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Qualcomm announced at its Snapdragon Summit that mainstream Linux distributions are coming to Snapdragon X-series laptops, starting with Debian support expected before the end of 2026. Ubuntu compatibility for Snapdragon X2-based devices is planned for early 2027, with ASUS reportedly aiming to ship Ubuntu support on its own X2 hardware by mid-year.
Microsoft is refreshing its lowest-end Surface devices, the 13-inch Surface Laptop and 12-inch Surface Pro, with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 Plus processor featuring an 80 TOPS NPU, replacing the first-gen Snapdragon X Plus. Both machines launch October 13, priced at $1,199 and $1,149 respectively, with new black color options, brighter 500-nit displays, and the Surface Pro gaining optional 5G in enterprise models plus a new sketching app called Ink Canvas.
Microsoft has updated its smaller Surface Pro 12-inch tablet and Surface Laptop 13 with new Snapdragon X2 Plus processors, keeping the same designs but adding brighter 500-nit displays. Prices have risen to $1,150 for the Surface Pro 12 and $1,199 for the Surface Laptop 13, up from sub-$1,000 launches last year, which the company attributes partly to rising memory costs.
Microsoft has upgraded its smaller Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 series processors, matching the chips already used in its larger 13-inch Surface Pro and 13.8- and 15-inch Surface Laptop models. The new 12-inch Surface Pro moves to a six-core Snapdragon X Plus X2P-42-100 chip with an upgraded GPU and NPU capable of 80 trillion operations per second, and Microsoft also increased its memory. Alongside the laptop updates, Microsoft introduced a new Surface Mouse featuring haptic feedback.
Qualcomm introduced its Sound Elite platform built around a new S3 chip small enough to fit inside earbuds, allowing them to stream Wi-Fi lossless audio without needing a paired phone nearby. The design lets users leave their phone in another room while still receiving uninterrupted high-quality sound.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 chip at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, designed to power a new generation of 'hearables' including earbuds, headphones, audio glasses and other multimodal wearables. The chip is meant to enable features like adaptive sound processing, real-time translation, AI note-taking and combined audio-visual interactions in devices with cameras.
At its Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Qualcomm announced new processors for smartphones, laptops and wearables, including the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 flagship mobile chips. Alongside expected CPU and GPU gains, the chips feature an upgraded Hexagon NPU, a redesigned Sensing Hub and a new Element Accelerator built specifically to speed up agentic AI tasks.
Microsoft is releasing updated versions of its smaller Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models on October 13th, powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Plus chips. The devices keep the same design, displays and ports as last year's models but now start at 16GB of RAM, with the Surface Pro starting at $1,149.99 and the Surface Laptop at $1,199.99 — both notably higher than their predecessors' starting prices of $799.99 and $899.99.
At Snapdragon Summit 2026 in Maui, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon outlined plans for AI agents on Snapdragon devices that could eventually make purchases on users' behalf, drawing on habits and preferences. He demonstrated a scenario where smart glasses prompt a wearer to rebuy sunscreen and lip balm she'd previously purchased at a store, requiring her approval before the transaction goes through. Amon said Qualcomm is building authentication and security technology so agents operate with user consent rather than autonomously.
Qualcomm has unveiled two high-end mobile processors simultaneously, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, both built on a new Oryon CPU revision with a 5GHz peak clock speed. The chips share the same X105 5G modem, FastConnect 8800 wireless module, imaging tools like Intelligent Pixel Control and Elite Color Engine, and a new Hexagon Element Accelerator for on-device AI, though some AI capabilities differ subtly between the two versions.
According to YouTuber Geekerwan, Qualcomm plans to enhance its official GPU drivers to better support PC game emulation on Android devices. Testing on a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 phone reportedly showed Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong running properly in DirectX12 mode via a translation layer, and Qualcomm is said to be considering native DirectX12 driver support as well.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 mobile processors at its Snapdragon Summit, built on a 2nm process with dual 5GHz Oryon Prime cores. The chips bring notable CPU, GPU and NPU gains over the prior generation, alongside power efficiency improvements, and will ship in upcoming flagship phones from brands including Honor, Motorola, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi. Qualcomm emphasized AI agent capabilities, such as automated video sorting and location-based notifications, as the lineup's central feature.