Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series vs. Apple M-Series Silicon Chips—High-Performing PC Chips Coming

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 10 October 2023, 10:10 pm

Apple's renowned M-series Arm-based Silicon chip is one of the most iconic not only for its Mac computers, but also for its iPads, but it may meet its match soon. Qualcomm introduced its new Snapdragon X series earlier today, centering on delivering a high-performing chip for PCs that could rival Apple's silicon in the future.

However, it is not exactly smooth sailing over at Qualcomm, particularly as it faces a lawsuit from Arm regarding the use and licensing of its technology designs.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series Coming for PCs

(Photo : Qualcomm)

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon X series earlier today, and this is the company's first take on a processor that will bring its technology to PCs in the future. The company said that it will see a debut by 2024, centering on a next-level performance, AI capabilities, better connectivity, and improvements in battery life.

While the Snapdragon X series will be its first foray into the computer world, Qualcomm has introduced previous developments including the Snapdragon 8cx compute platform.

This new chip was based on the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, known for using Nuvia's chip technology with the company being acquired by Qualcomm in 2021.

Apple Silicon vs. Qualcomm Snapdragon X

Nuvia was a company formed by ex-Apple engineers who designed custom Arm-based chips that could replicate what Apple's silicon can deliver. Soon, a faceoff between the Apple M-series Silicon and the Qualcomm Snapdragon X would take place, claiming its supremacy in the PC platform.

Still, Qualcomm faces a lawsuit from Arm, and this is for its use of Nuvia's development which has initially been licensed to them, but was void when Qualcomm acquired the company.

Apple's Famed M-series Chips

Since Apple moved on from its reliance on Intel's Core i-series and began developing its chips, the company saw significant successes in the market, particularly with the M-series chips. Currently, Apple's Silicon chips are available in the Macbook Pro, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro devices, centering on the M2 Max and M2 Ultra.

Moreover, there is also the famed M-series adoption for Cupertino's iPad devices, with the latest being the iPad Pro which features the M2 chip and is praised for its performance. The M2-equipped iPad Pro was made available in 2022, and it saw a skip this year, but it is notable for its capabilities that support complex workloads.

Apple and Qualcomm were already known rivals since the iPhone use of the A-series chips, also an Arm-based Silicon that is an all-in-one chip for the smartphone. Now, Qualcomm is centering on a new chip for other devices, soon arriving in PCs with the Snapdragon X series, capable of matching Apple's M-series performance as per claims.