Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series are both flagship chips made by Qualcomm. In Geekbench 6, the two chips are nearly level in multi-core (10,380 vs 10,350), but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is 9% faster in single-core. In 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, a graphics test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 scores 66% higher (3,438 vs 2,067).
Benchmarks head to head
Full chipset rankingMulti-core Geekbench 6
Nearly levelSingle-core Geekbench 6
Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 +9%Graphics 3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 +66%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.
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qualcomm | Qualcomm |
| Class | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | Sep 2026 | Aug 2026 |
| Process | 2 nm TSMC N2P | 3 nm TSMC N3P |
| CPU | 8 cores 2× 5.0 GHz + 6× 4.0 GHz | 8 cores 2× 4.6 GHz + 6× 3.62 GHz |
| Max CPU speed | 5 GHz | 4.6 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 850 | Adreno 840 |
| 5G modem | Built-in 5G | Built-in 5G |
| Place in our ranking | #6 of 110 (better) | #7 of 110 |
| Geekbench 6 single-core | 3,700 (better) | 3,410 |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | 10,380 | 10,350 |
| Graphics (3DMark Steel Nomad Light) | 3,438 (better) | 2,067 |
| Phones in our database | 4 phones | 1 phone |
| Best-rated phone | HONOR Magic9 Pro Max 8.9 | POCO F9 Pro 8.7 |
| Newest phone | OnePlus 16 Oct 2026 | POCO F9 Pro Sep 2026 |
Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6
4 phones in our database, best rated first.
-
8.9
HONOR Magic9 Pro Max
6.8″ 120 Hz, 200 MP camera, 8,800 mAh
No US price + Compare -
8.7
OnePlus 16
6.78″ 185 Hz, 200 MP camera, 9,000 mAh
No US price + Compare -
8.3
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max
6.9″ 120 Hz, 200 MP camera, 8,500 mAh
No US price + Compare -
Announced
Motorola Signature 27
50 MP camera
No US price + Compare
Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series
1 phone in our database, best rated first.
-
8.7
POCO F9 Pro
6.59″ 185 Hz, 200 MP camera, 6,330 mAh
No US price + Compare
Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series: FAQ
Which is faster, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series?
In Geekbench 6, the two chips are nearly level in multi-core (10,380 vs 10,350), but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is 9% faster in single-core. In 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, a graphics test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 scores 66% higher (3,438 vs 2,067). Real-world speed also depends on how well each phone keeps the chip cool and on its software.
Is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series better for gaming?
3DMark Steel Nomad Light measures graphics performance, which matters most for games. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 scores 66% higher than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series (3,438 vs 2,067). Cooling, screen refresh rate and game support also make a difference, so check the phones themselves.
Which is newer, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series?
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is newer: it was announced in September 2026, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series was announced in August 2026.
Which phones use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series?
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 powers 4 phones in our database, including the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, OnePlus 16 and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series powers one phone in our database: the POCO F9 Pro.
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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