Snapdragon 8 Elite vs A18 Pro: Benchmark Comparison

Nov. 4, 2024

This year, the competition between Android phones and iPhones is different. Qualcomm has launched its powerfulSnapdragon 8 Elitechipset with custom Oryon cores to take on Apple’sA18 Prochipset. Both are flagship SoCs so we have run several benchmarks including Geekbench, 3DMark, and AnTuTu to compare them comprehensively. On that note, let’s check out the benchmark scores.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs A18 Pro: Specs Comparison

Note that Snapdragon 8 Elite is based on the older Armv8 architecture and has no SME units whereas the A18 Pro is developed on the Armv9 architecture and takes advantage of SME. As a result, it scores slightly better on Geekbench 6.3.

That said, A18 Pro consumes power up to 6.5W whereas Snapdragon 8 Elite pushes the power envelope up to 7.5W to boost the clock speed further. In our testing, surprisingly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite was cooler than the A18 Pro, thanks to Realme GT7 Pro’s large VC chamber. Snapdragon 8 Elite touched 32.8 degrees C after the test, and A18 Pro rose to 35.1 degrees C.

In my assessment, Apple is still the leader in performance per watt as far as the CPU is concerned. However, Qualcomm has come really close to dethroning Apple in the CPU department with its second-gen Oryon cores.

In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test, the Adreno 830 GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers remarkable performance. It gets the best loop score of 6,311 points and the lowest loop score of 5,258 points. Notably, the stability stood around 83.3% which is impressive.

A18 Pro’s six-core GPU, on the other hand, gets the best loop score of 4,574 points and the lowest loop score of 3,096 points, with a poor stability of 67.7%. As you can notice, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s lowest score is even higher than the A18 Pro’s highest score. It means that the Adreno 830 GPU is far superior in graphics performance. Not only that, the temperature also remains nearly the same on both the devices.3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress TestSnapdragon 8 EliteA18 ProBest loop score6,3114,574Lowest loop score5,2583,096Stability83.3%67.7%Temperature42.6 degrees C42.3 degrees C

In the 3DMark Solar Bay test that evaluates the ray-tracing capability, Qualcomm again outranks Apple. Snapdragon 8 Elite gets an overall score of 10,614 points with an average of 40.36 FPS. A18 Pro, on the other hand, achieves 7,985 points with an average of 30.4 FPS. Once again, the Snapdragon 8 Elite runs two degrees cooler than the A18 Pro.

To sum up, the second-gen Oryon CPU on Snapdragon 8 Elite is very promising, both in terms of performance and efficiency. It has access to a large pool of cache, and despite being on the older architecture, it comes really close to beating A18 Pro’s CPU.

While the A18 Pro’s CPU core is better on paper, due to the advanced cooling system on Android phones, the Snapdragon 8 Elite can sustain its peak performance for a longer period and stay cooler. It’s basically how well the entire system works together, not just the chipset.

As for the GPU, Qualcomm has knocked it out of the park with the new sliced architecture on the Adreno 830 GPU. Apple seriously needs to beef up its mobile GPU for future A-series chips. All in all, it’s an exciting time for Android users who want a flagship experience, on par with the latest and greatest iPhones.

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.