Qualcomm offers the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, another premium chipset below its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It brings the custom Oryon v3 CPU cores at reduced clock speeds while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 sticks to the older Kryo CPU cores. Since both chipsets belong to a similar price bracket, we have compared our first-hand Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 benchmark results against the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. On that note, let's check out our findings.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: AnTuTu Score
| AnTuTu Benchmark | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu Score | 2,886,527 | 2,104,905 |
| CPU | 887,251 | 483,422 |
| GPU | 951,094 | 891,935 |
| Memory | 384,303 | 388,619 |
| UX | 663,879 | 340,929 |
In our first testing, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 posted 2,886,527 points on the AnTuTu benchmark, running on the OnePlus 15R. In comparison, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 managed 2,104,905 points on the AnTuTu benchmark. It means that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is around 37% faster than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 in overall performance.
The gap is even bigger in the CPU test. The 8-core Oryon v3 CPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 scored 887,251 points, which is a whopping 84% higher than the Kryo CPU on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4.
However, the GPU performance is surprisingly close. The Adreno 840 GPU got 951,094 points, only around 7% ahead of the Adreno 825 GPU on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. To put it simply, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 holds its ground in graphics, but the CPU difference is quite substantial.
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Geekbench Score
| Geekbench 6 CPU | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-core | 2,808 | 2,158 |
| Multi-core | 9,198 | 6,989 |
Next up is the Geekbench test, which measures the CPU performance. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 scored 2,808 points in single-core and 9,198 points in multi-core on the Geekbench 6 benchmark. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 got 2,158 points in single-core and 6,989 points in multi-core tasks on the same test. In effect, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is around 30% faster in single-core and 32% faster in multi-core performance.
This is where Qualcomm's custom CPU core shows its strength. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 uses the same Oryon v3 cores as the flagship and you can check its powerful performance in our Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 benchmark results. On the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, though, the cores are clocked lower at 3.8GHz.
Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 uses the Cortex-X4 prime core, which was introduced back in 2023. The Kryo CPU is not weak, but it simply can't match the newer Oryon cores.
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: CPU Throttling Test
| CPU Throttling Test | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Score | 320,105 GIPS | 549,579 GIPS |
| Average Score | 263,126 GIPS | 485,827 GIPS |
| Minimum Score | 197,824 GIPS | 414,382 GIPS |
| Throttling Percentage (Higher is better) | 70% | 80% |
Now, coming to the 15-minute CPU Throttling Test, which tests all CPU cores under a heavy workload, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 gets its first win. As we noted in our Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 benchmark, it dropped to just 80% of its peak output and ran at full clock speeds for the first five minutes.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 managed 70% overall stability on the CPU Throttling Test and sustained its peak output for four minutes before settling at 80%.
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 sustains its output better over longer stress periods, thanks to its lower operating frequencies. It's the classic stability vs raw power trade-off and if sustained performance matters more to you, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is the better chipset here.
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: 3DMark Score
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best Loop Score | 4,952 | 2,845 |
| Lowest Loop Score | 3,085 | 2,180 |
| Stability | 62.3% | 76.6% |
To stress test the GPUs, we ran the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 achieved a best loop score of 4,952 on the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test whereas the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 scored 2,845 points.
It means the Adreno 840 GPU is around 74% faster than the Adreno 825 under peak load. That said, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 posted an impressive stability of 76.6%, well above the 62.3% stability on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
| 3DMark Solar Bay | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 8,794 | 4,615 |
| Average FPS | 33.44 FPS | 17.55 FPS |
In the ray tracing-focused test, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 scored 8,794 points on the 3DMark Solar Bay benchmark while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 got 4,615 points. In effect, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 delivers around 91% faster ray tracing performance. In addition, its average FPS of 33.44 is nearly double of what the Adreno 825 can deliver. If ray tracing in games matters to you, the Adreno 840 is the far better GPU.
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 1,832 | 1,030 |
| Average FPS | 13.58 FPS | 7.64 FPS |
And in the heavy-duty Steel Nomad Light test, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 pulled ahead with 1,832 points against 1,030 points with a wide margin of 78%. It looks like the Adreno 840 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is clearly in a league of its own.
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Speedometer 3.0 Score
Lastly, we ran the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark to measure web browsing performance. Here, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 scored 19.3 points on the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark whereas the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 could only muster 12.5 points.
That is a difference of around 54% and it again proves that the Oryon CPU is far better at heavy tasks. For comparison, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 sits closer to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 comes close to the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Benchmark Gallery
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Specs Comparison
| Specs | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Process Node | TSMC's 3nm (N3P) | TSMC's 4nm (N4P) |
| CPU | 8-core 3rd-gen Oryon CPU | 8-core Kryo CPU |
| CPU Cores | 2x 3rd-gen Oryon Prime (3.8GHz), 6x 3rd-gen Oryon Performance (3.32GHz) | 1x Cortex-X4 (3.21GHz), 3x Cortex-A720 (3.0GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (2.8GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (2.0GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 840 GPU, No Adreno HPM | Adreno 825 GPU |
| NPU | New Hexagon NPU | Hexagon AI Engine, On-device multimodal AI support |
| ISP | Qualcomm Spectra 20-bit Triple ISP, Images up to 320MP, Videos at 4K 120FPS | 18-bit Triple AI Spectra ISP, Images up to 320MP, 4K HDR videos at 60FPS |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X memory, up to 4800MHz | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 4800MHz |
| Modem | Snapdragon X80 5G modem, Up to 10 Gbps Peak Download, Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload | Snapdragon X75 5G modem (Sub-6 GHz only), Up to 4.2 Gbps Peak Download |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, LE and UWB | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and UWB |
Verdict
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is a far more powerful chipset than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 and the benchmark numbers make it clear. It's around 37% faster in AnTuTu, over 30% faster in Geekbench and delivers up to 91% better ray tracing performance. The newer Oryon v3 CPU and the superior 3nm process node make it the obvious pick for anyone chasing performance.
Having said that, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is not bad, either. It offers better thermal stability in both CPU and GPU stress tests and its Adreno 825 GPU comes within striking distance in the AnTuTu GPU test.
If you find a phone with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 at a lower price, it's still a capable performer. But if you can grab a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 phone, it will offer you performance just second to the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
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