ASUS has begun to ship the Ascent QN10, which is the first mini PC based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite platform and featuring an 80 TOPS NPU, as stated by ASUS.
This NPU is intended for carrying out local AI tasks such as those involving language models, image processing, and automation workflows. Different from the previous Windows on Arm mini PCs, which were intended for developers, the Ascent QN10 is a device suitable for general consumers and has an anodized aluminum case.
The price is $1,349 and the unit has a small 0.7-liter size. The device has access to Qualcomm’s AI Hub, which offers more than 175 pre-optimized models and tools.
ASUS Ascent QN10 Specifications and Consumer-Focused Design
Up to this point, mini computers running Windows on Arm have been development kits, for example the Windows Dev Kit 2023, which were designed for developers who needed to optimize their applications for Arm rather than for ordinary customers.
The Ascent QN10 is different in that it is a PC suitable for consumers and has an aluminium case instead of the plastic developer models that have been available previously. Tom’s Guide referred to it as a possible “Mac mini M4 alternative for Windows users.”
The body of the Ascent QN10 measures 0.7 litres, which means that it is smaller than a number of mini PCs even though it includes a variety of ports.
The Ascent QN10 is built around the following:
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite (18-core Oryon CPU)
- Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno X2-90
- NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon, up to 80 TOPS
- Memory: Up to 32GB LPDDR5x
- Storage: 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB
- On the front there are two USB4 ports, two USB-A ports and a 3.5mm audio jack; on the back there is one USB4, HDMI 2.1, two USB-A ports and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
- Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity
- The dimensions are 5.1 by 5.1 by 1.5 inches and the weight is 1.6 pounds.
The specifications have been slightly updated since Tom’s Guide tried out the device, the device now having Bluetooth 6.0 instead of the earlier version 5.4.
ASUS Ascent QN10 Cooling, AI Features, and Availability
The cooling system of the Ascent QN10 keeps the heat from its CPU and SSD apart by drawing in fresh air on one side of the device and then dividing and expelling it on the other side.
The device has access to Qualcomm’s AI Hub, which offers more than 175 pre-optimized models and tools for testing and deploying AI workloads, since the device is focusing on local AI tasks.
The ASUS Ascent QN10 is now available, with a price of $1,349 at Best Buy. Windows Central has remarked that this represents a solid debut for the Snapdragon X2 Elite in a mini PC, although it remains to be seen if there is market demand for a mini PC focused on AI that runs Windows on Arm. ASUS has not specified the full availability in different regions in this announcement.
