Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon C Specs for Budget Laptops

Qualcomm has officially revealed the specifications of its Snapdragon C processor, targeting budget laptops priced around $300. Announced in June, the chipset is based on ARM architecture and features an 8-core Kryo CPU with a maximum clock speed of 3 GHz in single-thread mode and 2 GHz in multi-thread mode. The manufacturer specifies that four cores can operate at 2.0 GHz, while three cores run at 2.6 GHz, though it does not clarify whether all eight cores can function simultaneously. The total cache size is 2 MB.

The SoC integrates an Adreno GPU with a clock speed of up to 900 MHz and a Hexagon NPU, though its TOPS performance remains undisclosed. It supports up to 16 GB of LPDDR5/5x or LPDDR4x RAM, as well as PCIe 3.0 NVMe and UFS 2.2/3.1 storage. Wireless connectivity is handled by the FastConnect C6700 module, supporting Wi-Fi 6/6E. The ports include two USB-C and two USB-A connectors with USB 3.1 support.

In benchmarks, Qualcomm compared Snapdragon C with Acer’s TravelMate laptop powered by Intel N250. According to the company, the new chipset offers 67% better battery life in multi-threaded Cinebench tasks and a 44% performance boost in single-threaded Geekbench tests. Battery efficiency during Netflix streaming in Microsoft Edge was 106% higher, while video calls in Teams showed a 74% improvement. However, performance results over wired connections were not disclosed.

The manufacturer promises 'all-day' battery life, though exact hours depend on partner implementations. The test device featured a 16-inch display, compared to the TravelMate’s 11.6-inch screen, with power levels adjusted for comparability. Snapdragon C-based laptops are expected from HP, Acer, Asus, and Lenovo. Acer has already demonstrated the Aspire Go 15 model with 8 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, but release dates and pricing remain unannounced.