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Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: First benchmarks and analysis

Qualcomm reference design with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (photo: Alexander Fagot)
Qualcomm reference design with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
As part of its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm has showcased, amongst other things, its forthcoming top-tier SoC for 2024: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Once again, the CPU cores are getting reorganized, ensuring more performance and we also have the first benchmark results which we would like to share with you.

Every year in Hawaii, Qualcomm sets its own stage for its high-end products as part of the Snapdragon Summit - and this year is no exception. The main focus is on the top-end SoC for all Android devices: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8650-AB).

A little surprisingly, rather than opting for 3 nm architecture, Qualcomm, instead, continues to go with 4 nm and ARMv9.2. As with its predecessors, the SoC will once again be manufactured by TSMC. The chip's AI and ML abilities have been greatly expanded and improved. The NPU alone delivers 98 percent higher performance and can now handle even more up-to-date AI models as well as INT4. On top of that, almost every subsystem now possesses its own AI acceleration.

Additional features have also been added and upgraded. At 3.5 GBit/s, the Snapdragon X75 modem delivers higher upload speeds than its predecessor. Likewise, Wi-Fi 7 is onboard again, but Bluetooth 5.4 with LE audio is new. The LPDDR5x RAM now runs at 4,800 MHz.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 promises bags of power in every area. (photo: Alexander Fagot)
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 promises bags of power in every area.

However, the centrepiece is still the CPU and the GPU. The former continues to be based on eight cores but these are organized differently: The first cluster is occupied by a prime core (Cortex X4) that runs at 3.3 GHz and this is joined by five performance cores (all Cortex A720) from which three operate at up to 3.2 GHz and two at up to 3.0 GHz. In the third cluster, there are two efficiency cores (Cortex A520) which run at up to 2.3 GHz.

This year, we have not (so far) been able to carry out any of our own benchmarks. Instead, Qualcomm has entrusted us with the corresponding benchmark results for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In recent years, we additionally received these and they were always in keeping with our own results. This year, the basis for the benchmarks is served by a so-called Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD) that possesses a 6.65-inch AMOLED display (2,340 x 1,080 pixels, at up to 144 Hz) and has 24 GB of LPDDR5x RAM as well as 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage at its disposal. The device's battery packs 4,192 mAh and is powered by the Android 14 operating system. 

The CPU performance is impressive. As expected, the single-core performance in Geekbench 6.1 can't keep up with an Apple A17 Pro but when all of the cores work together, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has its nose in front. Also, in comparison to its predecessor, the new Qualcomm SoC ups the ante greatly and even manages to achieve a plus of up to 57 percent.

In AnTuTu, the increase is also significant and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 easily manages to beat the iPhone 15 Pro Max. A look at the individual sub-scores shows this is especially attributed to the considerably stronger GPU performance.

Geekbench 6.3
Single-Core
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
2930 Points
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
2329 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1985 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
1769 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1491 Points
Multi-Core
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
7501 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
7244 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
5119 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
4538 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
3787 Points
Antutu v10
Total Score
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
2139281 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
1487075 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1398472 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
1113506 Points
CPU
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
474884 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
372255 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
345391 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
315077 Points
GPU
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
927463 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
582323 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
516645 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
370494 Points
MEM
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
389166 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
273493 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
268453 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
185258 Points
UX
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
347768 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
329722 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
227579 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
212363 Points
PCMark for Android - Work 3.0
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
21628 Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
19783 Points
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2
18915 Points
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
15991 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
15550 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
13573 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
11824 Points
AImark - Score v3.x
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
240147 Points
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2
157948 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
29087 Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1362 Points
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1312 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
1266 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
1109 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
Points
Jetstream 2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
254.048 Points
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
241.435 Points
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
159.102 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
136.736 Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
131.215 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
116.696 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
105.175 Points
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2
83.003 Points
Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
445 runs/min
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
311 runs/min
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
176 runs/min
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
158 runs/min
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
143 runs/min
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
111 runs/min
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
92 runs/min
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2
62.9 runs/min
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
310 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
304 Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
201 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
143 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
129 Points
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2
115 Points
The Adreno 750 provides enormous gaming power. (image: Qualcomm)
The Adreno 750 provides enormous gaming power.

The internal graphics unit comes in the form of the Adreno 750, regarding which Qualcomm has once more only provided rudimentary details. The performance is said to be 25 percent higher than the Adreno 740 in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. At the same time, they claim its efficiency has improved by around 25 percent. Hardware-based ray tracing is nothing new for Qualcomm but this is supposedly also an area where tangible improvements can be found. One highlight is certainly the upscaling of games to 8K as well as the Frame Motion Engine 2.0 that is said to boost games from a nominal 60 fps to 120 fps. Gaming at 240 fps should also be possible.

The Adreno 750 really shines in benchmarks when the Vulkan API is used and this ensured a GFXBench performance increase of 16 percent compared to the same benchmark with OpenGL ES 3.1. But, the Qualcomm GPU also delivers nearly double as many frames as the A17 Pro with the older API - impressive.

In terms of 3DMark, Qualcomm has only provided us with onscreen figures. In this area, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5's Adreno 750 is considerably faster than the competition but it also has the lowest PPI, meaning the performance difference in the offscreen tests will certainly be somewhat lower. Nevertheless, the ray tracing scores (Solar Bay) are in a league of their own.

GFXBench / Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash (Vulkan)
96 fps
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash (OpenGL ES 3.1)
83 fps
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
68 fps
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
67 fps
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 (Vulkan 1.0)
65 fps
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 (OpenGL ES 3.1)
46 fps
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
63 fps
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
61 fps
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
58 fps
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
37 fps
GFXBench / Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
241 fps
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
163 fps
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
157 fps
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 (Vulkan 1.0)
144 fps
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Reference Device
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 (OpenGL ES 3.1)
115 fps
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
136 fps
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
123 fps
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
117 fps
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
98 fps
3DMark / Wild Life Score
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
19114 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
8582 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
Points
3DMark / Wild Life Extreme
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
5338 Points
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
3829 Points
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
3773 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
3765 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
3687 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
3067 Points
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Mali-G715 MP7, Tensor G3, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
2422 Points
3DMark / Solar Bay Score
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Reference Design
Adreno 750, SD 8 Gen 3, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
8547 Points
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
A17 Pro GPU, A17 Pro, 256 GB NVMe
6478 Points
Honor Magic5 Pro
Adreno 740, SD 8 Gen 2, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
5329 Points
Xiaomi 13T Pro
Immortalis-G715 MP11, Dimensity 9200+, 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash
5098 Points

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm has showcased a strong upgrade that not only takes a leap forward when it comes to performance but can also cope with all modern APIs, decoders and AI models. This ensures that forthcoming owners will be perfectly equipped for the future.  

Source(s)

Qualcomm

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2023 10 > Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: First benchmarks and analysis
Alexander Fagot, Daniel Schmidt, 2023-10-25 (Update: 2024-08-15)