Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M5 | ARM-based computing levels up, but how do these chips compare?

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On October 15, 2025, Apple announced its latest M5 chip, which will power new versions of the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro. This announcement came about three weeks after Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme chips for Windows computers.

We likely won’t see Qualcomm’s new X2 Elite and Extreme processors in computers until the beginning of next year. Apple isn’t sharing any performance details about the M5 chip before it launches in the MacBook Pro on October 22nd.

Even though things are still developing, I’ve made a preliminary comparison of the Apple and Qualcomm chips, and I’m sharing some initial benchmark results that have recently become available.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: CPU performance

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite platform comes in three versions, with the top-of-the-line model being the X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100). This powerful chip features 18 processing cores, speeds up to 5GHz, a graphics processor running up to 1.85GHz, and a memory bandwidth of 228GB/s.

The X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) is a slightly slower version, still featuring 18 cores but running at a lower speed of 4.7GHz for both the processor and graphics, compared to the previous model. The X2 Elite (X2E-80-100) steps down further with 12 cores, maintaining the 4.7GHz processor and 1.7GHz graphics clock speeds. Both of these X2 Elite processors can transfer up to 152GB of data per second.

Currently, Apple’s M5 chip comes in only one configuration. While more powerful ‘Pro’ and ‘Max’ versions are expected, Apple hasn’t announced them yet. Similar to the X2 Elite chips, the M5 is manufactured using advanced 3nm technology.

Apple boasts that the M5 chip features the world’s fastest processing core, and the most powerful 10-core CPU option includes up to four of these high-performance cores, along with six energy-efficient cores. According to Apple, this setup offers up to a 15% increase in speed when handling multiple tasks simultaneously compared to the M4 chip.

The M5 achieves a memory bandwidth of 153GB/s. This is 1GB/s quicker than the X2 Elite chips, but 75GB/s slower than the X2 Elite Extreme.

Geekbench Single-core Multi-core
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme 4,080 23,491
Apple M5 4,253 17,862

I recently saw some Geekbench test results (reported by Tom’s Hardware) and it looks like the new M5 chip in a MacBook Pro is actually faster than Qualcomm’s X2 Elite Extreme chip when it comes to tasks that rely on a single core. The M5 scored 4,253 in the test, which is better than the 4,080 score Qualcomm shared for their chip.

In tests that used multiple processor cores, the X2 Elite Extreme performed better, scoring 23,491 compared to the M5’s 17,862. This difference is largely due to the X2 Elite Extreme having eight more CPU cores, which is probably not the result Qualcomm was hoping for.

So far, Qualcomm has focused on showcasing the top-tier performance of the X2 Elite, making it difficult to gauge how the standard versions will perform. However, we can expect the M5 chip to remain the leader in single-core speed, and it’s likely to improve its performance when handling multiple tasks at once, potentially rivaling the X2 Elite.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: AI performance

As a tech fan, I’m really excited about the new Snapdragon X Elite chips! They’ve basically launched this whole new generation of Copilot+ PCs. The biggest thing for me is the built-in AI power – it has this special chip called an NPU that makes running AI tasks right on your laptop super smooth and fast.

The latest X2 Elite and Elite Extreme chips feature a significantly upgraded AI processor, now capable of 80 TOPS – a big improvement over the 45 TOPS in previous models. This upgrade ensures the chips are well-equipped to handle the growing demands of on-device AI, including features within and beyond Copilot+.

The Qualcomm X2 Elite Extreme achieved a score of 4,151 on the Procyon AI Computer Vision benchmark, significantly outperforming the Apple M4, which scored 2,121.

Apple has also enhanced the 16-core Neural Engine in the M5 chip. It’s been specifically designed to work with Apple Intelligence features and works alongside the Neural Accelerators in both the CPU and GPU for even better performance.

Since Apple hasn’t released performance data yet, I can’t compare the M5 chip to others right now. We’ll need to see benchmark tests after it’s available. What we do know is that the previous M4 chip offered 38 TOPS of AI processing power, and the M5 is expected to be even more powerful.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: GPU performance

Qualcomm has improved the graphics processing unit (GPU) in its X2 Elite chips, increasing its speed and overall performance.

Qualcomm tested the X2 Elite Extreme chip using 3DMark’s Solar Bay benchmark, which measures performance in games with ray tracing. It achieved a score of 90.06. For comparison, last year’s Apple M4 chip scored 62.7 on the same test.

The new X2 Elite Extreme laptop, with its upgraded graphics and better compatibility with anti-cheat software, could significantly improve the gaming experience on future Snapdragon-powered laptops.

Apple claims the M5 chip marks a significant advancement in AI capabilities for its devices. With a new 10-core GPU design and AI processing built into each core, it’s expected to offer over four times the graphics processing power of the M4 chip.

The new chip’s graphics should be around 30% faster than the previous generation, thanks to improved shader cores. A completely redesigned ray tracing engine could increase performance by as much as 45%, putting it on par with the performance we’ve seen from the X2 Elite Extreme in initial tests.

As a tech fan, I’m really seeing Qualcomm continue to dominate when it comes to external display support. The new M5 chip in the MacBook Pro is seriously impressive – you can hook up two 6K monitors running at 60Hz each, all through Thunderbolt 5. Or, if you prefer, you can run one 6K monitor at 60Hz *and* a 4K monitor at 144Hz simultaneously, using a combination of Thunderbolt and HDMI. And if you’re just using a single display, the M5 can push up to 4K at an incredibly smooth 240Hz, or even 8K at 60Hz. It’s a fantastic setup for anyone who needs extra screen real estate!

The X2 Elite series is powerful enough to smoothly run up to three 4K monitors at 144Hz, or three 5K monitors at 60Hz.

Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. Apple M5: More to come

I’ll update this comparison when we have more data, but right now, Apple’s basic M5 chip seems to be a strong competitor to the top-of-the-line X2 Elite Extreme.

It’ll be fascinating to see how Apple’s future M5 Pro and Max chips stack up against these current options. I’m also eager to find out if Qualcomm can deliver a processor that outperforms the X2 Elite Extreme.

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2025-10-22 13:15