First Snapdragon 865 benchmarks reveal appreciable performance boosts and narrowed multi-core performance gap with the Apple A13 Bionic

For testing the CPU, we ran AnTuTu v8 and Geekbench 5. Overall system performance was measured using the PCMark for Android Work 2.0 test. In AnTuTu v8, we see up to a 15% increase in the total score compared to the SD 855+ while there is a substantial increase by about 48% compared to the SD 855. Similarly, the CPU-only score shows a respectable 25% improvement over the SD 855+ and nearly a 60% lead over the SD 855. 

In Geekbench single core, the SD 865 scores 932 points, a 29% improvement over the SD 855 in the Google Pixel 4 and a 22% improvement over the SD 855+ in the Asus ROG Phone 2. In multi-core, the SD 865 shows about a 37% improvement over the SD 855 and SD 855+. Interestingly, the performance gap with the 855+ was comparatively narrower when the OnePlus 7T Pro is considered. Compute performance seems to be up by a decent 15% compared to the SD 855. 

The Apple A13 Bionic has traditionally been the leader when it comes to mobile SoCs and this holds true even now. However, Qualcomm has been able to bridge the gap significantly in multi-core Geekbench, coming within 4% of the A13 Bionic. The A13 is still the leader when it comes to raw single-core scores. The SD 865 handily beats the Kirin 990 in the Huawei Mate 30 Pro in both single-core and multi-core tests. 

The SD 865 also brings overall boosts in productivity as evidenced by the 20% increase in PCMark Work 2.0 score compared to the SD 855 and the Kirin 990.

Qualcomm claims up to 25% performance improvement with the new Kryo 585 over the Kryo 485 in the Snapdragon 855 despite having similar clocks and we see that this holds true for the most part in these tests. The performance increase could be attributed to the IPC improvements in the Cortex-A77 chips combined with an increased L3 cache (4 MB).

The Adreno 650 GPU also shows considerable improvements over the Adreno 640 in GPU benchmarks. However, the benefits do not seem to be perceivable across all tests. In 3DMark Slingshot tests, we see up to a 42% increase in performance in OpenGL ES 3.1 and up to a 47% boost in Vulkan 1.0 compared to the Adreno 640. The difference is reduced to about 20% when compared with the Adreno 640 with boosted clocks in the SD 855+. We also see good leads in 3DMark OpenGL ES 3.1 tests compared to the A13 Bionic.

GFXBench is where the Adreno 650 throws up a few surprises. Offscreen tests of Aztec Ruins, Car Chase, and Manhattan show significant performance improvements — as much as 54% compared to the SD 855 and up to 11% compared to the SD 855+. In the Onscreen tests, the SD 865 trailed significantly behind the SD 855+ in the ROG Phone 2, the SD 855 in the Pixel 4, and even the Kirin 990. However, the SD 865 still manages to edge out the SD 855+ in the OnePlus 7T Pro. The A13 Bionic leads in all GFXBench tests by a considerable margin.

Qualcomm mentioned during the reveal that the Adreno 650 is about 25% faster in graphics rendering compared to the previous generation. While it does hold good for the most part, the anomaly in results in the Onscreen tests is somewhat surprising given that the new SoC has 50% more ALUs and double the TMUs from the previous generation.

Overall, the preliminary benchmark results seem to suggest that the Snapdragon 865 looks to be a good improvement over the Snapdragon 855 but offers only little incentives over the Snapdragon 855+. We would like to emphasize that these results are from Qualcomm's reference device and that numbers will vary with OEM phones depending on their software, memory, and thermal implementation. With OEMs now coming up with designs that offer more thermal headroom, they can now push the SoC to operate at near 5 W TDP, which should afford some added performance. 

That being said, Qualcomm is still way behind Apple's A13 Bionic when it comes to single-core numbers, although the company has been able to close the multi-core gap significantly. Graphics is still Qualcomm's strength as evidenced by the impressive show put up by the Adreno 650. However, while 3DMark scores tilt in favor of the Adreno 650, the A13 Bionic seems to ace every GFXBench test.

Phones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 can be expected to be announced during MWC 2020. We look forward to testing this chipset more extensively as more devices become available, so stay tuned.