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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X2 Elite and Extreme for Windows PCs

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Last year, after well over a decade of trying, Qualcomm finally made Windows on Arm laptops a thing, putting both Intel and AMD on notice and shoving Intel out of consumer-grade Microsoft Surface machines. Today, we’re learning about the second generation of the chip that made it happen, one which’ll now come in two distinct flavors: the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.

Qualcomm is making a gigantic claim right in the headline of its press release: it says these are “the fastest and most efficient processors for Windows PCs.” I’m sure Intel and AMD will have something to say about that!

But for now, the company claims its 3nm chips offer up to 31 percent faster CPU performance than the previous-gen Snapdragon X Elite at the same power, or can require 43 percent less power, and with up to 2.3x the GPU performance from a new 1.85GHz GPU. On the CPU side, it’s using a 3rd-gen Oryon CPU that’ll also feature in Qualcomm’s new mobile flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 chip, but here with up to 18 cores, 12 of which can run up to 4.4GHz, or up to two of them at 5GHz — a clockspeed which Qualcomm says is a first for Arm CPUs.

You can see more specs below, and at Qualcomm’s website and overview PDF.

There’s also a new 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU, for AI tasks, that offers 37 percent more performance with a 16 percent power consumption improvement, and the company claims it’s the fastest laptop NPU by far:

Qualcomm’s characterizing all of this as a “legendary leap in performance,” claiming the Elite Extreme in particular offers “up to 75 percent faster CPU performance” than competitors at the same power.

While it doesn’t say which competitors it’s talking about in the press release, it appears that Qualcomm is comparing against some of the most powerful (and power-hungry) laptop chips in the market, including the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, and you can see Qualcomm isn’t labeling both axes of its graphs:

Qualcomm also claims these power savings will lead to “multi-day battery life,” but that’s what the company already said about last year’s Snapdragon X Elite. (We saw 14 to 18 hours from last year’s laptops, so perhaps that’s multi-day defined as “two eight-hour workdays.”)

Still, these sound like very solid improvements, and some of them come from distinct new portions of the silicon. Gaming on Arm, which still needed work last year, will get a boost from a dedicated new 18MB of high speed cache that Qualcomm’s calling “Adreno High Performance Memory.”

And Qualcomm says Adobe creators will see big improvements over last year’s laptops: 28 percent faster photo editing in Photoshop, 43 percent faster exports from Lightroom, and a similar boosts to Premiere video analysis. Razer’s Min-Liang Tan also announced today that Razer will bring its Synapse software to Windows on Snapdragon, which is likely to be a polarizing announcement. He notably did not promise that Razer will make a Snapdragon-based gaming laptop.

It’s intriguing to see that the company’s testing its X2 Elite Extreme at over 50W of power; last year, Snapdragon chips were just for thin and light laptops, but 50W lets them scale into bigger PCs.

Note that when Qualcomm had its coming out party with Microsoft last year, the laptops arrived later that year. That’s not happening this time around: they’re “expected to be available 1H26,” the company writes.

Qualcomm’s announcement also doesn’t mention whether these chips will feature in its hinted-at collaboration with Google on Android for PC, but Sameer Samat, Google’s president of Android Ecosystem, suggested that the merger ChromeOS and Android might be on a similar schedule. “That combination is something we’re super excited about for next year,” he says.

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Y Combinator launches “Early Decision” for students who want to graduate first, build later

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24 September 2025

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The accelerator has introduced a new application track called Early Decision, designed for students who want to start companies but don’t want to drop out.

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India court rejects X’s “free speech” argument, backs government takedown powers

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24 September 2025

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X sued the Indian government in March over content takedown orders issued through its centralized portal.

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The best Apple deals to shop ahead of Amazon’s fall Prime Day event

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6 hours ago

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24 September 2025

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This post was originally published on this site.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is currently down to $649, matching its lowest price to date.

If the past is any indication, Prime Big Deal Days — Amazon’s upcoming fall Prime Day event — should deliver a wave of deals on Apple devices, letting you save on everything from AirPods and AirTags to the latest iPad. But if you can’t wait until the sale kicks off on October 7th to land a bargain, you don’t have to. A few Apple products are already receiving sizable discounts at Amazon and other retailers, giving you the chance to save ahead of Amazon’s two-day sales event next month.

Admittedly, the current discounts aren’t as steep as what we’ve seen during previous Prime Day events — and possibly this year’s October Prime Day — but they’re still a solid way to save on a lot of older Apple devices if you can’t wait. The last-gen Apple Watch Ultra 2 has returned to its all-time low, for instance, while the M1-powered MacBook Air is available at its best price to date. We’ve rounded up a handful of other Apple deals worth taking a look at below, so let’s dive in.

  1. The best wireless earbud and headphone deals
  2. The best iPad deals
  3. The best MacBook deals
  4. The best Apple Watch deals
  5. AirTags and other miscellaneous deals

The best wireless earbud and headphone deals

Apple AirPods Pro (second-gen) with USB-C charging case

The second-gen AirPods Pro improve upon Apple’s original pair with much better noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and onboard volume controls. The latest refresh also ships with a USB-C charging case, as opposed to Lightning. Read our review.
Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro photographed on a reflective black surface.

Where to Buy:

  • You can buy a pair of the AirPods 4 on sale for $119 ($10 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Staples. Apple’s entry-level wireless earbuds offer better sound than their predecessor, with richer bass and much clearer voice quality. The earbuds also feature an upgraded IP54 water and dust resistance rating, deep integration with iOS and other Apple products, and support for spatial audio with head tracking. Read our review.
  • Alternatively, you can buy the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for around $169 ($10 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Staples. Like the aforementioned base model, they deliver strong noise cancellation and a solid transparency mode, although they’re still not quite on par with Apple’s Pro models. The step-up ANC model also supports wireless charging and comes with a case that features a built-in speaker, making it easier to locate via Apple’s Find My network. Read our review.

Apple EarPods (USB-C)

Apple’s wired earbuds are comfortable, offer great microphone quality for the price, and feature a built-in remote for controlling audio playback.

Where to Buy:

  • You can buy the latest AirPods Max at Amazon and Best Buy in select colors starting at $499, which is a far cry from their all-time low of $399 but still a solid $50 discount. The plush over-ear headphones feature a luxe stainless steel and aluminum design, along with excellent active noise cancellation and an exceptionally natural-sounding transparency mode. They also support lossless audio, deliver up to 20 hours of playback on a single charge, and sport a USB-C port. Read our original review.

Beats Studio Buds

The Studio Buds feature support for iOS and Android as well as noise cancellation, a cozy fit, and good sound quality for the price. They don’t offer the same features as Apple’s iconic AirPods, but their broader compatibility may make them a fine choice on a budget. Read our review.

Where to Buy:

The best iPad deals

11-inch iPad Air M3

The latest 11-inch iPad Air features Apple’s fast M3 chip with GPU upgrades like dynamic caching for smoother performance in demanding apps. It also supports the Apple Pencil Pro and the newest Magic Keyboard, which features a larger build and a 14-key function row. Read our review.
A photo of an iPad Air on a table.

Where to Buy:

  • The 13-inch version of the M3-powered iPad Air with 128GB of storage is also on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, where you can buy it for an all-time low of around $649 ($150 off). Aside from a larger screen and better speakers, it’s identical to the aforementioned 11-inch model. Read our review.

13-inch iPad Pro M4

The newest iPad Pro comes in either an 11- or 13-inch configuration with Apple’s M4 processor. Both models also feature an OLED display, a much thinner and lighter build, new horizontal placement for the front camera, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro. Read our review.
A photo of a person pinching the screen on an iPad Pro.

Where to Buy:

  • You can buy the latest iPad with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart for $299 ($50 off), which is $20 shy of the tablet’s all-time low. It offers twice the base storage of its predecessor and faster performance thanks to the inclusion of Apple’s A16 Bionic chip; however, it still lags behind its higher-end siblings in performance and doesn’t support the newest Apple Pencil, nor does it support any of the AI-based Apple Intelligence features baked into the latest iterations of iPadOS. Read our review.

The best MacBook deals

2020 MacBook Air with M1 (256GB)

The 2020 MacBook Air has been discontinued but remains a great value. It comes outfitted with the company’s original M1 chip in one of three different colors (silver, space gray, and gold).
The MacBook Air is the most impressive laptop I’ve used in years

Where to Buy:

  • The 13-inch M4-powered MacBook Air is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy in all four colors starting at $799 ($200 off) with a 10-core CPU, an eight-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The fantastic laptop — which we consider to be the best option for most people — builds upon its predecessor with additional RAM and Apple’s faster, more powerful M4 chip. It can also connect to two external displays with the lid open, as opposed to just one. Read our review.
  • If you need more screen real estate, you can grab the latest 15-inch MacBook Air at Amazon and Best Buy with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage starting at $999 ($200 off). It offers the same features as the 13-incher, but features an improved six-speaker sound system and your choice of either a 35W Dual USB‑C Port Compact Power Adapter or a 70W USB‑C Power Adapter.

The best Apple Watch deals

Apple Watch Ultra 2

The rugged Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes in one size: 49mm. It offers a large, bright display along with long battery life and excellent performance. It sports Apple’s last-gen S9 SiP, too, allowing you to take advantage of Apple’s double tap feature. Read our review.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 on grass.

Where to Buy:

  • The last-gen Apple Watch Series 10 is on sale at Amazon and Walmart in the 42mm configuration with GPS starting at $329 ($70 off), which is $50 shy of its all-time low. While it lacks the Series 11’s more scratch-resistant glass and only lasts 18 hours, as opposed to 24, the wearable still delivers a bright, wide-angle OLED display along with depth and water-temperature sensors. It also includes FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and supports Apple’s new hypertension notification feature. Read our review.

AirTags and other miscellaneous deals

Apple AirTag

Apple’s AirTag is unobtrusive, waterproof, and taps into the massive Find My network for out-of-range locating. Read our original review.
An AirTag in an Apple keychain accessory

Where to Buy:

  • The Apple Pencil Pro is down to $99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which is $10 shy of its best price to date. Unlike Apple’s entry-level USB-C stylus, the Pro model charges wirelessly and offers other advanced capabilities, including Find My support, pressure sensitivity, and a “Barrel Roll” gyroscope that allows you to adjust the angle of your pen or brush strokes with a simple twist. However, compatibility is limited to the latest iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and M2- or M3-based iPad Air models.

Apple MagSafe Charger (2m)

Apple’s latest MagSafe charger now fully supports the Qi2.2 standard, allowing it to charge compatible devices (including the iPhone 17 series and Google’s Pixel 10 lineup) at 25W rates.

Where to Buy:

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