Acer and Qualcomm take on MacBook Neo with first Snapdragon C laptop – Aspire Go 15 delivers 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM at ‘entry-tier price’

Acer and Qualcomm take on MacBook Neo with first Snapdragon C laptop – Aspire Go 15 delivers 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM at ‘entry-tier price’ | Tom's Hardware

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Clearly, the affordability and quality of design that Apple’s MacBook Neo delivers struck a nerve with Windows device makers. First, we heard about Intel’s competing low-cost Core Series 3 (Wildcat Lake) platform, and now Qualcomm is jumping in on the low-cost game as well, with the Snapdragon C Platform, announcing first in Acer’s Acer Aspire Go 15.As of this writing, we know next to nothing about the specs of the Snapdragon C (it’s even unclear whether or not there will be more than one chip). Qualcomm has revealed that the Snapdragon C devices will be priced at $300 and up. But according to Acer’s press release, its Acer Aspire Go 15 will sport a Snapdragon C processor, and sell for a non-specific “entry-tier price point” at an even less-specific “later date.”But we do have a few photos of the new laptops, and Acer is clearly taking jabs at Apple with the proclamation that its laptop sports “dual full-function USB Type-C ports and an HDMI port.” You’ll also get twice the storage of the baseline Apple Neo, at 512GB, but you’ll have to live with 8GB of RAM, just like, well, probably all entry-level laptops at this point – at least until someone tries to get away with 4GB again.Latest Videos FromThe Aspire Go 15 will run Windows 11 Home, have a 1920 x 1080 (16:9) display, a 1080p webcam, and a 53 Wh battery. Interestingly, the laptop will still sport a Copilot key, despite just 8GB of RAM. And at least in Acer’s announcement, there’s no mention of TOPSs. Something might have changed since 2024, but Qualcomm has seperately confirmed that Snapdragon C will not support Copilot+.The Swift Spin 14 AI is a convertible, not a modern washing machine setting

(Image credit: Future)The other Qualcomm-based laptop that Acer is announcing at Computex combines two of its sub-brands, the Swift and the Spin, resulting in the Swift Spin 14 AI. Rather than the most-marketed setting on a 2026-model Maytag washer, the Swift Spin 14 AI is a convertible laptop powered by either a Snapdragon X2 Elite, or an X2 Plus processor, both with 80 TOPS of local AI capabilities. So this model will be decidedly pricier than the Aspire Go 15.With up to 12 CPU cores, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage, its 65 Wh battery is said to deliver up to 23 hours of video playback, or 16.5 hours of web browsing. The cobalt blue aluminum shell certainly stands out, and the included 100W PD adapter should make for very fast charging.

(Image credit: Future)The 16:10 IPS display delivers 1920 x 1200 resolution at a rating of 300 nits, and the laptop makes room for an internally stored stylus, while weighing in at 2.95 pounds. Price had yet to be determined at the time of writing, but Acer says the Swift Spin 14 AI will be available in starting in July Europe, Middle East, and Africa, in August in North America, and a less-specific Q3 in Australia.Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware NewsletterGet Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

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Matt SaffordManaging EditorAfter a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.

11 Comments

Comment from the forums

8gb ram + win11 = 藍藍藍藍藍

Admin said:but you’ll have to live with 8GB of RAM, just like, well, probably all entry-level laptops at this point – at least until someone tries to get away with 4GB again.Recently Microsoft announced that W11 has a 16gb minimum system requirement now. That timing was really terrible.

Really, they even pointed to 32gb as preferred. Yikes.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-now-recommends-32gb-of-ram-as-the-future-proof-no-worries-config-for-gaming-16gb-becomes-the-new-practical-starting-point-during-the-ramageddon

"The 16:10 IPS display delivers 1920 x 1200 resolution at a rating of 300 nits..." I'm not saying they're DOA, but how about offering a better screen?

Because at that price point, Android tablets offer significantly higher quality screens, and an OS that doesn't choke on 8GB of RAM doing email or browsing.

Like here, for comparison purposes... Alldocube iPlay 70 Max Pro 13: 13" 2560x1600/400nits/60Hz, Unisoc T7300, 8GB/128GB, 10,000mAh (38.5Whr) battery, wifi+4G LTE... €200 tablet only, €280 tablet+keyboard folio (around US$240/330) Alldocube Ultra Pad 13: 13", 2880x1840/700nits/144Hz, Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, 12GB/256GB, 15,000mAh (57.75Whr) battery, €310 (US$365ish) Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: 12.7", 2944x1840/400nits/144Hz, Dimensity 8300, 8GB/128GB, 10200mAh battery, US$240

And then there's the whole sub 9" market Alldocube iPlay 80 mini Ultra: 8.8" 2560x1600/500nits/144Hz, Dimensity 8300, 12GB/256GB, 7200mAh (27.4Whr), 4G LTE, ￥56,000 yen, not yuan, (around US$350) And if you don't like Mediatek, there's the iPlay 70 mini Ultra with SD7+ Gen 3 for around US$270, which doesn't have LTE, but otherwise similar specs.

ezst036 said:Recently Microsoft announced that W11 has a 16gb minimum system requirement now. That timing was really terrible.Not a minimum, just a recommendation for gaming that most users on these forums would agree with: https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-now-recommends-32gb-of-ram-as-the-future-proof-no-worries-config-for-gaming-16gb-becomes-the-new-practical-starting-point-during-the-ramageddon Almost nobody is going to be cobbling together a gaming system with only 8 GB anymore, even though it might be enough for old titles.

The real minimum is still 4 GB: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-system-requirements-86c11283-ea52-4782-9efd-7674389a7ba3 Windows 11 IoT Enterprise also has a "preferred" minimum of 4 GB: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/iot/iot-enterprise/hardware/system_requirements?tabs=Windows11LTSC

This is where ARM should have started, the whole $1000+ AI and all day marketing blitze to have people switch to ARM on windows was a bad strategy. Snapdragon X was too premium a price and lunar lake largely stole its efficiency proposition. Too bad the way things are with Memory, on windows 8gb will feel stifling.

So that’s 8GB on W11 which is vastly difference to 8GB on macOS and a chip that’s likely much slower than the A18 Pro

LordVile said:So that’s 8GB on W11 which is vastly difference to 8GB on macOSAs a Windows hater I say this, no, no it isn't and has been proven many times now. Apple makes that claim for largely for Safari which they have full control over on their system. However, people have profiled applications that run on multiple platforms and found that RAM utilization was virtually identical for all platforms. MacOS itself takes about 2-4 GB of RAM these days on a fresh install sitting idle, this if pretty equal to Windows 11.

Where Apple wins is on swap, because Apple typically invest in high throughput SSDs where in the PC world the storage device is a wildcard, but that has nothing to do with the operating system.

JamesJones44 said:As a Windows hater I say this, no, no it isn't and has been proven many times now. Apple makes that claim for largely for Safari which they have full control over on their system. However, people have profiled applications that run on multiple platforms and found that RAM utilization was virtually identical for all platforms. MacOS itself takes about 2-4 GB of RAM these days on a fresh install sitting idle, this if pretty equal to Windows 11.

Where Apple wins is on swap, because Apple typically invest in high throughput SSDs where in the PC world the storage device is a wildcard, but that has nothing to do with the operating system.And being swap is part of memory management it is better and can run with less ram.