Chromebooks powered by Arm processors are set to see significant improvements, as developers are gearing up for new versions of ChromeOS that will support Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips, according to Chrome Unboxed.
A recent commit in the Chromium project’s Gerrit code review reveals that the SoCID for the Qualcomm X1P42100, also known as the Snapdragon X Plus, has been integrated into the Chromium repository, indicating that active development for Chromebooks using this chip is in progress.
While the Snapdragon X Plus is not Qualcomm’s top-tier “Elite” processor featured in premium Windows 11 Arm laptops, it still boasts impressive AI performance capabilities, delivering 45 TOPS from its NPU.
Previous Qualcomm-powered Chromebooks have not been particularly powerful. The 2021 Acer Chromebook Spin 513, which we’ve tested, offers excellent battery life but is equipped with the slower Snapdragon 7c chip. Although the 7c Gen 2 was faster in devices like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3, Qualcomm did not introduce the Gen 3 variant for Chromebooks. This situation has left users with options from MediaTek and Intel, the latter of which is often criticized for its subpar battery life.
