Apple’s new A18 Pro chipset powers the latest iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. It promises powerful CPU performance and brings moderate improvements in the GPU and NPU departments. That said, how does the A18 Pro compare to the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset? To find the difference in terms of performance and efficiency, we compared the A18 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in detail.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Specs Comparison
| Apple A18 Pro | Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (leaked) | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Six-core processor (2+4) | Eight-core Oryon processor (2+6) |
| Processor Cores | 2 performance cores at 4.04 GHz4 efficiency cores | 2x 4.32 GHz (Oryon)6x 3.53 GHz (Oryon) |
| Process technology | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) |
| GPU | Apple 6-core GPU HW Ray Tracing | GPU Adreno 830 HW Ray Tracing |
| Memory Support | LPDDR5X, up to 7500 MT/s | LPDDR5X, up to 4.8 GHz |
| Machine Learning and AI | 16-core Neural Engine; 35 TOPS | New Hexagon Artificial Intelligence Engine |
| Modem | Snapdragon X75 5G (likely)Up to 10 Gbps peak download speedUp to 3.5 Gbps peak upload speed | Snapdragon X80 5GUp to 10 Gbps peak downloadUp to 3.5 Gbps peak upload |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE |
Note: This comparison is based on Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 leaks
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Processor
The Apple A18 Pro is made on TSMC’s 3nm Process Node (N3E)and it looks like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will also be built on the same node. However, Apple has opted for its usual six-core configuration, including 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The performance core goes up to 4.04 GHz, which is quite high for a mobile chipset in a passively cooled device.
Image courtesy of Apple
Qualcomm, on the other hand, is expected to include eight CPU cores on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, and you finally get the Nuvia-designed Oryon CPU cores, which are available on the Snapdragon X series for Windows laptops. Recent leaks have revealed that two Oryon cores on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 also cross the 4GHz mark, going up to 4.32GHz, while 6 Oryon cores are clocked up to 3.53GHz. There are no efficiency cores, just like on the Snapdragon X Elite.
One notable difference is that Apple has adopted the Armv9.2a architecture for the A18 Pro with support for SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) which offers faster AI performance through the CPU. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is still on the old Armv8 architecture which doesn’t take advantage of high-computing power extensions. This means the A18 Pro is likely to perform better in AI/ML tasks.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Results on Geekbench
The A18 Pro’s Geekbench score is finally available appeared and he got 3,409 and 8,492 points in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, in a new Geekbench fleegets 3,236 and 10,049 points in the same test, run on the upcoming OnePlus 13 phone.
| Geekbench 6.3.0 | A18 Pro | Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (leaked) |
|---|---|---|
| Single core | 3,409 | 3,236 |
| Multi-core | 8,492 | 10,049 |
Despite the Oryon core running at 4.32GHz, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is nowhere near the single-core performance of the A18 Pro, which runs at 4.04GHz. The performance gap is only about 5%. But in multi-core, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, for the first time, pulls ahead and delivers 18% faster performance than the A18 Pro, which is pretty huge.
- A18 Pro
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (Leaked) | Image courtesy of Digital Chat Station via Weibo
Sure, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 packs two additional cores, which should improve its multithreaded performance, but Qualcomm managed to achieve this level of performance without using the SME units available on the A18 Pro. For the first time, Qualcomm managed to outperform Apple in the CPU department. The addition of Nuvia-designed Oryon CPU cores finally paid off for Qualcomm.
That being said, Apple is likely ahead of Qualcomm in terms of performance per watt and most likely uses less power to deliver the same level of processor performance.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: GPU
Speaking of the GPU, Apple hasn’t made any major changes to its 6-core GPU on the A18 Pro. The architecture remains the same, however, Apple has increased the clock speed of the GPU. Additionally, thanks to 17% faster memory and a graphite substructure, the A18 Pro GPU is 20% faster than last year’s A17 Pro GPU.
Image courtesy of Apple
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is said to pack Qualcomm’s new Adreno 830 8-series GPU which claims to deliver phenomenal graphics performance. Adreno 750 GPU The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has already outperformed the A17 Pro’s GPU, and this year again, it looks like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will beat the A18 Pro’s GPU. By the way, both GPUs support hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
Regardless of the claims, we will be running various graphics tests and playing intensive games on both GPUs to see how they perform. So stay tuned with us.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: NPU
Apple packaged the same 16-core Neural Engine on last year’s A18 Pro. It can deliver AI performance up to 35 TOPS based on the INT8 data type. However, with faster memory on board, the Neural Engine can further improve performance. It can efficiently handle AI workloads and power Apple Intelligence features on the device. The most interesting thing is that Apple’s Core ML framework is well optimized and widely supported by developers.
Image courtesy of Apple
As for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, we currently have no information on the exact capabilities of the Hexagon NPU. However, based on last year’s NPU performance, the new AI engine should be capable enough to run AI models on the device seamlessly. That said, Qualcomm needs to put a lot of effort into improving its framework on Android (and other) platforms.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Connectivity
As for mobile connectivity, Apple has likely integrated Qualcomm’s latest-gen Snapdragon X75 5G modem into the iPhone 16 series. And for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, Qualcomm will use the latest Snapdragon X80 5G modem. The peak download/upload speed is the same for both modems.
However, the new X80 5G modem promises improved coverage, efficiency, and data speeds thanks to an AI coprocessor. As for local connectivity, both SoCs offer Wi-Fi 7, but you get Bluetooth 5.3 on the A18 Pro and Bluetooth 5.4 on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Final Thoughts
To sum up, Apple’s A18 Pro on the iPhone 16 Pro series features impressive CPU performancethanks to the Armv9.2 implementation. However, the Oryon-powered Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 outperforms the A18 Pro in multi-core performance thanks to two additional cores.
In single-core workloads, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 comes close to the A18 Pro despite using the older Armv8 architecture without the benefit of SME. However, the A18 Pro seems to excel in terms of performance per watt, achieving better performance at a lower frequency (4.04 GHz) compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (4.32 GHz).
On the GPU side, it’s likely that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will outperform the A18 Pro GPU, as Apple hasn’t redesigned the GPU this year, except for the clock speed increase. Of course, we’ll run various tests to come to a definitive conclusion once we get our hands on the iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max and the Xiaomi 15 Pro, likely the first phone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
In the meantime, what do you think of the A18 Pro’s performance? Let us know in the comments below.