Qualcomm launches Snapdragon C for budget Arm laptops
TL;DR. Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon C platform, an entry-level Arm processor designed for Windows 11 laptops starting at $300, ahead of Computex 2026. - The Snapdragon C uses older Kryo cores, not the Nuvia-derived Oryon cores found in Snapdragon X chips. - This new platform does not meet Microsoft's Copilot+ requirements for neural engine throughput or memory. - Industry analysts warn that rising memory prices threaten the viability of the sub-$500 laptop market.
- Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon C platform to power budget Arm-based Windows 11 laptops.
- The new chip utilizes Kryo cores from Qualcomm's smartphone lineup, differentiating it from the Oryon-based Snapdragon X series.
- Snapdragon C does not qualify for Microsoft's Copilot+ certification due to lower NPU performance and memory requirements.
- Analysts predict the sub-$500 laptop segment faces extinction by 2028 because of increasing DRAM costs.