Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A16 Bionic
Complete performance comparison between Qualcomm’s flagship and Apple’s powerhouse mobile processors
Qualcomm
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Released: October 2023
Process Node
4nm TSMC
CPU Cores
8-core (1+5+2)
Max Clock
3.3 GHz
GPU
Adreno 750
Apple
A16 Bionic
Released: September 2022
Process Node
4nm TSMC
CPU Cores
6-core (2+4)
Max Clock
3.46 GHz
GPU
5-core Apple GPU
Detailed Technical Specifications
Specification
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Apple A16 Bionic
Manufacturing Process
4nm TSMC (N4P)
4nm TSMC (N4P)
CPU Architecture
1x Cortex-X4 (3.3GHz)
5x Cortex-A720 (3.2GHz)
2x Cortex-A520 (2.3GHz)
5x Cortex-A720 (3.2GHz)
2x Cortex-A520 (2.3GHz)
2x Avalanche (3.46GHz)
4x Blizzard (2.02GHz)
4x Blizzard (2.02GHz)
GPU
Adreno 750
25% faster than Gen 2
25% faster than Gen 2
Apple 5-core GPU
50% more memory bandwidth
50% more memory bandwidth
AI Engine
Hexagon NPU
73 TOPS performance
73 TOPS performance
16-core Neural Engine
17 TOPS performance
17 TOPS performance
Memory Support
LPDDR5X up to 4800MHz
Up to 24GB capacity
Up to 24GB capacity
LPDDR5 up to 3200MHz
Up to 6GB capacity
Up to 6GB capacity
Modem
Snapdragon X75 5G
Up to 10 Gbps download
Up to 10 Gbps download
Qualcomm X65 5G
Up to 4.25 Gbps download
Up to 4.25 Gbps download
Camera Support
Up to 200MP single
8K@60fps recording
8K@60fps recording
Up to 48MP single
4K@60fps recording
4K@60fps recording
Display Support
4K@120Hz
HDR10+, Dolby Vision
HDR10+, Dolby Vision
iPhone native resolution
HDR10, Dolby Vision
HDR10, Dolby Vision
Performance Benchmarks
AnTuTu v10
1,650,000
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
1,420,000
Apple A16 Bionic
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Wins
Geekbench 6 Single-Core
2,250
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
2,550
Apple A16 Bionic
Apple A16 Bionic Wins
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
7,100
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
6,550
Apple A16 Bionic
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Wins
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
4,850
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
3,900
Apple A16 Bionic
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Wins
Final Verdict
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 emerges as the overall winner in this comparison, offering superior multi-core performance, better GPU capabilities, and more advanced connectivity features. While the A16 Bionic maintains its edge in single-core performance and power efficiency, the newer Snapdragon chip delivers better overall performance across most benchmarks.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s advantages include higher memory capacity support, better camera capabilities, and significantly improved AI performance. However, the A16 Bionic still offers excellent optimization with iOS and superior single-threaded performance for everyday tasks.
