At the Snapdragon Summit 2024, Qualcomm took centre stage to unveil its latest flagship mobile processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, declaring it the most advanced mobile SoC (System on Chip) on the market. Qualcomm’s bold claim comes amidst fierce competition from Apple’s new A18 Pro and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400, two processors that have already made waves in the industry for their speed and efficiency. But just how much faster are these new processors, and does Qualcomm truly have the edge?
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a major leap forward for Qualcomm, representing its return to custom CPU development. The chip is powered by Qualcomm’s Oryon cores, developed after the company acquired Nuvia. The core setup includes two Prime cores clocked at an impressive 4.32GHz and six Performance cores. These Prime cores alone are nearly 1GHz faster than the previous Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, offering a staggering 45 per cent increase in both single-core and multi-core performance.
But it’s not just raw speed that matters. The Snapdragon 8 Elite promises up to 40 per cent better power efficiency thanks to TSMC’s advanced 3nm manufacturing process. Qualcomm has also introduced significant improvements to the chip’s AI and gaming capabilities, with the Adreno GPU delivering a 40 per cent performance boost and a 35 per cent increase in ray tracing capability over the previous generation. Early benchmarks show the Snapdragon 8 Elite outpacing its predecessor by a wide margin, clocking in at 3,222 points for single-core and 10,444 for multi-core in Geekbench 6.3 tests.
Apple’s A18 Pro, launched with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, is no slouch when it comes to speed. Built on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, the A18 Pro features a six-core CPU with two high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores. Apple claims a 15 per cent improvement in CPU performance over the A17 Pro while reducing power consumption by 20 per cent.
The A18 Pro’s GPU has also seen a major overhaul, with Apple introducing a desktop-class architecture that can deliver 20 per cent better performance compared to its predecessor. Additionally, the GPU’s ray tracing performance is now twice as fast, bringing console-level graphics capabilities to the iPhone. Benchmarks place the A18 Pro at around 3,055 for single-core performance and 9,600 for multi-core in Geekbench tests, slightly trailing the Snapdragon 8 Elite but still a major leap forward for Apple’s mobile architecture.
Apple’s A18 Pro also benefits from improved memory bandwidth and larger cache sizes, enabling it to support advanced media features such as ProMotion displays, faster USB 3 speeds, and ProRes video recording, making it a formidable chip in both performance and media capabilities.
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400, built on the same 3nm process as the Snapdragon 8 Elite and A18 Pro, is MediaTek’s most ambitious mobile processor yet. The chip uses a mix of one Prime core, three Performance cores, and four Efficiency cores, optimised for power management and multi-core workloads.
MediaTek claims a 35 per cent improvement in single-core performance and a 28 per cent increase in multi-core performance compared to its previous flagship, the Dimensity 9300. Efficiency gains are equally impressive, with the Dimensity 9400 consuming 40 per cent less power during heavy workloads. In terms of raw speed, benchmarks place the Dimensity 9400 just behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite and A18 Pro, with scores of 3,055 in single-core and 9,600 in multi-core tests on Geekbench 6.2.
However, MediaTek’s focus on power efficiency makes it a compelling option for users who prioritise battery life over sheer speed. Its new GPU, the Immortalis-G925, also brings ray tracing capabilities to the table, with a 41 per cent boost in peak performance over the Dimensity 9300, though it still trails Qualcomm and Apple in raw graphics power.
When comparing all three new processors, the Snapdragon 8 Elite clearly leads in terms of single-core and multi-core performance. With a single-core Geekbench score of 3,222 and a multi-core score of 10,444, it is around 5 per cent faster in multi-core workloads than Apple’s A18 Pro, which scores 3,055 in single-core and 9,600 in multi-core tests. However, Apple’s A18 Pro still holds the edge in power efficiency, with its refined 3nm process allowing it to use 20 per cent less power than its predecessor.
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400, while impressive, lags slightly behind both Qualcomm and Apple, scoring 3,055 in single-core and 9,600 in multi-core tests. However, its 40 per cent improvement in power efficiency makes it a strong contender for users looking for longer battery life and solid performance.
In the AI space, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and Apple’s A18 Pro are locked in a fierce competition. Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU delivers a 45 per cent increase in performance over its predecessor, with better power efficiency, while Apple’s A18 Pro Neural Engine boasts 16 cores capable of 35 trillion operations per second—double that of the A17 Pro.
Both chips offer significant improvements in AI-driven tasks like image recognition and natural language processing. However, Apple’s Neural Engine, with its 17 per cent increased memory bandwidth, gives the A18 Pro the edge in handling complex AI tasks. Now, let’s delve into what these two processors will enable. Apple’s chipset is centered around Apple Intelligence, which will be launched in stages later this month and will be heavily focused on on-device processing. While Qualcomm’s chipset will also offer these capabilities, it remains to be seen what OEMs will bring to the market. However, Qualcomm’s silicon designer, based in San Diego, had the opportunity to showcase the capabilities of its hexagon engine, with notable figures like OpenAI and Meta enthusiastically endorsing its potential.
Graphics capabilities are a key battleground for all three processors, particularly with the rise of mobile gaming. Qualcomm’s new Adreno GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers a 40 per cent performance boost and a 35 per cent increase in ray tracing capability. Apple’s A18 Pro, meanwhile, has introduced a desktop-class GPU that is 20 per cent faster than the A17 Pro, with ray tracing that is twice as fast.
MediaTek’s Immortalis-G925 GPU, while competitive, falls short of both Qualcomm and Apple in terms of raw graphics power, despite a 41 per cent improvement in peak performance over its predecessor. For gamers and content creators, the Snapdragon 8 Elite and A18 Pro stand out as the top choices, with Qualcomm having the slight edge in GPU flexibility and sustained performance.
The most significant advantage for Apple is the availability of games like Death Stranding, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage—all console-class triple-A games—on just the A18 Pro-based devices. Additionally, A17 Pro-based devices, excluding the M1 and beyond Macs and iPads, are also capable of running these games. While Qualcomm undoubtedly has a performance edge on paper, the selection of games of this caliber is limited on Android.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite emerges as the fastest mobile processor of 2024, with its custom Oryon cores and powerful Adreno GPU delivering top-tier performance across the board. Its Geekbench scores show it leading the pack, outperforming both Apple’s A18 Pro and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 in raw speed, though Apple still holds the crown in efficiency.
In the end, while on paper it appears that Qualcomm has surpassed Apple’s A18 Pro chip and even seemingly has an advantage over MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 chipset, real-world performance will ultimately determine the winner. Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU has consistently outperformed Apple’s custom GPU, but Apple has leveraged the success of iPhones, iPads, and Macs, all of which use similar processor technology, to bring triple-A games to the market. Additionally, Apple has developed custom multimedia elements that facilitate seamless video editing for creators.
Apple’s vertical integration has proven to be a significant advantage. However, with Qualcomm now producing chipsets for PCs, it has the potential to match many of Apple’s advantages. Furthermore, Qualcomm has access to a large pool of engineers who developed Apple’s mobile processors, which has enabled it to catch up. The Snapdragon 8 Elite represents one of the most significant updates to a mobile processor in years, offering a substantial performance leap that Apple has yet to match in the 2020s. Nevertheless, it is also a significant improvement over what MediaTek has achieved.
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