A huge disaster: Qualcomm cancels Snapdragon X Elite devkit just days after first orders arrive, multiple months later than planned

All orders are being refunded as the developer kit fails to meet Qualcomm's usual standards.

What you need to know

• Qualcomm announced an affordable Snapdragon X Elite developer kit at Build 2024 earlier this year.
• The device was supposed to ship in June, but faced major delays that only saw the first (small) batch of units ship to developers just days ago.
• Now, Qualcomm has announced that it is canceling the developer kit, and will issue refunds to all buyers, including the lucky few that received one.

In what can only be described as an embarrassing PR disaster for Qualcomm, the highly anticipated $900 Snapdragon X Elite developer kit that was first announced on stage at Microsoft's Build 2024 conference earlier this year has been canned, just days after the first units began shipping to those who ordered one.

Qualcomm let customers know in an email:

"The Developer Kit product comprehensively has not met our usual standards of excellence and so we are reaching out to let you know that unfortunately we have made the decision to pause this product and the support of it, indefinitely."

Those who have placed an order will be getting a full refund, including the lucky few who actually received the developer kit. Qualcomm says those who received one do not need to return it for the refund. Unfortunately, any outstanding orders will be canceled meaning if you don't have one yet, you'll never get it now.

Originally, Qualcomm intended to launch the Snapdragon X Elite developer kit in June, with orders opening on the same day that Copilot+ PCs became available. However, that date came and went and Qualcomm failed put the developer kit on sale. It wasn't until a month later when pre-orders would finally go live on Arrow, with a shipping estimate of just a couple of weeks.

Those who did place an order quickly found out that the developer kit wouldn't be shipping in the estimated time. In fact, it wasn't clear when the developer kit would ship. Those who placed an order when pre-orders first opened in July were left in the dark, with no accurate ETA from either Qualcomm or Arrow.

Many developers who placed an order documented their frustration with the process. Some developers that have received the device have already reviewed the hardware — Jeff Geerling called it a missed opportunity due to the hardware.