Image source: Apple)
The smartphone SoC space is steadily heating up and is likely on an upward trajectory, considering that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will soon join the Dimensity 9400 and A18 Pro to fight it out for the smartphone SoC crown.
If the recent developments in the smartphone SoC space are anything to go by, it appears that an all-out chip war is nigh. Apple led the pack with the launch of its A18 Pro SoC, which was followed by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 launch earlier this month. All eyes are now on Qualcomm, expected to follow suit with the official unveiling of its upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC at the Snapdragon Summit event.
Apple continues to rule single-core performance
Benchmarks of all the aforementioned SoCs have appeared online, even for the yet-to-be-released Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, or whatever Qualcomm anoints it. As expected, Apple leads the bunch in single-core performance, and by no small margin. In Geekbench 6, the A18 Pro scores a whopping 3,400 points, while the Dimensity 9400 manages only around 2,800, which is a decent jump over last year’s 9300+ but well behind Apple. Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s leaked benchmarks reveal that the chip manages to beat the Dimensity 9400 in single-core with a score of 3,100, but still trails the A18 Pro in this specific test.
Snapdragon clinches the multi-core crown from Apple
In multi-core performance, the tables turn rather quickly. Having the lowest core count among the trio, the A18 Pro comes dead last, with around 8,700 points in Geekbench 6. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 manages to break the 10,000-point barrier in early benchmark leaks, with an impressive score of 10,052. MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 SoC slots in between Apple’s and Qualcomm’s offerings, with a score of slightly above 9,000 as per Geekerwan’s recent analysis.
Efficiency is no trivial matter
Of course, it is hardly fair to rank smartphone SoCs without considering efficiency. Apple’s A18 Pro handily defeats the Dimensity 9400 in this regard, if Geekerwan’s numbers are anything to go by. Considering the remarkably high multi-core scores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, the chip is unlikely to be a particularly efficient one, especially in view of the fact that Snapdragon’s previous offerings have lagged behind Apple in terms of CPU efficiency. However, the trend may reverse this time around, but I’m hesitant to place any bets just yet.
