Snapdragon X Elite — Qualcomm’s flagship computer chip that is expected to arrive on laptop from popular brands this year, has been spotted in a benchmark test. A listing for the purported Surface Laptop 6 on Geekbench suggests that Microsoft’s upcoming Surface laptop could beat Apple’s MacBook Pro models that are powered by its latest M3 chip, in one CPU test. According to recent reports, Microsoft could launch Surface laptops equipped with Snapdragon X Elite chips at a hardware event in May.

The Surface Laptop 6 was spotted by WCCFTech on Geekbench, without an official product name. It is listed with the title “OEMBR OEMBR Product Name MFG” and the details show that it is powered by a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chipset at 4.01GHz, with 12 cores. It’s worth noting that there are three Snapdragon X Elite variants, and the one that was benchmarked was not the most powerful chip — that variant (XIE-84-100) boasts a 4.20GHz boost clock speed.

Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Geekbench

The purported Surface Laptop 6 with a Snapdragon X Elite chip has a single-core score of 2,714 points, and a multi-core score of 14,078 points. This puts the chip ahead of Apple’s 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro in Geekbench’s multi-core tests — the M3 MacBook Pro scored 3,103 and 12,065 points, respectively.

If these benchmark tests are genuine, then Apple’s M3 chip should be 13.37 percent faster than the Snapdragon X Elite on the rumoured Surface Laptop 6. Meanwhile, Qualcomm’s chip is shown to be 15.4 percent faster than the M3 MacBook Pro. After all, the Snapdragon processor has more cores (12) than Apple’s M3 chip (8).

It’s worth taking these benchmarks with a grain of salt, as Microsoft is yet to announce any plans to launch new Surface models with Snapdragon laptop chips. According to a recent report, Microsoft is said to be confident that the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 can beat the latest 3nm Apple Silicon processor. We can expect to learn more about these rumoured devices soon — Microsoft is tipped to introduce new Surface laptops powered by Snapdragon chips at its next hardware event in May.

Blue Origin’s much-anticipated New Glenn rocket took a significant step toward its inaugural flight with the assembly of its first and second stages. The rocket, designed for heavy-lift missions, was recently stacked in Blue Origin’s facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Named “GS-1” and “GS-2,” the stages were joined for the first time, marking a milestone as the company readies the rocket for a maiden launch, possibly in November 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Advanced Design for Heavy-Lift Capabilities

The company revealed the news on its official X handle. Standing at 270 feet in its two-stage form, New Glenn is a major addition to the current heavy-lift rocket lineup. Unlike traditional expendable rockets, its first-stage booster is fully reusable, promising to lower launch costs and increase launch frequency. The three-stage configuration, if used, will bring the rocket’s height to 313 feet. For context, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 varies between 209 and 230 feet tall, depending on configuration.

Blue Ring Spacecraft and National Security Mission

The upcoming mission, known as DarkSky-1, will carry Blue Origin’s Blue Ring spacecraft platform. The flight is part of a certification test under the National Security Space Launch programme, sponsored by the Defence Innovation Unit. The Blue Ring platform, designed to serve as a flexible service module for satellites, can be deployed into orbit or remain attached for extended missions. The company has promoted Blue Ring’s advanced capabilities in manoeuvring across various orbits, appealing to both commercial and government clients.

Next Steps and Test Firing

As Blue Origin progresses with New Glenn’s development, a static fire test of the rocket’s BE-4 engines will be conducted, igniting the first stage’s seven engines for a preliminary test. Originally scheduled for October, the launch was delayed after NASA decided to stand down to avoid possible cost overruns, with plans to launch the twin ESCAPADE Mars probes now postponed to 2025.