Qualcomm promises its first Linux laptops will be ready in 2027

This was one of those “just one thing” surprise announcements: “For many years, developers have asked us for one thing: Linux on Snapdragon,” said Qualcomm General Manager, Compute and Gaming, Kedar Kondap, at this year’s Snapdragon Summit 2026. “We heard you.”

Beginning with the Snapdragon X2 series, he added, “Linux is officially supported on Snapdragon. Linux support with Debian will be available at the end of this year.”

One of the first products will be the Humain Horizon Ultra AI PC, which we covered last year. “That PC delivers a brand new agentic OS that showcases what’s possible on the Snapdragon X2 when it is paired with innovative software that’s built on top of Linux,” said Kondap. “This will be available in the first half of 2027.”

First Debian on Qualcomm, next Ubuntu

If Qualcomm is to make a dent in the world of Linux PCs, though, it has to support Canonical. According to Cindy Goldberg, in a pre-recorded video, it soon will.

“[The Ubuntu] community has been very eager to build on Snapdragon, so today I’m proud to share that the Snapdragon X2 series platforms will be certified to run Ubuntu, and we’re targeting certification in the first half of next year,” she said. “And that means the platforms will be rigorously validated for performance and stability to deliver the best Ubuntu experience out of the box.”

Kedar confirmed that OEM partners such as Dell and HP will be producing Qualcomm-powered devices with Linux distros, including an XPS laptop. But it looks like Asus will be the first.

“Asus is bringing Ubuntu to their Snapdragon X2 series devices, starting in the first half of next year, with two of their most beautiful designs in the industry, the ZenBook A14 and the ZenBook A16,” he said. “I can’t wait to see all the developers and enthusiasts bring this foundation to life.”