Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 are both flagship chips made by Qualcomm. In Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is 13% faster in multi-core (10,941 vs 9,680), and the two are nearly level in single-core.
Benchmarks head to head
Full chipset rankingMulti-core Geekbench 6
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 +13%Single-core Geekbench 6
Nearly levelGraphics 3DMark Steel Nomad Light
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 Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qualcomm | Qualcomm |
| Class | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | Sep 2025 | Sep 2026 |
| Process | 3 nm TSMC N3P | 2 nm TSMC N2P |
| CPU | 8 cores 2× 4.6 GHz + 6× 3.62 GHz | 8 cores 2× 5.0 GHz + 6× 4.0 GHz |
| Max CPU speed | 4.6 GHz | 5 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 840 | Adreno 845 |
| 5G modem | Built-in 5G | Built-in 5G |
| Place in our ranking | #4 of 110 (better) | #10 of 110 |
| Geekbench 6 single-core | 3,628 | 3,620 |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | 10,941 (better) | 9,680 |
| Graphics (3DMark Steel Nomad Light) | 2,706 | — |
| Phones in our database | 28 phones | 1 phone |
| Best-rated phone | OPPO Find X9 Ultra 9.4 | Xiaomi 18 Pro 8.6 |
| Lowest US launch price | $749 REDMAGIC 11 Pro | — |
| Newest phone | HONOR Magic9 Sep 2026 | Xiaomi 18 Pro Sep 2026 |
Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
28 phones in our database, best rated first.
-
9.4
OPPO Find X9 Ultra
6.82″ 144 Hz, 200 MP camera, 7,050 mAh
No US price + Compare -
9.4
OnePlus 15
6.78″ 165 Hz, 50 MP camera, 7,300 mAh
From $899.99 + Compare -
9.3
POCO F9 Ultra
6.9″ 185 Hz, 200 MP camera, 8,050 mAh
No US price + Compare -
9.3
HONOR Magic8 Pro
6.71″ 120 Hz, 50 MP camera, 6,270 mAh
No US price + Compare
Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6
1 phone in our database, best rated first.
-
8.6
Xiaomi 18 Pro
6.4″ 120 Hz, 200 MP camera, 7,000 mAh
No US price + Compare
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6: FAQ
Which is faster, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6?
In Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is 13% faster in multi-core (10,941 vs 9,680), and the two are nearly level in single-core. Real-world speed also depends on how well each phone keeps the chip cool and on its software.
Which is newer, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6?
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is newer: it was announced in September 2026, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was announced in September 2025.
Which phones use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6?
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powers 28 phones in our database, including the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, OnePlus 15 and POCO F9 Ultra. The lowest US launch price with this chip is $749, for the REDMAGIC 11 Pro. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 powers one phone in our database: the Xiaomi 18 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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