The tech world is abuzz with allegations that Qualcomm cheated on benchmarks for its highly anticipated Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus processors designed for Windows laptops.
Just after the launch of the Snapdragon X Plus chip, which promises to bring AI to the heart of affordable Windows PCs, the website SemiAccurate accused Qualcomm of introducing faulty test results that even major laptop manufacturers have not been able to reproduce.
At the heart of the controversy is Qualcomm’s claimed performance for its new X-series chips, which promise to be the first truly competitive laptop processors against rivals such as Apple’s M-series, Intel and AMD .
Snapdragon chip benchmarks would not be accurate
According to SemiAccurate and its sources, Qualcomm’s test results presented to the press and OEM partners appear virtually impossible to achieve in real-world testing. The site claims to have obtained information from two major laptop manufacturers and a “ senior source at Qualcomm “, claiming that benchmark tests shared by the public are misleading.
SemiAccurate emphasizes that despite the efforts of major OEM developers, no one has been able to recreate the impressive performance touted by Qualcommthe results of some initial tests being “ well below 50% of Qualcomm’s claims “.
The controversy dates back to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit conference last October, where the company first revealed benchmarks for future X Elite chips. At that time, sources cited by SemiAccurate claimed that the initial figures were lower than expected, although Qualcomm attributed this to unfinished software optimization.
The testing methodology and parameters used to obtain these results have remained completely opaque, with vague tables comparing performance with hardware from Apple and Intel that could not be independently verified.
Despite promises of deeper technical insights and the ability to perform independent benchmarking before launch, SemiAccurate claims that Qualcomm has failed to deliver on its commitments so far. The site explains that even taking into account factors such as cooling and Windows optimization, laptop manufacturers fail to match the high performance claimed by Qualcomm, an anonymous source comparing the performance of the X Elite to Intel’s low-end Celeron chips.
Qualcomm assures that its chips are as powerful as it claims
If proven true, these accusations could deal a severe blow to Qualcomm’s laptop ambitions and wider adoption of Windows ARM. However, for now, These claims are unsubstantiated and Qualcomm stands firm by its performance promises.
In response, a Qualcomm representative assures us that the company “Confirms performance and can’t wait for consumers to get their hands on the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus devices soon “.
We would have liked to see Qualcomm detail its testing protocols or allow independent testers to play with its chipsbut for the moment we will have to be content with this defense.
Snapdragon these will be closely scrutinized. Microsoft’s upcoming Build conference, to be held in May, could also detail the state of Windows ARM and the role Qualcomm’s X-series chips are expected to play in “AI PCs.”