Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Qualcomm's switch to its own Oryon CPU cores
Overview
Snapdragon 8 Elite
Process: 3nm
Announced: Oct 2024
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Process: 4nm
Announced: Oct 2023
Benchmarks
AnTuTu v11
8 Elite
32,46,413
8 Gen 3
22,38,015
Geekbench 6 Single
8 Elite
3,075
8 Gen 3
2,238
Geekbench 6 Multi
8 Elite
9,278
8 Gen 3
6,803
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
8 Elite
6,615
8 Gen 3
4,979
Scores from the OnePlus 13 (Snapdragon 8 Elite) and the OnePlus 13R (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), run on retail units.
At A Glance | ||
| Specification | 8 Elite  | 8 Gen 3  |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Qualcomm | Qualcomm |
| Announced | Oct 2024 | Oct 2023 |
| Process node | 3nmTSMC N3E | 4nmTSMC N4P |
| Found in | Galaxy S25 UltraOnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 | Galaxy S24 UltraOnePlus 12, Xiaomi 14 |
Qualcomm's Claimed Gains | ||
| CPU performance | +45%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| CPU power efficiency | +44%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| GPU performance | +40%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| GPU power efficiency | +40%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| Ray tracing | +35%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| NPU performance | +45%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| NPU performance per watt | +45%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
| Overall SoC power savings | 27%vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Baseline |
CPU | ||
| Layout | 2 prime + 6 performance7-core version has 5 performance cores | 1 + 5 + 21 prime, 5 performance, 2 efficiency |
| Cores | Oryon (2nd gen)2x Oryon prime, 6x Oryon performance | 1x Cortex-X45x Cortex-A720, 2x Cortex-A520 |
| Peak clock | 4.32GHz4.47GHz in the Galaxy S25 version; performance cores up to 3.53GHz | 3.3GHz3.39GHz in the Galaxy S24 version; A720 up to 3.2GHz, A520 up to 2.3GHz |
| L3 cache | NoneUses an 8MB system cache | 12MB |
GPU and gaming | ||
| GPU | Adreno 830Sliced architecture | Adreno 750 |
| Ray tracing | HardwareGlobal illumination | HardwareGlobal illumination |
| Graphics APIs | Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL ES 3.2OpenCL 3.0 FP | Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL ES 3.2OpenCL 3.0 FP |
AI and NPU | ||
| NPU | Hexagon NPUScalar, vector and tensor accelerators | Hexagon NPUScalar, vector and tensor accelerators |
| AI precision | INT4 to FP16INT4, INT8, INT16, FP16, mixed INT8+INT16 | INT4 to FP16INT4, INT8, INT16, FP16 (FP16 varies by SKU) |
| Sensing Hub | Dual micro NPUsDual always-sensing ISPs, INT4 | Dual micro NPUsDual always-sensing ISPs, INT4 |
Memory and storage | ||
| Memory | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory speed | 10600MT/s | 9600MT/s |
| Max RAM | 24GB | 24GB |
| Storage | UFS 4.0 | UFS 4.0 |
Camera and ISP | ||
| ISP | Spectra triple 18-bit AI ISP | Spectra triple 18-bit Cognitive ISP |
| Max sensor | 320MP108MP single or 48MP triple with zero shutter lag | 200MP108MP single, 64MP + 36MP dual or 36MP triple with zero shutter lag |
| Video capture | 8K at 30fps4K at 120fps | 8K at 30fps4K at 120fps |
| Slow motion | 1080p at 480fps | 720p at 960fps |
Display and video | ||
| On-device display | 4K at 60HzQHD+ at 240Hz | 4K at 60HzQHD+ at 144Hz |
| External display | 8K at 30Hz1080p at 240Hz | 8K at 30Hz1080p at 240Hz |
| Video decode | AV1, H.265, VP98K HDR playback at 60fps | AV1, H.265, VP9 |
| HDR formats | HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Dolby Vision | HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Dolby Vision |
Cellular | ||
| Modem | Snapdragon X80Integrated | Snapdragon X75Integrated |
| Peak download | 10Gbps6xCA | 10Gbps |
| Peak upload | 3.5Gbps | 3.5Gbps |
| mmWave | Supported8 carriers, 2x2 MIMO | Supported8 carriers, 2x2 MIMO |
| 3GPP release | Release 18Release 17 and 18 support | Release 18Release 17 and 18 support |
| Satellite | SupportedNB-NTN | SupportedSnapdragon Satellite |
| SIM | DSDA Gen 2Global 5G multi-SIM, dual data | DSDA Gen 2Global 5G multi-SIM, dual data |
| Sub-6GHz MIMO | 4x66 receive antennas | 4x4 |
| Satellite type | NB-NTNSmart Transmit Gen 5 with Snapdragon Satellite support | Snapdragon SatelliteVia Smart Transmit Gen 4 |
Wi-Fi and connectivity | ||
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7FastConnect 7900, 320MHz | Wi-Fi 7FastConnect 7800, 320MHz |
| Wi-Fi peak | 5.8Gbps | 5.8Gbps |
| Bluetooth | 6.0LE Audio, dual antennas | 5.4LE Audio, dual antennas |
| UWB | SupportedIEEE 802.15.4z, FiRa, CCC | Not integratedPhones add a separate UWB chip |
| USB | USB 3.1 Gen 2 | USB 3.1 Gen 2 |
| Navigation | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavICTriple frequency L1, L2C, L5 | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavICTriple frequency L1, L2C, L5 |
Audio | ||
| Audio platform | Snapdragon SoundAqstic audio codec, Aqstic Speaker Max | Snapdragon SoundAqstic audio codec, smart speaker amplifier |
| Wireless codecs | aptX Adaptive, aptX LosslessXPAN | aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, aptX VoiceXPAN, LE Audio |
Charging | ||
| Fast charging | Quick Charge 5 | Quick Charge 5 |
Security | ||
| Security | Trust Management Engine, TEE, Type-1 Hypervisor, SPU3D Sonic Max fingerprint, DICE remote key provisioning | Trust Management Engine, TEE, Type-1 Hypervisor, SPU3D Sonic Max fingerprint, DICE remote key provisioning |
Gaming | ||
| Elite Gaming | Full Snapdragon Elite GamingGame Super Resolution, Frame Motion Engine 2.1, Unreal Engine 5.3 Nanite | Full Snapdragon Elite GamingGame Super Resolution, Frame Motion Engine 2.0, Unreal Engine 5 Lumen |
Specifications from the manufacturers’ official spec sheets · Updated 2026-10-20