The 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop is currently the least expensive available with a Qualcomm X chip. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Currently, the $999 Microsoft Surface Laptop is the cheapest way to get a Windows machine that runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus chip, with all the battery life benefits (and caveats) that might entail. But in 2025, they’ll be cheaper — Qualcomm now says they’ll hit the $700 mark next year.
“As we look forward to 2025, in addition to new design wins, our X series product roadmap will expand to address PCs with retail prices as low as $700 without compromising NPU performance,” Qualcomm CEO and president Cristiano Amon just said on the company’s Q3 2024 earnings call.
Amon did not necessarily say the cheaper machines would be laptops — the company’s chips can also power small desktops like its eight-inch Dev Kit. He only spoke to…