Qualcomm had previously initiated its marketing campaign for the Snapdragon X Elite, claiming that the latest chipset is up to 21 percent faster than Apple’s M3. Those claims turned out to be true in a real-world comparison, but Apple begs to differ, according to the updated marketing material, where it states that its 15-inch M3 MacBook Air is up to 40 percent faster than Copilot+ PCs sporting the Snapdragon X Elite. However, as we dig deeper, we get a closer look at which test the previous-generation Apple Silicon excels in.
Surprisingly, Apple did not mention the M4, which is miles faster than the Snapdragon X Elite but is currently only featured in the new iPad Pro models
Before it unveils the new M4 MacBook Pro series later this year, Apple is attempting to appease notebook customers by hyping the capabilities of its 15-inch M3 MacBook Air. Aaron, who goes by the handle @aaronp613, spotted the new marketing material, which was later given coverage by 9to5Mac. The Copilot+ PC that was tested against the portable Mac was the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 armed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, along with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.
The M3 MacBook Air featured a similar configuration, with the chipset sporting an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The Speedometer 3.0 performance test was run on Safari 17.5 on macOS Sonoma, which posted that 40 percent delta between the M3 and Snapdragon X Elite. Apple also states that its SoC is up to 25 percent faster in web browsing, with the test performed on the Surface Laptop 7 using Chrome 128.0.6613.113 and running Windows 11 Home, with a WPA2 Wi-Fi network connection.
Obviously, a single test does not immediately crown the M3 as the victor over the Snapdragon X Elite, but we do have some examples that we would like to share with you. For instance, the higher-binned versions of Qualcomm’s flagship silicon can touch 100W of total package power, while the M3 Pro, which is more powerful than the M3 but also consumes more power, can reach a 42W threshold. Additionally, the Snapdragon X Plus, which is the slower version of the Snapdragon X Elite, has severe battery drain, with even the M2 MacBook Air lasting longer.
That is not to say that the Snapdragon X Elite-powered machines are not worth your time because these are incredibly strong competitors to the M3. However, if you want an excellent deal coupled with better battery life and you do not mind running macOS instead of Windows, the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air with 16GB of unified RAM and 512GB SSD is going for $1,299 on Amazon, making it an exceptional value proposition.
