Surface has been the cheapest Copilot Plus PC, but that will change soon

It’s the summer of Copilot Plus PC. The AI-friendly hardware arrived in June, and since then, a lot of laptop/PC makers have adopted the technology.

But still, the price tag for a good Copilot Plus PC has always been in the ballpark of over $1,000, except for the Surface Laptop 7, which started at $999.

That will change next month, at IFA Berlin 2024. Evan Bliss, a reliable leaker, has now revealed a slide from Qualcomm that details an even cheaper, more affordable Copilot Plus PC.

Upcoming Snapdragon X Plus-powered models are expected to be priced potentially as low as $800 with fewer cores (only eight) and reduced graphics performance, but will still have the core features of Copilot Plus PCs like the controversial Recall and the deeper 4K support, for example.

A regular Copilot Plus PC on the market right now is usually powered by Snapdragon X Elite or Plus, with a maximum of 12 and 10 cores, respectively. But with an addition of an 8-core Snapdragon X Plus, Qualcomm hopes that it can push prices of Copilot Plus PCs even lower for more adoption.

The 8-core SoC launched a little while ago after a series of leaks. Qualcomm confirmed (via VideoCardz) the entry-level processor (X1P-42-100) and said that the goal was to reduce costs for Windows 11 PCs. It offers less cache and lower clock speeds compared to its higher-end counterparts and less graphics capability, so it’s not very gaming-friendly.

IFA Berlin, the “world’s largest consumer and electronics show,” is taking place at Messe Berlin between 6-10 September, 2024.