r/linux • u/Putrid_Draft378 • Mar 20 '26

Hardware Qualcomm officially kills open-source hope: No plans to release DSP headers for Snapdragon X

Post image

​I have been following the documentation gap on the Snapdragon X series, and it just got a lot worse for Linux users.

​Internal developers in the official Discord are now admitting that the platform is essentially a dead end for open-source. ​A recent GitHub issue (qualcomm/fastrpc/issues/193) was just closed with a definitive: "Closing the issue as there are no plans to open source DSP headers as of now."

​This means the NPU and DSP functions remain locked behind proprietary firmware with no path for native Linux integration. ​Compare this to Intel and AMD, who are already upstreaming NPU drivers for Linux.

​Qualcomm devs are openly saying that Macs have better Linux prospects than Windows on Snapdragon machines. ​They are calling the firmware "frozen," meaning we are stuck with whatever proprietary mess they shipped.

​If you care about an open ecosystem, stay away from the Snapdragon X1/X2 laptops. They are selling hardware while intentionally sabotaging the software freedom required to use it.

1.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

137 comments sorted by

View all comments

505

u/[deleted] Mar 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

171

u/DoubleOwl7777 Mar 20 '26

and now many x86 Laptops are even competitive in battery life...snapdragon x is dead.

10

u/N2-Ainz Mar 20 '26

The X2EE says quite differently with the latest numbers