Adreno 32.0.181.0 Update Slows Snapdragon X2 Elite AI and Rendering
Qualcomm's Adreno 32.0.181.0 driver update was linked by users to major performance regressions on Snapdragon X2 Elite devices, including up to 87% slower local LLM text generation through llama.cpp's OpenCL backend. One user said a seven-minute 1080p Premiere Pro render increased from 1 minute 40 seconds to about 10 minutes, while CPU and NPU results remained comparatively stable. The slowdown returned when the driver was reinstalled and disappeared after rollback, but Qualcomm has not confirmed a driver defect.
The reports indicate that a GPU driver update could sharply impair OpenCL-based local AI inference and GPU-accelerated video rendering on Snapdragon X2 Elite systems, affecting two important Windows on Arm workloads.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Users Report Up To 87% Slower LLM Performance After Adreno Driver Update, Premiere Renders Also Taking 6x Longer
Omar Sohail•Nov 1, 2026 at 07:31am EST
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