Qualcomm Technologies Inc. on Thursday unveiled its Snapdragon C Platform processor for budget PCs. The product targets laptops priced at about $300 and is aimed mainly at students, household users and small businesses. Major OEMs such as Acer, HP and Lenovo plan to launch products using the processor in the second half of this year.

The Snapdragon C Platform enables low-heat, low-noise designs based on high power efficiency. It also focuses on extending battery life, reflecting usage conditions for budget devices where portability is important. Qualcomm said it is designed to deliver stable responsiveness for everyday computing tasks such as web browsing, video streaming, document work and video calls.

The processor includes an NPU, allowing on-device AI features on budget laptops. AI acceleration features had been limited in existing budget lineups, but the Snapdragon C Platform brings that capability to the $300 price range. Qualcomm said the platform is a product responding to market conditions in which device costs are rising.

Kedar Kondap (케다르 콘답), Qualcomm senior vice president and head of the compute and gaming division, said, "As device cost burdens increase and consumer expectations rise, Snapdragon C has broadened platform choices by combining value-focused computing, long battery life, AI features and strong responsiveness in low-heat, low-noise devices." He said, "Qualcomm will continue to support more users such as students, household users and small businesses so they can enjoy a stable and efficient, modern computing experience."