Snapdragon X Elite laptops last 15+ hours on our battery test, but Intel systems not that far behind
Is a difference of 2 or 3 hours a real game-changer?
We're in the middle of testing a number of Windows laptops with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X Elite CPUs inside. This is a major moment in PC history, because Microsoft is pushing this new generation of computers so hard, calling them Copilot+ PCs and giving them exclusive features that Intel and AMD-powered laptops won't get for months.
Microsoft and Qualcomm have tried to make Windows on Arm laptops a successful part of the PC market for many years now and it has never worked out for a variety of reasons we could spend a whole article on -- compatibility issues, mediocre performance and high prices. Snapdragon Elite X systems promise to deliver really strong AI performance, run most Windows apps well and last all-day on a charge. So what about that last one?
To find out just how long the various Copilot+ PCs can go unplugged, we ran our battery test, which involves surfing the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, on four different laptops with Snapdragon Elite X chips. We then compared the results to those we have gotten using the same test on Intel Meteor Lake or Apple M2 / M3 laptops of recent vintage.
Let's have a look at the Snapdragon laptops first:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Battery Life (hh:mm) | Screen Size and Res | Battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Surface Pro | 12:14 | 13-inch, 2880 x 1920, OLED | 53 Whr |
| Surface Laptop 13.8 | 15:37 | 13.8-inch, 2304 x 1536 | 54 Whr |
| Surface Laptop 15 | 14:29 | 15-inch, 2496 x 1664 | 66 Whr |
| HP Omnibook X | 15:48 | 14-inch, 2240 x 1400 | 59 Whr |
So we're seeing 12 hours on Surface Pro 2-in-1 and 14.5 to 15.5 hours on the three laptops. The Surface Pro is really at the bottom of this pack, perhaps because its OLED screen gulps power or perhaps it just has other components that require more juice than the traditional laptops on this list.
Incidentally, this 2024 Surface Pro has almost identical battery life to the Surface Pro 9 from a couple of years ago. Powered by an earlier Arm chip, the Microsoft SQ3, that 2-in-1 endured for 11 hours and 50 minutes on our test.
While 14 to 15 hours of battery life for the laptops is really good, it only exceeds the longest-lasting x86 laptops we (or our colleagues) have tested in recent years. And it still falls behind the current crop of MacBooks.
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As you can see in the table below, the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 lasted longer than 17 hours on our test. Of course, it helps Apple that these laptops have humongous 70 and 100 Whr batteries. None of the Copilot+ PCs we tested has more than a 66 Whr battery with most under 60 Whr. So, perhaps with a battery capacity similar to the MacBook Pro's, the Snapdragon laptops would top the list.
None of the laptops with Intel / AMD CPUs that we or our colleagues at Laptop Mag (who use our same test) benchmarked in the last year exceeded 14 hours of battery life. However, there were several systems that had 10+ hours of endurance and a few that got 12+.
For example, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) and its Intel Core i7-1335U CPU went for 13 hours and 45 minutes on our test. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED with Core Ultra 7 155H, one of the best Ultrabooks, managed 12 hours and 21 minutes, partly on the strength of its 75 Whr battery. Unfortunately, the newer, 12th-gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon didn't crack 10 hours, but it's possible that the high-res, 120 Hz panel on our review unit hurt its chances.
What about AMD-powered laptops? In our original version of this article, we left them out of the table, not because they aren't good or we don't like them, but because we haven't tested any in the past year that exceeded 9 hours of battery life. However, our colleagues at Laptop Mag did get two AMD-powered laptops in the past 12 months that were in that range. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3402Y) managed 11 hours and 13 minutes with its Ryzen 7 7730U CPU and 75 Whr battery. The HP Envy x360 2-in-1 with the same processor and a 51 Whr battery lasted a very modest 9 hours and 17 minutes.
Obviously, some of the Intel / AMD laptops benefit from having higher-capacity batteries, but that's not always the case. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) has a 57 Whr battery so it got an average of 14.5 minutes of battery life per Whr. The Surface Laptop 15 has a 66 Whr battery which gives it 13.2 minutes per Whr. And the Surface Pro's 53 Whr battery leaves it was 13.9 minutes per Whr.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Battery | CPU | Screen | Battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch | 17:16 | M3 | 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964 | 70 Whr |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch | 17:11 | M3 Max | 16.2-inch, 3456 x 2234 | 100 Whr |
| Apple MacBook Air | 14:48 | M2 | 15.3-inch, 2880 x 1884 | 66.5 Whr |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) | 13:45 | Core i7-1335U | 14-inch, 1920 x 1200 | 57 Whr |
| MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo | 13:04 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 16-inch OLED 3,840x2,400 | 99.9 Whr |
| HP Elite Dragonfly G4 | 12:44 | Intel Core i7-1365U | 13.5-inch, 1920 x 1280 | 68 Whr |
| Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405M) | 12:21 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch, 2880 x 1800 | 75 Whr |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 9 | 11:50 | Microsoft SQ3 | 13-inch, 2880 x 1920 | 47.7 Whr |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i | 11:37 | Core Ultra 5 125H | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 | 84 Whr |
| Lenovo Yoga 7i | 11:24 | Core Ultra 5 125U | 16-inch, 1920 x 1200 | Row 9 - Cell 4 |
| Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3404Y) | 11:13 | Ryzen 7 7730U | 14-inch, 2880 x 1800 | 75 Whr |
| HP Spectre x360 14 | 11:01 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch, 2880 x 1800 | 68 Whr |
| Dell XPS 16 | 10:44 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 16.4-inch, 3840 x 2400 | 99.5 Whr |
| HP Envy x360 2-in-1 | 9:17 | Ryzen 7 7730U | 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED | 51 Whr |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12) | 9:14 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch, 2880 x 1800 | 57 Whr |
Historically Higher Numbers
By the way, if you go back several years, we've seen a few models with stronger battery life than any we've tested in the last 12 months. In 2020, we tested a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800U CPU and a 60 Whr battery that endured for 17 hours and 31 minutes. That same year, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 4900HS CPU and RTX 2060 graphics and a huge 76 Whr battery lasted 11 hours and 32 minutes on a charge.
Also, in 2020, Laptop Mag tested the Dell Latitude 9510 with a Core i7-10810U CPU and an 88-Whr battery that delivered 18 hours and 17 minutes of battery life. The rugged Getac S410 packs three batteries and, in 2022, it lasted an epic 29 hours and 38 minutes with a Core i7-1185G7. In 2018, the Lenovo ThinkPad T480, which I personally reviewed, lasted 17 hours and 19 minutes with its Core i5-8350U CPU and optional, 72-Whr battery.
One huge drawback to many of the laptops I named above is their weight. The Yoga Slim 7 is 3.5 hours as is the ROG Zephyrus. The Dell Latitude tipped the scales at 3.7 pounds, the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 weighed 3.98 pounds and the Getac was a beefy 5.2 pounds. Those larger batteries added to the weight, but for many people, the benefit was worth the added bulk.
What to Expect for Snapdragon Elite X
So, ultimately, it seems like you can expect maybe 2 to 4 hours more endurance on a Snapdragon-powered laptop than on one of the longest-lasting Intel / AMD systems today. That's a huge convenience, but it's not a game-changer.
Ultimately, 14 or 15 hours of battery life is likely to get you through one solid workday and the beginning of another after all is said and done. When you pump up the brightness and do more demanding tasks than we do in our battery test, the endurance will shrink by a few hours. Truly game-changing battery life would be enough to last you through two full workdays without even thinking about charging. That would probably be 22 hours of endurance on our tests, but I'd be impressed by anything over 20.
I'd like to be able to take my laptop to the airport, use it to work at the gate for 2 hours before boarding, board a 15-hour flight to Taiwan where I also use it most of the time. Then I'd like to use it for several hours after I land while I'm sitting around the hotel lobby waiting for check in time.
But, on the bright side, in 2024, most of those locations have power outlets, including the plane. Unless you're out doors camping or in the park, you can usually find a place to plug in.
So do you need more than 10 to 12 hours of endurance? And, if so, is another 3 hours enough of a delta to affect your buying decision? If it is, within the next four or five months, we'll have new laptops based on Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Strix Point that could bring x86 to parity.
Avram Piltch is Managing Editor: Special Projects. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you'll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC, or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test.
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Bikki Intel laptops reduce cpu speed in haft on battery to get 13hrs mark, very bad for user experience. When plugged in, they have their score reduced in the range of 20-40% when cpu gets hot. Imagine gaming with both cpu and gpu being stressed, you easily lose 70% of framerate in 5 minutes, and it is real for anyone that tried gaming on laptop. For Apple mac pro, their performane is consistent whether on battery or not, and never throttle due to their chip efficiency. Qualcom finally get there, people using windows on new X elite chip can never go back to Intel.Reply
Ref cinebench test : https://www.notebookcheck.net/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-9-review-Convertible-now-with-significantly-more-CPU-power.685190.0.html.
When talking about battery you should also mention efficency. Lasting 3-4 hours more on battery is only one facet of efficiency. Less heat, less fan noise, and less throttling are the other facets. All of those are important for everyday use along with battery life. -
salgado18 So, you have tested 9 Intel systems, but not one AMD system. What was the criteria for laptop selection?Reply -
Anon2406 This article is both all over the place and makes no sense. First it says 14-15 hours is a "fairly long work day". What?? I don't know anyone who works 14-15 hours a day on their computer.Reply
Then it says 18-20 hours would be ideal since that would cover 2 work days. If 14-15 hours is 1 work day, how is 18-20 hours enough for 2 work days? That implies a normal work day is 3-6 hours while a "fairly long" day is 14-15.
And finally the article says, let's be "real" because you hardly ever need more than 10-12 hours. -
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa hah So I am sure you investigated the level of x86 emulation still needed to run windows, yes even the ARM version...Reply
What did you find?
I'm sure you found that emulating x86 from arm takes a bit more power no? You also likely discovered there was ALOT of this happening.
If not there is your next article.
That is of course unless you plan to frame another CONpany favorably without doing the leg work properly
Maybe even multiple CONpanies considering your future research and pending articles?
Else I can't see why this was even a real comparison.
Run a real roots up arm based os with app infrastructure and all.... on that box and redo if you want to, no pun intended, compare apples to apples. -
nadrojcote Like others have mentioned this article is all over the place and it looks like you're in cahoots with Intel.Reply
First off anybody who has been following the recent laptop hardware improvments is aware that Intel CPUs throttle hard on battery, so of course they can get close to the same battery life, but we all know that it's at the cost of performance.
Secondly where's the AMD comparisons?
If you're trying to justify your recent purchases for Intel laptops in your office, then sure, this article makes sense, otherwise nobody in their right mind is buying into this. -
Alvar "Miles" Udell I wish there were a battery comparison with Cinebench 2024 running on an endless loop at 150 nits of brightness to see how these laptops fair under stress.Reply
Anon2406 said:This article is both all over the place and makes no sense. First it says 14-15 hours is a "fairly long work day". What?? I don't know anyone who works 14-15 hours a day on their computer.
Then it says 18-20 hours would be ideal since that would cover 2 work days. If 14-15 hours is 1 work day, how is 18-20 hours enough for 2 work days? That implies a normal work day is 3-6 hours while a "fairly long" day is 14-15.
And finally the article says, let's be "real" because you hardly ever need more than 10-12 hours.
What about students, or people who work during the day and go to school at night, or people whose only computer is that laptop? Those are all people who can easily use their computer for more than 10-12 hours a day and all who won't just be surfing the web at 150 nits of brightness. Plus in the age of non-user replaceable batteries and machines that cost the better part of $2000 (Surface Laptop 1TB, for instance), the slower you cycle that battery the better. -
Anon2406 Reply
There are also people that only use their computer for 1-2 hours a day. Do you want to read an article saying these laptops have a 1 week battery life because those types of people exist? Of course not. You want to read an analysis based on realistic real world usage. You can simply google "average computer use per day" and see that average daily computer use is about 7 hours per day.Alvar Miles Udell said:I wish there were a battery comparison with Cinebench 2024 running on an endless loop at 150 nits of brightness to see how these laptops fair under stress.
What about students, or people who work during the day and go to school at night, or people whose only computer is that laptop? Those are all people who can easily use their computer for more than 10-12 hours a day and all who won't just be surfing the web at 150 nits of brightness. Plus in the age of non-user replaceable batteries and machines that cost the better part of $2000 (Surface Laptop 1TB, for instance), the slower you cycle that battery the better. -
Alvar "Miles" Udell Reply
While an "average" 9-5 office worker may spend 7 hours in front of their work computer and then any number of hours at home on their personal computer, there are many people who use one personal machine for a much longer period of time each day, such as the cases I listed, or as mentioned in the article a journalist or contributor, or since these PCs, specifically the Surface devices, feature an advanced touch screen, an artist. Also, if you had a battery life of -only- 8 hours or less, and you forgot to charge it overnight or forgot your charger on an overnight trip, you'd be in trouble.Anon2406 said:There are also people that only use their computer for 1-2 hours a day. Do you want to read an article saying these laptops have a 1 week battery life because those types of people exist? Of course not. You want to read an analysis based on realistic real world usage. You can simply google "average computer use per day" and see that average daily computer use is about 7 hours per day.
And yes, I want a worst-case scenario figure for battery life because since everyone's use case is different it serves as a measure of the bare minimum of battery life you can expect, and it also showcases how performance will differ between an x86 and ARM Windows laptop as both heat increases and battery percentage decreases since a web surfing test is not intensive.
You may not use your laptop for anything intensive, but these Copilot+ PCs are targeted at productivity. To quote Microsoft, "The unique experiences that come with Copilot+ PCs were made to accelerate the productivity and creativity of all users." How these things perform while being productive is a key aspect that needs to be tested. -
je90s again intel paid articles, not mentioning amd which is more efficient than intel in its last 2 apus 7000 and 8000.Reply
the way to mislead people in battery reviews:
1- compare 2 devices without accounting for battery size (msi prestige 99.9W)
2- compare with no indication of performance (should be 3 or more metrics for performance (that's why a raptor lake U cpu is more efficient than their best new offerings).
3- don't account for different screens-wifi power draws.
this is special for tomshardware:
4- dont mention one of the biggest competing cpu companies (amd)