It’s the season for flagship system-on-chips (SoCs), and fierce competition is underway between two giants: Apple‘s A18 Pro and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite. Both processors promise exceptional performance and efficiency, but which one comes out on top? This comparison will explore the specifications, benchmarks, and standout features of each chipset.
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Apple A18 Pro vs. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite: Battle of the Titans
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is equipped with an octa-core Oryon CPU setup with two high-performance cores at up to 4.32GHz and six cores clocked at 3.53GHz. The Apple A18 Pro has a six-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, running at 4.04GHz on the performance side. Even though both are manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) process, they belong to two different ARM architectures.
Apple has just about broken through the 4GHz barrier with its A18 Pro, but whisper numbers suggest that Snapdragon 8 Elite will be able to climb as high as 4.32 GHz thanks to custom Oryon cores. These differences extend to GPU performance as well: the A18 Pro gets a 20% bump over the A17 Pro, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite includes the Adreno 830 that is updated.
Benchmarks are key to the thought evaluation of SoC performance, and we will be looking at two popular benchmarks Geekbench 4 along with AnTuTu. AnTuTu evaluates CPU, GPU, memory, and user experience through graphically demanding tasks. It’s important to note that AnTuTu for Android uses the Vulkan API, while the iOS version employs Metal, which may affect the results.
On AnTuTu, the A18 Pro was able to score a level of 1,651,291 compared with the Snapdragon 8 Elite which scored at least 3,109,010. According to Geekbench, the A18 Pro scored 3,409 in single-core and 8,472 in multi-core tests. According to a recent Geekbench leak, the same tests yielded scores of 3,271 and 10,259 for the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
These scores have the Snapdragon 8 Elite trailing slightly in single-core capability, as a matter of fact. That being said, the same processor is a lot more competitive in terms of multi-core performance and managed to outscore A18 Pro by as much as 15%! That in itself is quite an accomplishment for Qualcomm given how poorly past Snapdragons have stacked up to Apple’s raw CPU performance.
In brief, the Apple A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro series has strong CPU performance using its Armv9. 2 architecture. That being said, the Snapdragon 8 Elite with its Oryon cores manages to pip the A18 Pro in multi-core performance due to extra higher-clocked cores. While the A18 Pro excels in power efficiency, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s Adreno 830 GPU appears to outperform the A18 Pro’s graphics capabilities. Comprehensive benchmarks will provide a more definitive conclusion once a retail unit featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite becomes available.
FAQs
What are the main differences between the A18 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite?
The A18 Pro features a six-core CPU with a focus on power efficiency, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite has an eight-core CPU that excels in multi-core performance. The Snapdragon also boasts a more advanced GPU.
Which chipset performs better in benchmarks?
In benchmarks, the Snapdragon 8 Elite generally excels in multi-core performance, while the A18 Pro leads in single-core tasks. Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers higher total performance in AnTuTu tests.
