The year 2024 is likely to be the year when Windows notebooks powered by Arm processors will mount a serious challenge to the dominance of the x86 duo of Intel and AMD. We have been hearing about Qualcomm's Snapdragon X for some time, but the first devices are being announced now, with more to come at Computex in a few weeks.

WalkingCat on Twitter (via Videocardz) has published a photo of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 with a Snapdragon X processor. But to what extent would such a device disrupt the laptop market?

There isn't much to read from the handful of photos, but the Yoga Slim in question appears to be a premium ultra-thin option. I expect the first wave of Snapdragon X models to be equally premium options, not cheap alternatives to Intel or AMD's x86 options; the MacBook is not seen as a cheap option; the Yoga Slim is a premium option, not a cheap alternative.

And Qualcomm is not only looking at Intel and AMD, but Apple as well; NotebookCheck has a series of benchmark data provided by Qualcomm from a recent event in London, where the Snapdragon X Elite is the Apple M3, Intel Meteor Lake, and AMD Hawk Point CPUs, showing that the Snapdragon X Elite competes well with the Apple M3, Intel Meteor Lake, and AMD Hawk Point CPUs.

While controlled benchmark results should be taken with a pinch of salt, the Cinebench R24 results show that the Snapdragon X Elite beats all competitors in the multi-threaded test, recording 1140. In single-threaded tests, the Apple M3 and M3 Pro still lead, but the Snapdragon X outperforms competitors from AMD and Intel tested in the TDP class.

Perhaps Qualcomm's real claim is not only the competitive performance of the Snapdragon X, but that it did so without sacrificing power efficiency. Qualcomm's tests show that the Snapdragon X delivers 40% to over 100% longer battery life than its Intel counterpart. Qualcomm tests show that the Snapdragon X delivers 40% to over 100% longer battery life than its Intel counterpart.

While independent testing is needed, I believe the power efficiency of the Snapdragon X will be the "killer app": a performance-competitive premium laptop that runs all Windows apps, including WiFi 7, 5G, and AI features, with significantly longer battery life. I would be willing to switch if there was one, depending on price. We will have to wait for the device to come to market before that equation can be established.

Is 2024 the year of the Arm laptop? There are several challenges, such as the efficiency and stability of Windows emulation across thousands of apps, or how quickly native ecosystems can be developed; the extent to which Arm CPUs can run Windows games is also still an open question. Incorporating native support for Arm is not a quick or easy task, especially considering that many games are developed with consoles in mind. In general, games on Arm will likely rely on Windows emulation for some time to come.

I have been looking forward to Arm laptops for years, and the Lenovo pictured looks good on the surface. Now imagine what a 95W-class Snapdragon will mean for desktops in the years to come.