The first Windows laptops powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X chips have hit the market, and they’re setting new records for battery life in our testing lab. This is a big deal because it marks a turning point in the conversation about how well the best Windows laptops match up against the best MacBooks. For years now, Apple’s laptops have had the clear edge over Windows machines when it comes to battery life, reliably lasting 12+ hours on a full charge when Windows laptops often struggle to hit 10.
Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors appear to be delivering on Qualcomm’s promises, because every Snapdragon laptop we’ve tested to date handily lasts 12+ hours in our battery tests. The new HP OmniBook X with Snapdragon X Elite even outlasted the MacBook Air M3 in battery life, lasting well over an hour longer. While it still falls short of the MacBook Pro M3, the Snapdragon chip inside gets it closer than any other Windows laptop we’ve ever tested.
This is a big win not just for Qualcomm but also Microsoft, as the Windows vendor can finally start pointing to third-party battery tests as evidence that Windows 11 laptops are just as capable as MacBooks. And they can’t start too soon, given that MacBooks are heavily promoting their “all-day battery life” as a key selling point.
Intel Meteor Lake vs. Qualcomm Snapdragon X
I’ve also taken the liberty of including battery test results from some recently tested Windows laptops that are powered by one of the new Intel Meteor Lake chips, so you can see how they stack up. Intel’s Meteor Lake chips have shown promise, with some laptops reliably delivering 10-12 hours of runtime in our battery life tests.
However, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X CPUs outperform Intel’s latest laptop chips when it comes to battery life. While Snapdragon laptops are competitive in terms of raw performance, the emulation layer required for running Windows apps on Arm CPUs can slow down performance compared to x86 chips.
Competition Heating Up
But as new laptops like the Asus Vivobook S 15 and HP OmniBook X have proven, Qualcomm has delivered the goods with Snapdragon X. Every new Snapdragon X laptop we’ve tested so far has been on par with the latest MacBooks, showing that real competition is coming from Qualcomm.
If you’ve been concerned about all-day battery life when considering a new PC, rest easy — buying a Windows laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X chip inside means you no longer have to carry a charger with you when you leave the house.
Now the question remains: Can Intel and AMD produce laptop chips efficient enough to compete with what Qualcomm has brought to the table? Only time will tell!
