Hardware prices are in a really strange place right now. Thanks to the continued increase in demand for RAM and other components due to the growth of AI, many manufacturers have begun to significantly increase their prices. We’ve already seen price increases on the Steam Deck, as well as other areas of the industry like smartphones. However, Qualcomm has unveiled a new chip that could finally be a game-changer, at least for more budget-friendly options.
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon C platform is expected to enable Windows ARM laptops to reach prices as low as $300, according to a press release. This would put the Windows equivalent of the MacBook Neo at an even more affordable price, although it’s just a starting point and prices could rise.
“As costs rise and customer expectations evolve, Snapdragon C brings together value-driven computing, all-day battery life, AI capabilities and responsive performance in quiet, quiet devices for expanded platform choice,” a Qualcomm senior vice president said in the announcement. Devices running Snapdragon C are expected to hit shelves later this year, and the first of them are already starting to appear as Computex 2026 approaches.
It may be one of the first Windows laptops cheaper than the MacBook Neo
Acer, HP, and Lenovo are all set to be among the first to include the Snapdragon C in their laptops, but Acer is the first we’ve officially seen out of the gate. The new Acer Aspire Go 15, launched by Acer at the end of May, is one of the company’s newest laptops. It sports the Snapdragon C, and Acer says it will give users long-lasting battery life, as well as solid performance and cooling for an undisclosed “entry-level price.”
While we don’t yet have exact pricing details, or hard benchmark numbers, for the new Snapdragon C, reports suggest that it uses the company’s Kryo CPU cores, which powered older phones and Chromebooks, instead of its newer, more powerful Oryon CPU cores, which are part of the current main flagship chipsets in the Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s unclear exactly how this will translate to performance, but we do know that the MacBook Neo performed very well, despite using a scaled-down version of Apple’s A-series mobile chips instead of the company’s M-class silicon.
Whether Snapdragon C laptops beat the MacBook Neo remains to be seen
Wongsakorn 2468/Shutterstock
Ultimately, having a price that potentially starts at $300 will be a huge boon for consumers. However, the actual prices we see could differ depending on the type of other laptop hardware and software manufacturers associated with it. The Acer Aspire Go 15, for example, will come with a 512GB storage drive and 8GB of RAM, as well as a 1920 x 1080 display and support for Windows 11 Home. This should put it on par with the MacBook Neo’s specs, at least on paper.
However, we’ll still need to see the actual performance benchmarks and price tags that Acer classifies as “entry-level” before we can properly compare the new Snapdragon C-powered laptops to the MacBook Neo and its value proposition. But, based on everything Qualcomm has shared so far – which isn’t much – the Snapdragon C platform could be the basis for a real competitor to the Windows-based MacBook Neo. At least based on the potential price entry point.
