Qualcomm suddenly and quietly discontinued the $899 Snapdragon X Elite Developer Kit and issued refunds to customers who have purchased the device since its launch. It is currently unclear whether users who have already received the device will also receive a refund. Qualcomm previously created this $899 mini PC for developers to help them build applications on Windows Arm devices.
According to a letter received by developer Jeff Geerling, Qualcomm stated, "The development kit product has completely fallen short of our usual standards of excellence. Therefore, we regret to inform you that we have decided to indefinitely suspend the product and support for it
Jeff Geerling and others who have previously purchased the device pointed out that the waiting time for the device is very long and there is almost no explanation.
Snapdragon X chips prioritize power consumption over performance. Although it can give Windows Arm laptops amazing battery life, ultimately allowing Windows devices to compete with the legendary power consumption of Apple Silicon chips, it appears mediocre in performance compared to suitable desktop chips. The dual core clock boost of variant X1E-00-1DE in the development kit is slightly higher than the highest version. The power consumption of the X Elite development kit exceeds 100W, and reviewers found that the power consumption has increased fourfold, but the performance has only improved by 30%.
When customers started receiving their mini PCs, the retail version of laptops had already been launched, which largely went against the original intention of manufacturing a trial device for the latest Snapdragon chips.
At present, users can only use these Snapdragon X chips on laptops and some tablets, but Qualcomm has stated that Snapdragon X will be applied to all PC devices, including desktops. That's why Windows 11 Arm doesn't seem to have completely disappeared, and it's still possible for us to buy Snapdragon X mini PCs, albeit produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In addition, some Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite chips have been found to be undergoing testing - hoping that the company can use its experience in the Snapdragon X Elite development kit to manufacture powerful mini PCs that support the next generation of SoCs.
