Asus unexpectedly raised the price of laptops with the Snapdragon X2 Elite immediately after the tests were published.

Updated laptops with Snapdragon X2 Elite hit the market, but prices immediately went out of control

Last week models of laptops powered by new Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite processors appeared on sale. At the moment of their release a strange incident occurred: prices spiked sharply after the first reviews were published. It is still unknown who exactly initiated the price change.

Asus was the first to announce pricing

The manufacturer Asus had already posted prices for laptops with Snapdragon X2 Elite before the embargo on reviews was lifted. However, shortly after the initial reviews appeared in the media, Asus itself and several retailers raised prices on some models without any explanation.

A brief coverage of the event

Reviews of laptops with Snapdragon X2 were mainly published by major outlets. Most articles focused on Asus models, although some material covered HP computers. This gave the impression that market attention was largely concentrated on a single brand.

Price differences up to $350

One of the sites that published a review reported that it used the price given at the time of writing the article, but after publication the price changed. The difference reached $350, and the prices cited in the article no longer matched retail prices within hours.

Question of marketing honesty

Such dynamics raise questions about how new computers are introduced to the market where pricing positioning is critical. If reviewers are told one price and it is already different at sale, this could be either an error or a deliberate attempt to deceive consumers. Neither Asus nor Qualcomm has yet clarified the situation.

Public doubts

Consumers note that the limited number of reviews and strong focus on Asus raise suspicions. The scenario of a sharp price hike only reinforces this impression, especially given Qualcomm ecosystem’s drive to compete with x86-based systems.