When you buy a new Windows laptop, one of the first things you should think about is the type of processor you want. Depending on its range, you will be able to do some tasks better than others.
Many people may think that their only choice is between Intel and AMD, but there is a third option that is becoming more and more important to think about. And it’s true that Qualcomm, which is known for making chips for smartphones, has also been making chips for laptops since 2019.
This ARM-based chipset has CPU and GPU parts for handling graphics tasks. You should know that Microsoft, Samsung, and Lenovo have already used these parts in their devices. The Snapdragon 8cx chip, about which there are already rumors on the Internet, would be the fourth generation of the processor platform for desktop computer operating systems.
Here, you’ll find all the information you need.
When will laptops with Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 be released?
Qualcomm usually releases new top-of-the-line chips for laptops at the end of each year. The releases are usually spread out over at least a year. Here are the dates of the last few years’ releases:
- Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3: December 2021
- Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2: September 2020
- December 2018 for the Snapdragon 8cx
Since there was no sign of the new chip last year, we’ll probably see the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 before the company’s main event in November, which is called Snapdragon Summit.
Some leakers, like Kuba Wojciechowski, said on Twitter that the next chip would be called “Hamoa” and come out in 2024, but they thought it would be the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4.
In February 2023, the publication GSMArena said that the launch could happen later this year or even well into 2024. However, there is no solid evidence to support this claim.
No matter what, it looks like the first laptops with the new chip won’t hit the market until well into the year 2024.
Which laptops will use the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4?
At this early stage, it’s hard to say what will happen, but it seems likely that the four devices that use the older Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chip will get new versions:
- Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
- Huawei MateBook E Go (Wi-Fi model only)
- Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360
- Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (customized version “SQ3”)
The Windows Dev Kit 2023 also uses the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, but it is meant to be used on a desktop and not by end users. Some of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 devices could also make a comeback:
- Acer Spin 7 HP Elite Folio
- Samsung Galaxy Book Go 5G
- The “SQ2” version of the Microsoft Surface Pro X
There are also rumors from the German website WinFuture that new 10-inch devices could have a high-end ARM chip, most likely the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4.
Most of these devices are brand new, but there are rumors that Microsoft will bring back the Surface Duo and Neo projects. We thought it would be a good idea even without a Qualcomm chip.
Asus is the only company that has hinted at a partnership with Qualcomm and Windows in the past, along with the brands already mentioned. If the upgrades to the chips are good enough, other companies might be persuaded to use them.
What will be the specifications of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4?
As of right now, there is only one main source of reliable information, but it tells us a lot of interesting things. Again, leaker Kuba Wojciechowski says that he has gotten a lot of important information about the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4, as he says in a tweet from January 2023:
The most powerful chip has eight performance cores and four efficiency cores, according to the key points. During internal tests, Qualcomm seems to get performance clock speeds of 3.4 GHz and efficiency clock speeds of 2.5 GHz. These numbers could be higher in the final product.
The 12 CPU cores are said to be divided into four groups of four, with each group having a 12MB L2 cache and an 8MB L3 cache. It looks like the total system cache is 12 MB, and there are another 4 MB for graphical output.
Wojciechowski says that it will be able to use up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM onboard. But the Adreno 740 GPU, which is the same one used in the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, won’t get an update, so far as we know. But the higher-end 12-core version will also work with GPUs that are separate from the CPU.
Wi-Fi 7 connectivity
The new Wi-Fi 7 standard should be added to the 8cx Gen 4 in terms of connectivity. It should be out sometime in 2023, which is earlier than the original plan for early 2024.
Don’t forget that this is the only information we have right now. Wojciechowski’s leaks have been pretty accurate in the past, but that doesn’t mean that everything he says will be in the final product.
The only thing we know for sure is that it will support 5G, but it would make sense to update the Bluetooth 5.1 on the 8cx Gen 3. Bluetooth 5.4 is expected to come out in 2023, but Qualcomm could choose to stick with the current version, 5.3, instead.
When we find out more about the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4, we’ll add it to this article. Check out our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 guide for news about Qualcomm’s next mobile chipset.