Qualcomm shares Snapdragon 8 Elite benchmark numbers
The numbers were based on Qualcomm's internal testing and a phone of its own design.
#qualcomm #snapdragonsummit #snapdragon8elite
Note: This article was first published on 24 October 2024.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Photo: HWZ.
Qualcomm has finally shared some benchmark scores for its latest 2025 flagship mobile platform for Android phones, the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Caveats
Summary slide of Snapdragon 8 Elite. Photo: HWZ.
While benchmark numbers are always a good point of reference, they should always be taken with a pinch of salt. Synthetic benchmark scores merely reflect the potential performance of a component or processor.
Real-life usage almost always differs, be it the duration, the workload intensity of an app, or even the type of optimisations an OEM (phone maker) may choose to include (e.g., vapour chambers, additional RAM, etc.).
In Qualcomm's benchmarking of Snapdragon 8 Elite, the chipset platform was wired into a Qualcomm Reference Design phone (affectionately called a QRD phone). These phones are test units that Qualcomm uses for its internal lab testing and pitching of new features to customers. They are not commercially available.
That QRD phone's specs are:
Type | Spec |
Display | 6.8-inch WFHD+ AMOLED, 144Hz refresh rate |
Battery | 4,167mAh |
Memory | 24GB LPDDR5x RAM (up to 4.8Gbps) |
Storage | 1TB (UFS 4.0, generation 5) |
The Snapdragon 8 Elite on it is not throttled in any way; it's running at its full core potential (2x 4.33GHz prime cores and 6x 3.53GHz performance cores on Oryon CPU, sliced architecture Adreno GPU, 45% faster Hexagon NPU, Unreal Engine 5.3 with Nanite support).
Snapdragon 8 Elite benchmark scores
Below, we have the benchmark followed by Qualcomm's scores. For those unfamiliar with these benchmarking tools, we have a short note explaining what each benchmark measures.
Unless otherwise stated, all benchmarks are the average scores after three attempts (average of three iterations). Consider these as an early preview of what to expect and the potential of the new mobile flagship processor.
Benchmark Name | Settings | What is this benchmark for? | Expected score |
Geekbench 6.2 | Single thread | Tests a single CPU coreto see how it handles one single task at one time. | 3221 |
Multi-thread | Tests the CPU's performance when facing a task instructing it to use multiple cores. | 10,426 | |
Geekbench 6.3 | Single thread | See "single thread" explanation above. | 3222 |
Multi-thread | See "multi-thread" explanation above. | 10,444 | |
Speedometer 3 | Tested on Chrome browser | Benchmarking of browser and web browsing.Simulates typical web browsing experience. | 33.3 |
Tested on WebView/WeChat | See above. Uses an embeddedbrowser (in this case, WeChat's). | 28.7 | |
AnTuTu v10.2.1 | Standard | It gives a total score from the CPU, GPU, Memory, and "UX" (data security, image processing, etc.). Scores are relative to other devices (e.g. a score of 2,000 means it's twice as fast as 1,000) | 3,014,075 |
GFXBenchv5.1 | Manhattan 3.0, Offscreen, 1080p | Cross-API benchmarking tool for graphics. Each test type (name and version)is followed by the settings enabled. | 528 |
Manhattan 3.1, Offscreen, OpenGL, 1080p | 345 | ||
T-Rex 2.0 HD, Offscreen, 1080p | 779 | ||
Car Chase, Offscreen, 1080p | 218 | ||
Aztec Ruins, Vulkan, Normal Tier, Offscreen, 1080p | 349 | ||
Aztec Ruins, Vulkan, HighTier, Offscreen, 1080p | 125 | ||
Aztec Ruins, OpenGL, NormalTier, Offscreen, 1080p | 262 | ||
Aztec Ruins, OpenGL, NormalTier, Offscreen, 1080p | 105 | ||
3DMark v2.2.4786 | Wild Life, Unlimited, Offscreen | Measures GPU (primarily) and CPU to assess overall graphics rendering capabilities. | 159 fps |
Wild Life Extreme, Unlimited, Offscreen | More demanding version of the above test. | 43 fps | |
AIMark v2 | One attempt only | Measures efficiency of dataset processing and specific object recognition | 308,217 |
MLperf v2 | One attempt only | Measures how fast a system can receive input and output results based on trained AI models. | Performance_(QPS)
Image Classification - 1474
Object Detection - 3166
v2.0 Image Segmentation - 2010
Language Understanding - 657
Super Resolution - 332
Image Classification (Offline) - 2059
Stable Diffusion - 0.32 |
Preview: Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
So we have a whole bunch of scores, but how does it actually compare with a current top-of-the-line phone? We've gotten a few more tests done to compare the Snapdragon 8 Elite against our own database of results. For the comparison, we've chosen the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and here's how they stack up:-
Benchmarks / Phone Platform | Snapdragon 8 Elite QRD Phone | Samsung S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen.3) | Performance Uplift |
Geekbench6 (single-core) | 3,222 | 2,275 | ~42% |
Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 10,444 | 7,147 | ~46% |
3DMark (Wild Life, Unlimited) | 24302 | 20,155 | ~21% |
PCMark Work 3.0 | 24,343 | 18,673 | ~30% |
The results paint a positive outlook with a very big performance leap, even if the benchmark versions aren't exactly the identical builds/versions used at the Qualcomm event versus what we normally use for our reviews.
Would these giant leaps also be seen in actual retail phones? That remains to be seen, but by the end of the year, we should have a pretty good idea, as many phones are launching updated flagships sporting the new Snapdragon 8 Elite processors. Be sure to stay tuned to HardwareZone as we bring you more updates.
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