Qualcomm is solving Snapdragon X's Linux problem

It’s taken a couple decades, but something big has finally started happening for how we get computing done on laptops. After years of trying to be tiny desktop computers, running the same kind of chips that were never really designed for power efficiency, laptops began broadly embracing RISC computing — including models built around Qualcomm Snapdragon chips like the X series. This week at Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit, the company is sharing news of a big new upgrade for such models that power users are really going to love.

For all the speed and battery life they offer, Snapdragon laptops have had at least one big blind spot: Linux. Even though different Snapdragon chips have been powering Android (with its deep Linux roots) devices for ages, initial Snapdragon X laptops lacked support for mainstream Linux distros.

As part of today’s PC keynote, Qualcomm shares that Linux is becoming available on Snapdragon laptops. We’re getting started with Debian support, which is set to arrive before the end of the year.

Looking forward into 2027, Linux compatibility is only going to expand further, with Snapdragon X2-based devices preparing to work with Ubuntu sometime early in the year. In specific, we hear that ASUS is targeting Ubuntu availability with its own Snapdragon X2 hardware before the year’s halfway point.

Sure, Linux still feels like a platform for serious PC enthusiasts to a lot of us, but many distros have been making leaps and bounds when it comes to usability, and especially when we pair that with all this great new laptop hardware, we can see how we’re really closing in on getting to a place where there are just fewer and fewer reasons not to give Linux a try.