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Developers are preparing ChromeOS updates to support Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Plus chips, potentially leading to more powerful Chromebooks, according to Chrome Unboxed. A recent commit in the Chromium Gerrit code review reveals that the SoCID for the Qualcomm X1P42100—also known as Snapdragon X Plus—has been added to the repository, signaling active development of Chromebooks using this processor.

Although the Snapdragon X Plus is not Qualcomm’s flagship “Elite” processor, it offers notable performance, delivering 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI capability through its neural processing unit (NPU). This advancement suggests that upcoming Chromebooks could see significant improvements in AI-driven tasks and overall efficiency.

Historically, Qualcomm’s Arm-based Chromebooks have struggled with performance. The 2021 Acer Chromebook Spin 513, powered by the Snapdragon 7c, was praised for its battery life but criticized for slow performance. While the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 offered slight improvements, it was not enough to close the performance gap.

Additionally, Qualcomm did not release the 7c Gen 3 for Chromebooks, which left manufacturers relying primarily on MediaTek and Intel processors. Intel chips, while powerful, have often been associated with less-than-ideal battery performance in Chromebooks.

The integration of Snapdragon X Plus chips could address these long-standing limitations, providing a balance of power efficiency and processing strength. This move could position Arm-powered Chromebooks as stronger competitors in a market where battery life and speed are increasingly important to users.

Snapdragon X Plus Could Bring Faster, More Powerful Chromebooks

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Developers are preparing ChromeOS updates to support Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Plus chips, potentially leading to more powerful Chromebooks, according to Chrome Unboxed. A recent commit in the Chromium Gerrit code review reveals that the SoCID for the Qualcomm X1P42100—also known as Snapdragon X Plus—has been added to the repository, signaling active development of Chromebooks using this processor.

Although the Snapdragon X Plus is not Qualcomm’s flagship “Elite” processor, it offers notable performance, delivering 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI capability through its neural processing unit (NPU). This advancement suggests that upcoming Chromebooks could see significant improvements in AI-driven tasks and overall efficiency.

Historically, Qualcomm’s Arm-based Chromebooks have struggled with performance. The 2021 Acer Chromebook Spin 513, powered by the Snapdragon 7c, was praised for its battery life but criticized for slow performance. While the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 offered slight improvements, it was not enough to close the performance gap.

Additionally, Qualcomm did not release the 7c Gen 3 for Chromebooks, which left manufacturers relying primarily on MediaTek and Intel processors. Intel chips, while powerful, have often been associated with less-than-ideal battery performance in Chromebooks.

The integration of Snapdragon X Plus chips could address these long-standing limitations, providing a balance of power efficiency and processing strength. This move could position Arm-powered Chromebooks as stronger competitors in a market where battery life and speed are increasingly important to users.

Snapdragon X Plus Could Bring Faster, More Powerful Chromebooks

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

MasterClass is a good platform to learn a new skill and transfer that doom-scrolling energy into something more productive — and probably more fun, too. Now, you can sign up for MasterClass at a discount: plans are 40 percent off at the moment as part of a “spring forward” sale. Tiers start at $6 per month, which comes out to $72 in total when billed annually.

We reckon the mid-tier Plus plan likely offers the best value here. That includes the ability to watch MasterClass videos on two devices simultaneously. Perhaps more importantly, this tier includes offline viewing, which might come in handy if no in-flight entertainment options grab your interest the next time you’re traveling. The Plus plan is available for the equivalent of $9 per month when billed annually ($108 total), down from $15 per month.

There are more than 200 classes available on MasterClass, including lessons from some of the top names in each relevant industry. You might learn about how to have a winning mentality from Lewis Hamilton, creative writing from Margaret Atwood, shooting and scoring from Steph Curry, comedy from Steve Martin or home cooking from Alice Waters. The categories of classes include film and TV, health and wellness, science and technology, music, and business.

Each class has around 20 video lessons that typically last around 10 minutes long each. You’ll get access to a workbook as well to help you absorb the information and understand how to act on it through various exercises. But even if you’re not necessarily interested in acquiring new skills, you might simply use MasterClass as you would with any other streaming service, which is one reason why it’s among our favorite subscriptions to gift someone.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/masterclass-deal-save-40-percent-on-an-annual-subscription-154524213.html?src=rss

MasterClass is a good platform to learn a new skill and transfer that doom-scrolling energy into something more productive — and probably more fun, too. Now, you can sign up for MasterClass at a discount: plans are 40 percent off at the moment as part of a “spring forward” sale. Tiers start at $6 per month, which comes out to $72 in total when billed annually.

We reckon the mid-tier Plus plan likely offers the best value here. That includes the ability to watch MasterClass videos on two devices simultaneously. Perhaps more importantly, this tier includes offline viewing, which might come in handy if no in-flight entertainment options grab your interest the next time you’re traveling. The Plus plan is available for the equivalent of $9 per month when billed annually ($108 total), down from $15 per month.

There are more than 200 classes available on MasterClass, including lessons from some of the top names in each relevant industry. You might learn about how to have a winning mentality from Lewis Hamilton, creative writing from Margaret Atwood, shooting and scoring from Steph Curry, comedy from Steve Martin or home cooking from Alice Waters. The categories of classes include film and TV, health and wellness, science and technology, music, and business.

Each class has around 20 video lessons that typically last around 10 minutes long each. You’ll get access to a workbook as well to help you absorb the information and understand how to act on it through various exercises. But even if you’re not necessarily interested in acquiring new skills, you might simply use MasterClass as you would with any other streaming service, which is one reason why it’s among our favorite subscriptions to gift someone.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/masterclass-deal-save-40-percent-on-an-annual-subscription-154524213.html?src=rss

After a couple years of having its open-source Llama AI model be just a part of its Connect conferences, Meta is breaking things out and hosting an entirely generative AI-focused developer conference called LlamaCon on April 29. The event is entirely virtual, and you’ll be able to watch along live on the Meta for Developers Facebook page.

LlamaCon kicks off at 1PM ET / 10AM PT with a keynote address from Meta’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, Vice President of AI Manohar Paluri and research scientist Angela Fan. The keynote is supposed to cover developments in the company’s open-source AI community, “the latest on the Llama collection of models and tools” and offer a glimpse at yet-to-be released AI features.

The keynote address will be followed by a conversation at 1:45PM ET / 10:45PM ET between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi on “building AI-powered applications,” followed by a chat at 7PM ET / 4PM PT about “the latest trends in AI” between Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. It doesn’t seem like either conversation will be used to break news, but Microsoft and Meta have collaborated before, so anything is possible.

Meta hasn’t traditionally waited for a conference to launch updates to Meta AI or the Llama model. The company introduced its new Llama 4 family of models, which excel at image understanding and document parsing, on a Saturday in early April. It’s not clear what new models or products the company could have saved for LlamaCon.

LlamaCon will stream live on April 29th through the Meta for Developers Facebook page and we’ll be live-blogging the event right here on Engadget so you can get all the details as they happen.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/how-to-watch-llamacon-2025-metas-first-generative-ai-developer-conference-215241289.html?src=rss