Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Benchmarks and Specs

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite and Apple's A18 Pro are two flagship chips vying for the title of the best mobile SoC. On one hand, Qualcomm claims it has overtaken Apple in raw performance, while Apple continues to innovate year after year. So to reach a conclusive judgment, we have compared the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Apple A18 Pro across several benchmarks such as AnTuTu, Geekbench, 3DMark, and more. On that note, let's check out our findings.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: AnTuTu Score

Starting with the AnTuTu benchmark, in this test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite got a total score of 2,759,190 points and the A18 Pro achieved 1,859,039 points. While on the surface, it seems like the Snapdragon 8 Elite has performed significantly better, but if we look closely, it becomes clear that due to the lower memory score, the Apple A18 Pro has suffered.

If we compare the scores individually, the 6-core A18 Pro CPU has, in fact, scored better than the 8-core Snapdragon 8 Elite. The A18 Pro received 715,654 points whereas the Snapdragon 8 Elite got 583,775 points in CPU performance. However, in the GPU department, the Snapdragon 8 Elite GPU does impress with a remarkable score of 1,132,574 points, compared to A18 Pro's 589,896 points.

The key takeaway from this benchmark is that A18 Pro's CPU is about 22% faster, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite GPU is over 92% faster, which is a pretty big gap.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Geekbench Score

Next, in the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 3,033 points in single-core and 9,271 in multi-core. In contrast, the A18 Pro CPU achieved 3,467 in single-core and 8,550 in multi-core. Here, the A18 Pro CPU leads by about 14% in single-core tasks, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite gains around 8% faster performance in multi-core tasks.

That said, note that the Apple A18 Pro only has six CPU cores, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite features eight CPU cores. In effect, despite the lower core count and reduced frequency (4.05GHz vs 4.32GHz), the A18 Pro beats the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the CPU department.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: 3DMark Score

Now, coming to the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test which evaluates the graphics performance. In this benchmark, the Adreno 830 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored really well, achieving the best loop score of 6,052. However, after 20 loops, the stability stood at a dismal 46.8% and the lowest score came down to 2,835.

In comparison, the 6-core A18 Pro GPU got the best loop score of 3,268, which is much lower than 8 Elite's best performance. However, the A18 Pro GPU maintained its graphics performance much better than 8 Elite with an impressive stability of 90.1%. And even after 20 loops, A18 Pro's lowest score was still higher than 8 Elite's lowest score.

It shows that Snapdragon 8 Elite's GPU starts with a blistering performance, but loses steam pretty quickly. On the other hand, the A18 Pro GPU maintains its performance over a longer period. Despite all that, the Snapdragon 8 Elite stabilizes around 4,000 points, which means the Adreno 830 GPU is a better performer than the A18 Pro GPU. 

To test the ray-tracing performance of both the chipsets, we ran the 3DMark Solar Bay test and here again, the Snapdragon 8 Elite does better than the A18 Pro. The 8 Elite scored 11,397 points with an average 43.34 FPS, while the A18 Pro got 8,018 points along with 30.5 FPS.

Finally, in the intensive 3DMark Steel Nomad Light test, the Adreno 830 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Elite achieved 2,467 points, and the A18 Pro got 1,701 points. In terms of FPS too, the 8 Elite GPU fared better than the A18 Pro GPU.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Speedometer 3.0 Score

To test responsiveness on web applications, we ran the Speedometer 3.0 test. In this benchmark, the Snapdragon 8 Elite achieved 21.4 points whereas the A18 Pro scored much higher, standing at 33.4 points. This makes it clear that the A18 Pro CPU is much better at handling web-heavy applications.

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Benchmark Gallery

Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Specs Comparison

Verdict

In conclusion, the Apple A18 Pro CPU delivers exceptional performance and efficiency. Qualcomm, despite using the Nuvia-designed Oryon v2 cores on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, has not been able to surpass Apple's custom CPU. It shows that Apple is still the industry leader in designing the best CPUs.

That said, in graphics performance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has taken a lead, and a substantial one at that. This year, all eyes will be on whether Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 can close the gap and even overtake Apple’s next-gen A19 Pro in CPU performance.