The first Android laptops are borrowing something from the Microsoft Surface Pro 11

What you need to know

• A recent rumor suggest Qualcomm is adding Android 16 support to its Snapdragon X series of processors.
• It's currently unknown as to whether Qualcomm will be doing the same for its Snapdragon X2 chips.
• Even with this progression, we're still likely a few months away from seeing the first Android laptop.

There were quite a few announcements made at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit earlier this year, which included confirmation that Android laptops were on the way. Recently, it was discovered that Qualcomm "is working on Android support for the X Elite and X (series)" processors.

Bringing Android support to Qualcomm's flagship ARM SoC was one of the hurdles that needed to be cleared before either Google or Qualcomm could move forward. However, with this out of the way, it's probably safe to assume that the development cycle will ramp up fairly rapidly.

It's not like we were expecting to see any Android-powered laptops before the end of the year anyways. But, given that the announcement was made in late September, it's reassuring to see meaningful progress being made before the end of the year.

As a refresher, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X series of processors in June 2024, debuting as the company's latest attempt to bring Windows to ARM devices. A few companies released new hardware to accompany the launch, such as Samsung with its Galaxy Book 4 Edge, and the Microsoft Surface Pro 11.

After years of failing to really compete with Apple's M-series, Qualcomm seemingly struck gold with the Snapdragon X lineup. Our colleagues over at Windows Central found that the X Elite nearly matched Apple's M3 Pro and M3 Max in single-core CPU performance. Meanwhile the X Elite (80W) goes toe-to-toe with the M3 Pro when it comes to GPU performance.

At the most recent Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon X2 series of processors, looking to build on the success. In regards to the Snapdragon X2 Elite, Qualcomm says that CPU performance "up to 31% faster" than its predecessor, "and requires up to 43% less power."

As for GPU performance, the Snapdragon X2 Elite is said to offer a "2.3X increase in performance per watt and power efficiency." Not to mention that there's also the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, but I wouldn't hold my breath if you're hoping to see this powering an Android laptop.

Nevertheless, it's still exciting to see Qualcomm moving forward, even if the first batch of Android laptops aren't powered by the Snapdragon X2. I'm sure more information will continue to trickle out, but I'm not expecting to see much until after the new year. And a year after I wrote about it, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Surface Pro-style laptop powered by Android.