With the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, Qualcomm has transitioned firmly into the age of 2nm-process chips. Compared to the ‘Extreme’ variant, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is slightly downgraded. Last year too, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, which was marginally underpowered than its Elite cousin. Let’s now find out how well these two chips across generations fare against each other in this Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 comparison.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: CPU
The latest Snapdragon Elite Gen 6 chip is manufactured on TSMC’s latest 2nm N2P node. This is the first time Qualcomm has built a 2nm chip with the new gate-all-around nanosheets, packing more transistors in a smaller space. On the other hand, last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 was built on TSMC’s 3nm N3P node.
Right off the bat, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 looks like the better chip. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 includes the 8-core Oryon v3 CPU with a 2+6 layout. It includes 2x prime cores at 3.8 GHz and 6x performance cores at 3.32 GHz.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip boasts the latest 8-core Oryon CPU with a 2 + 6 setup. There are 2x prime cores clocked at 5.0 GHz and 6x performance cores clocked up to 4.0 GHz.
This makes the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 the only smartphone chip to cross the 5 GHz threshold, other than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6.
Memory-wise, both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 support LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.1 storage.
In our Geekbench 6 testing of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (running on OnePlus 15R), it scored 2,808 in single-core tasks and 9,198 in multi-core.
Both chips are powered by Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU. But this year, Qualcomm has doubled down on their chip’s AI capabilities. With a reengineered NPU that includes a new Hexagon Element Accelerator, the chip is now geared for agentic AI that learns and adapts quicker.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: GPU
Gaming is another area where the winner clearly comes to the fore. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 boasts of a newer Adreno 845 GPU and the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 packs the Adreno 840 GPU. Both GPUs lack the Adreno High Performance Memory.
That said, chips in the ‘Elite’ series tend to get the full suite of Snapdragon Elite Gaming experience. The non-Elite versions don’t always include every cutting-edge gaming enhancement. But they’re also more affordable for that reason.
Qualcomm’s Spectra 20-bit Triple ISP is on both the chips, allowing image capture up to 320 MP. But the newer chip also includes extra AI camera features like Intelligent Pixel Control, Intelligent stabilisation, and Motion intelligence.
Videography is also better on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, with slow motion video capture at 4K 120 FPS. On the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the slow-motion video capture can go up to 1080p 480 FPS only.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: Specs Comparison
| Specifications | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 |
| Process Node | TSMC’s 2nm (N2P) | TSMC's 3nm (N3P) |
| CPU | 8-core Oryon next-gen CPU | 8-core Oryon CPU (3rd-gen) |
| CPU Cores | 2x prime cores (5.0 GHz), 6x performance cores (up to 4.0 GHz) | 2x 3rd-gen Oryon Prime (3.8GHz), 6x 3rd-gen Oryon Performance (3.32GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 845 GPU | Adreno 840 GPU |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU with Element Accelerator | Hexagon NPU |
| ISP | Qualcomm Spectra 20-bit Triple ISP, Images up to 320 MP, Intelligent Pixel Control, Elite Colour Engine with 3DLUT support, 4K120FPS video capture, 1080p at 960FPS slow motion video | Qualcomm Spectra 20-bit Triple ISP, Images up to 320 MP, Videos at 4K120FPS |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X memory | UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X memory |
| Modem | Snapdragon X105 5G modem, up to 14.8Gbps download speed | Snapdragon X80 5G modem, up to 10 Gbps Peak Download, up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 6.0, FastConnect 8800, UWB and Thread | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, LE, and UWB |
On paper, the specs are stacked against last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. But that’s not surprising. Year on year advancements are bound to drive improvements. And it’s especially true this year with Qualcomm moving to TSMC’s 2nm manufacturing process.
Still, the two chips have a lot in common. They are similar in terms of memory and storage support. While it may seem like a foregone conclusion as to which is the better chip, it would be interesting to see how much better the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 performs under intensive tests. Stay tuned for those.
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