are currently using. Most of us use our PCs to browse the web, watch videos, catch up with email, and create reports or documents. A lot of us require laptop computers, which is why Qualcomm is currently making large inroads due to its unique support from Microsoft’s Copilot+ offering.

But those of us who work at home or in an office building require a more stable desktop configuration that is ready whenever we are and that doesn’t have a massive impact on our power bill. And products like HP’s Envy Move portable Al-In-One PC are particularly well suited for a Snapdragon X Elite because they have limited battery support and need to be able to move around the home or office with minimal weight and power use.

And we really don’t have a class of super-efficient desktop computers that could target those of us concerned about climate change or who just want to bring their power use down below what their solar or wind generators can contribute.

Advanced Smart Homes

One of the advantages of this new class of processor is that it will handle 45 TOPs, which would make it an ideal central controller for a next-generation smart home controller with the ability to provide AI digital assistants for the family centrally, control your home’s electronics and protect itself from outside interference or hacking.

Smart home controllers have been woefully underpowered to date. Today, many of us have multiple smart systems controlling our sprinklers, HVAC, and security, but typically, none of these interoperate well. A more capable smart controller that controls these functions unilaterally through linked accessories could potentially address what have been (up until now) horrible experiences we’ve had with Smart Homes that are anything but smart.

This not only adds to what could be done with this Snapdragon part but potentially turns this new Snapdragon PC into an always-on smart controller so you wouldn’t need two separate devices. The energy-efficient PC could end up doing both, and its low power would mean you wouldn’t need to suspend it because it would simply be running and working all the time.

Come to think of it, it might be better to have a dedicated device so your kid doesn’t get on the computer and suddenly turn the house into a sauna or your yard into a swimming pool.

Wrapping Up

Snapdragon X Elite is a game-changer for mobile computers. It potentially frees users from having to carry their laptop and power supply. Since I’ve been using one, I’ve been able to leave both my backpack and power supply in the room and carry the laptop like I would have carried a Portfolio.

What remains really sad for me is that HP’s Elite Folio laptop had the perfect design for this processor. Initially, the design used an older version of the Qualcomm part that had limited support. It was my favorite for two years, so I’m sad that Qualcomm never put the new, more performant Snapdragon X Elite into it.