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Newly unveiled AI laptops are making bold claims that may have Apple shaking its boots: they’re faster, better, and more power-efficient than the MacBook.
As a laptop reviewer, when people ask, “Hey, which laptop has great performance and long battery life?”, I often point them to the MacBook line. While some Windows laptops deliver stellar performance and offer up to 10 hours of battery life (on a good day), their energy efficiency (read: battery runtime) struggles to beat Apple laptops.
However, a new crop of Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops I’ve got to touch and experience for a brief moment spell trouble for Apple, with one of them claiming they are coming for the MacBook Pro’s throat.
HP comes for the MacBook’s throne
HP gave Mashable a sneak peek of a new laptop that may knock the MacBook off its high horse: the HP OmniBook X 14.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
What is it about these laptops that make them a MacBook competitor? They’re equipped with the — dun, dun, dun — Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Why is this a big deal? Well, it’s threatening to outshine the M3-series chips stuffed inside MacBooks.
Qualcomm’s mobile chipsets are best known for powering smartphones and VR headsets like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Meta Quest 3. But they’re no stranger to laptops either. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing laptops like the HP Elite Folio and the Samsung Galaxy Book Go. Both were packed with Snapdragon chips and had excellent battery life. But this year, Qualcomm is claiming that the new Snapdragon X Elite-based laptops will deliver great battery life and rival-beating performance.
One of those laptops from the HP realm is, as mentioned, the Snapdragon X Elite-packed HP OmniBook X 14.
But you may be wondering, “Which MacBook, exactly, is this HP laptop claiming to surpass?” The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro. On top of being better than the M3 chip, HP boasts that the Omnibook has “record-breaking” battery life (up to 26 hours to be exact). Of course, I’ll have to test this laptop to know for sure because this is quite the daring assertion!
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The laptop also benefits from a dedicated NPU, which helps power AI tasks locally on the device. “Create and edit photos, audio, and video faster than ever with AI-enabled software that make pro features easy even for beginners,” HP said in a press release.
I got to finagle around with the HP OmniBook X 14 for a bit, and my favorite aspect of it is that it still makes room for legacy ports (e.g., USB-A) with a drop-jaw design (even though it has a surprisingly slim profile).
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
For a quick look at specs, the OmniBook X 14 comes with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 chip and can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage. It also comes with a 14-inch, 2,240 x 1,400-pixel display.
Lenovo has it out for the MacBook, too
Unlike HP, Lenovo doesn’t have its crosshairs set for the mighty MacBook Pro, but it does have a target set on the MacBook Air — and yes, the one with the M3 chip.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Say hello to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, another Apple rival that may send a shudder down the Cupertino-based tech giant’s spine. Like the aforementioned HP laptops, the Yoga Slim 7x is packed with the star chipset of the year: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite.
It, too, has a dedicated NPU, allowing users to enjoy light AI productivity, which will facilitate easy-breezy editing workloads like adding fun effects to photos and videos for Instagram. Lenovo also claims that the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x has impressive battery life. But of course, we’ll have to see about that when we test it ourselves.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. It’s packed with a 14.5-inch display with a 2,944 x 1840-pixel panel and a 90Hz refresh rate.
After experiencing some time with the Yoga Slim 7x, I can confirm that Lenovo’s “super thin” claims about it are true. It’s also very light — seriously, its 2.8-pound featherweight chassis threw me for a loop. I also dig the high-contrast keyboard with the teal-blue keys, which looks striking against the dark deck.
When can you get these Apple rivals?
You can get the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x some time in June — and it has a starting price of $1,199. The HP laptop will also be available in June with starting price tags of $1,199 for the OmniBook X 14.
Again, both laptops are positioning themselves as Windows alternatives for MacBook users who want to make the jump into the PC world. However, I’d wait for our reviews to make sure these laptops are, indeed, solid MacBook competitors.
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The M3 MacBook Pro knocked it out of the park with its performance and power efficiency test results, but two other laptops claim they can knock it off its throne.
