Dragonwing IQ-X: Qualcomm brings embedded variants of the Snapdragon X

Thanks to their efficiency, notebook processors are not only found in mobile devices but also in industrial applications. AMD and Intel's x86 CPUs have been available as embedded variants for a longer time, and now Qualcomm is following suit: embedded versions of the Snapdragon X are coming to market as Dragonwing IQ-X.

The family currently includes four models that correspond to notebook CPUs without turbo, namely the eight-core X1-26-100 and X1P-42-100, the ten-core X1P-64-100, and the twelve-core X1E-78-100. However, the permissible temperature range has been expanded for Dragonwing IQ-X: they now function from -40 °C to 105 °C. The temperature window for the regular Snapdragon X is smaller and ends at 95 °C at the upper end. For the expansion, the package of the Dragonwing IQ-X has been adapted, among other things.

There are no changes in terms of functional units and features. Therefore, in addition to the in-house Oryon cores, the Hexagon NPU, known from Copilot+ notebooks, with up to 45 TOPS is also included. The latter, in conjunction with a camera, can be used, for example, for an AI in manufacturing to detect defects and other irregularities.

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC is intended as the operating system, under which middleware such as Qt, Codesys, or EtherCAT will run. The first devices with Dragonwing IQ-X are expected to appear in the coming months from Advantech, Congatec, Nexcom, Portwell, Seco, and Tria, among others.

Note: Qualcomm invited the author to San Diego for the Snapdragon X Architecture Deep Dive and covered travel expenses.

(mue)