Apple A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite

The Apple A18 Pro and the Snapdragon 8 Elite are both flagship chips, made by Apple and Qualcomm. In Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is 5% faster in multi-core (9,143 vs 8,744), while the Apple A18 Pro is 15% faster in single-core. In 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, a graphics test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scores 38% higher (2,387 vs 1,731).

Apple Flagship

Apple A18 Pro

#15 of 109 chipsets · 2 phones

Qualcomm Flagship

Snapdragon 8 Elite

#13 of 109 chipsets · 32 phones

Benchmarks head to head

Full chipset ranking

Multi-core Geekbench 6

Snapdragon 8 Elite +5%
Apple A18 Pro 8,744
Snapdragon 8 Elite 9,143

Single-core Geekbench 6

Apple A18 Pro +15%
Apple A18 Pro 3,504
Snapdragon 8 Elite 3,046

Graphics 3DMark Steel Nomad Light

Snapdragon 8 Elite +38%
Apple A18 Pro 1,731
Snapdragon 8 Elite 2,387

Higher is better. Bars are relative to the faster chip in each test. A dash means we don’t have a reliable result for that chip yet.

Key facts

Specs from the chip makers. The better result in each benchmark is highlighted.

Apple A18 ProSnapdragon 8 Elite
Maker Apple Qualcomm
Class Flagship Flagship
Announced Sep 2024 Oct 2024
Process 3 nm TSMC N3E 3 nm TSMC N3E
CPU 6 cores 2× 4.05 GHz + 4× 2.42 GHz 8 cores 2× 4.32 GHz + 6× 3.53 GHz
Max CPU speed 4.05 GHz 4.32 GHz
GPU Apple 6-core GPU Adreno 830
5G modem 5G via a separate modem Built-in 5G
Place in our ranking #15 of 109 #13 of 109 (better)
Geekbench 6 single-core 3,504 (better) 3,046
Geekbench 6 multi-core 8,744 9,143 (better)
Graphics (3DMark Steel Nomad Light) 1,731 2,387 (better)
Phones in our database 2 phones 32 phones
Best-rated phone Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 8.5 OnePlus 13 9.0
Lowest US launch price $999 Apple iPhone 16 Pro $529 REDMAGIC 11 Air
Newest phone Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Sep 2024 REDMI K90 Ultra Jun 2026

Phones with the Apple A18 Pro

2 phones in our database, best rated first.

Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite

32 phones in our database, best rated first.

See all 32 phones
Compare the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and OnePlus 13 All about the Apple A18 Pro All about the Snapdragon 8 Elite

Apple A18 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite: FAQ

Which is faster, the Apple A18 Pro or the Snapdragon 8 Elite?

In Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is 5% faster in multi-core (9,143 vs 8,744), while the Apple A18 Pro is 15% faster in single-core. In 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, a graphics test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scores 38% higher (2,387 vs 1,731). Real-world speed also depends on how well each phone keeps the chip cool and on its software.

Is the Apple A18 Pro or the Snapdragon 8 Elite better for gaming?

3DMark Steel Nomad Light measures graphics performance, which matters most for games. The Snapdragon 8 Elite scores 38% higher than the Apple A18 Pro (2,387 vs 1,731). Cooling, screen refresh rate and game support also make a difference, so check the phones themselves.

Which is newer, the Apple A18 Pro or the Snapdragon 8 Elite?

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is newer: it was announced in October 2024, while the Apple A18 Pro was announced in September 2024.

Which phones use the Apple A18 Pro and the Snapdragon 8 Elite?

The Apple A18 Pro powers 2 phones in our database, including the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 16 Pro. The lowest US launch price with this chip is $999, for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. The Snapdragon 8 Elite powers 32 phones in our database, including the OnePlus 13, HONOR Magic V5 and HONOR Magic7 Pro. The lowest US launch price with this chip is $529, for the REDMAGIC 11 Air.

Where do these benchmark scores come from?

They are reference results for each chip: the median of several Geekbench 6 runs on retail phones. The 3DMark Steel Nomad Light graphics score is the median of the results for retail phones with the chip in the official ranking of UL, the maker of 3DMark. The same chip can score a little differently from phone to phone, depending on cooling, clock speeds and software.

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