Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus Struggles Against Apple M4 in Benchmarks
Qualcomm recently unveiled the Snapdragon X2 Plus, a successor to the Snapdragon X Plus, aimed at powering more affordable Windows laptops designed to rival Apple’s Silicon range. Despite promising specifications on paper, the real-world performance of the Snapdragon X2 Plus has come under scrutiny, as it has been outperformed by Apple’s previous-generation M4 chip in the majority of synthetic CPU and GPU benchmarks.
A series of tests conducted by PCMag compared the Snapdragon X2 Plus reference design against Apple’s M4 chip, revealing that the M4 outpaced Qualcomm’s latest offering in four out of five synthetic benchmarks. These tests included well-known benchmarking tools such as Cinebench 2024, Geekbench 6, and 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light and Solar Bay, with the M4 showing up to a 30% performance advantage in some cases.
Benchmark Details Highlight Apple’s Lead
Delving into the numbers, the Snapdragon X2 Plus scored 133 in Cinebench 2024 single-core, while the M4 achieved 173, marking a 30% lead for Apple. In multi-core Cinebench tests, the Snapdragon X2 Plus narrowly edged out the M4 by 1.81%, with scores of 1,011 against 993. However, in Geekbench 6 single-core and multi-core tests, the M4 reclaimed the advantage, outperforming the Snapdragon X2 Plus by 16.55% and 1.02% respectively. The GPU-focused 3DMark Steel Nomad Light and Solar Bay benchmarks further underscored Apple’s lead, with the M4 scoring 28.76% and 24.39% higher than Qualcomm’s chip.
It is worth noting that the Snapdragon X2 Plus tested was a reference design, and commercial variants in laptops may deliver slightly lower performance. Nevertheless, these results suggest that the Snapdragon X2 Plus may struggle to compete not only with the M4 but also with Apple’s upcoming M5 chip.
Context and Implications for Qualcomm’s Strategy
This performance gap continues Qualcomm’s recent challenges in matching Apple Silicon’s efficiency and power. Earlier, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme also fell short against Apple’s M4 Max in Cinebench 2024 benchmarks. Qualcomm’s chips have traditionally excelled in mobile devices, but the transition to Windows laptops competing directly with Apple’s custom silicon has proven difficult.
Alongside Apple’s chips, the Snapdragon X2 Plus was also benchmarked against other processors such as Intel’s Core Ultra 7 268V and Core Ultra 9 285H, as well as AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX Pro 375 and Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395. While these comparisons provide a broader performance landscape, the focus remains on how Qualcomm’s latest SoC stacks up against Apple’s leading silicon.
Looking Ahead
Although the Snapdragon X2 Plus has not yet surpassed Apple’s M4 chip in most synthetic benchmarks, it is important to remember that CPU and GPU tests represent only part of the overall performance picture. Real-world usage, power efficiency, and software optimisation will also play critical roles in determining the success of Qualcomm’s new chip in the competitive laptop market. As Apple continues to refine its silicon, Qualcomm faces the challenge of closing the performance gap in future releases.
For now, the Snapdragon X2 Plus’s benchmark results highlight the ongoing dominance of Apple Silicon in this segment, setting a high bar for Qualcomm’s Windows laptop ambitions.