Qualcomm’s next wave of Windows-on-Arm laptop chips is taking shape quickly. After the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite arrived, the company moved just as fast with the Snapdragon X2 Plus, a direct successor to the Snapdragon X Plus. This is the chip expected to show up in more affordable Windows laptops aimed squarely at Apple Silicon-based Macs. On paper, the specs look strong, but what truly matters for buyers is real-world performance across familiar benchmarks.
Early benchmark comparisons aren’t painting the picture Qualcomm likely hoped for. After earlier testing showed the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme trailing Apple’s M4 Max in Cinebench 2024, a new set of results puts the Snapdragon X2 Plus up against Apple’s M4 and several competing processors. The outcome isn’t flattering: Apple’s M4 comes out ahead in four out of five synthetic CPU and GPU tests, suggesting Qualcomm still has work to do if it wants to consistently challenge Mac performance at similar power levels.
One key detail: the Snapdragon X2 Plus results come from a reference design. That matters because reference platforms don’t always match what ends up in retail laptops, and final shipping devices can perform slightly slower depending on cooling, power tuning, and manufacturer settings. Even so, these numbers offer a useful early look at where the Snapdragon X2 Plus stands.
The benchmark suite includes common CPU and graphics tests such as Cinebench 2024, Geekbench 6, 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, and 3DMark Solar Bay. Across these, Apple’s M4 is as much as about 30% faster in certain workloads, particularly in single-core CPU performance and GPU-oriented tests. That single-core advantage is important because it often impacts everyday responsiveness in apps, browsing, and light creative work, while GPU performance plays a big role in modern UI acceleration, content creation pipelines, and gaming-adjacent workloads.
Here are the headline results comparing Snapdragon X2 Plus vs Apple M4:
Cinebench 2024 single-core
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 133
Apple M4: 173 (about 30.08% faster)
Cinebench 2024 multi-core
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 1,011 (about 1.81% faster)
Apple M4: 993
Geekbench 6 single-core
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 3,311
Apple M4: 3,859 (about 16.55% faster)
Geekbench 6 multi-core
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 14,940
Apple M4: 15,093 (about 1.02% faster)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 3,067
Apple M4: 3,949 (about 28.76% faster)
3DMark Solar Bay
Snapdragon X2 Plus: 12,525
Apple M4: 15,580 (about 24.39% faster)
The only clear win for Qualcomm here is Cinebench 2024 multi-core, where the Snapdragon X2 Plus edges out the M4 by a small margin. But in the tests that highlight single-thread speed and GPU capability, Apple holds a comfortable lead. That’s a disappointing result for a “newest vs previous-generation” matchup, especially because it implies the gap could widen further once Apple’s next chip generation enters the picture.
That said, synthetic benchmarks don’t tell the whole story. Battery life, sustained performance under long workloads, app compatibility, thermals, pricing, and how well Windows takes advantage of the hardware can all change the final verdict. More testing across real apps and actual shipping laptops will ultimately determine whether Snapdragon X2 Plus-powered notebooks deliver the value and performance Windows users are waiting for—especially in the budget and midrange segments where Qualcomm is expected to compete most aggressively.
