Snapdragon PCs Surge in $800+ Market, Qualcomm Sees Massive Gains

2024 proved to be an unconventional year for computers powered by Snapdragons. While several laptops garnered favorable feedback, overall sales failed to reach the projected targets. However, it seems there was a market shift in December, as suggested during Qualcomm’s latest earnings conference call. This week, the company has disclosed some data suggesting that Snapdragon-powered PCs are gradually gaining traction among consumers.

Specifically, Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips inside sold well in the $800+ market.

During the initial stages of introducing Copilot+ PCs, we’re delighted with the response from consumers towards our Snapdragon X Series,” remarked Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. “As per Circana, by December, the Snapdragon X Series held over 10% of the market share in high-end Windows laptops sold at U.S. retailers.

The data in question has certain restrictions, like focusing solely on laptop sales rather than all personal computers and being exclusive to the U.S. market. Moreover, the 10% advantage is only applicable to laptops priced above $800, which adds a layer of specificity but also makes for an intriguing price point. Interestingly, PCs equipped with Snapdragon X processors often provide better value compared to those running on Intel or AMD chips.

At first sight, this might lead one to assume that Snapdragon PCs would excel in the budget segment but lag behind in mid-tier and premium markets. However, it’s worth noting that Qualcomm has yet to focus on the price range that the Snapdragon X is designed to disrupt – the $600 laptop market. This suggests potential for the Snapdragon X to create a stir in this particular segment in the future.

Devices sporting the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus come with a higher price tag, but they excel in performance and cost-effectiveness. The current top Windows laptop is the Surface Laptop 7, boasting a Snapdragon processor and retailing at $999.99. Meanwhile, the ASUS Zenbook A14 from CES 2025, also powered by a Snapdragon X processor, will have an $899 model available in March, with its premium $1,099.99 version already on sale now.

2024 seems to have been a successful year for Qualcomm, with several wins under its belt. It’ll be intriguing to observe whether this positive trajectory persists into 2025.

Have Copilot+ PCs turned a corner?

Last year, Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon X chips and Copilot+ PCs, but they didn’t have a strong start. In their latest earnings report, Qualcomm mentioned that the Copilot+ PCs are still in their early stages. Unfortunately, the sales of Snapdragon X-powered PCs were not impressive during Q3, with only 720,000 units sold, accounting for just 0.8% of total sales in that quarter. At the time, it was reported that Qualcomm processors were powering only 1.5% of all Windows PCs.

Although Qualcomm’s data doesn’t align precisely with the categories we observed for Q3 24, it seems clear that their efforts in the PC sector are showing signs of growth.

Qualcomm emphasized enhancements in app compatibility for PCs powered by Snapdragon, noting that the selection of native apps has grown significantly. The company stated that now, among other things, 20 leading VPNs and 50 top-tier security and cloud storage apps are available, as well as new applications designed for content creators.

By 2025, you can expect a greater variety of laptops featuring Qualcomm chips due to the growing popularity of Snapdragon X Elite, Snapdragon X Plus, and the upcoming Snapdragon X. During their latest financial conference, the company shared that they have over 80 designs either already launched or still in development for the X series, aiming to commercialize more than 100 devices in total.

2025-02-06 17:14

Have Copilot+ PCs turned a corner?

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