After the launch of Qualcomm’s latest processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, It was time to fine-tune it with the relevant performance tests. And I had in my hands a test mobile equipped with said processor: it’s a real beast, it sets records in all areas.
Annual renewal cycles not only affect smartphones and other phone accessories, but internal components as well. Among these components, there is no doubt that the most accustomed to renewals is the multiprocessor: Manufacturers like MediaTek or Qualcomm update their SoC portfolio with new versions every year. And, after the relevant renewal, it’s time to put the chipsets to the test to find out if it really compensates for the generational leap.
Qualcomm improves all previous generation benchmarks
Geekbench 5 on a test mobile with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Every time a new model of the product is introduced, regardless of the brand, it guarantees that it is the best they have ever made. Qualcomm also used this argument to unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2: is the most powerful processor ever created by the company. In view of the figures displayed, and taking into account the architecture used, everything seemed to indicate that the improvements were going to be substantial.
I was in Hawaii during the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 unveiling and also during the session where Qualcomm let us test the new chipset. I performed a multitude of benchmarks, I was also able to verify how little it heats up during a long performance analysis session. The test mobile saw its temperature rise, still without being annoying or too noticeable.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 does not heat up excessively even during long test sessions: the energy efficiency obtained is notorious
The tests showed a jump over the previous generation of Snapdragon, both in CPU and GPU. Also the efficiency improves: the contained temperature is a good sample; with the fact that the test mobile did not drain its battery too much during the long benchmarking session. It spent around 25% for an hour, even after several stress tests. I don’t know the battery capacity.
Below I leave the scores obtained in the four benchmark tests that we at Xataka use for reviews.
- Geek Bench 5: 1.502 / 5.071.
- 3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited: 14.051.
- 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Unlimited: 14066 / 9552 (67.9% stability).
- CP brand: 15.600.
The numbers are high and demonstrate the maximum capability of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Even so, the numbers are nothing more than an indicator of how far the processor can go: the fundamental thing is the user experience that manages to throw average. From the little I’ve been able to test, Qualcomm gets a very good rating this year, we’ll see if the brands manage to get all the juice out of it when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 appears mounted on the phones.
The most powerful of Android, behind compared to Apple
3D Mark on a test mobile with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Without yet having access to what each Android brand can achieve with the new Qualcomm SoC, I cannot conclude that the figures obtained are the maximum that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can achieve: as demonstrated by manufacturers like Asus, able to boost the SoC in their mobile games, there is a lot of room for improvement. Even so, the tests carried out clearly show that Qualcomm is still behind Apple when it comes to chipset design. Not far behind, yes enough to underline the gap that exists between the two companies.
Finally, let’s see how the benchmark numbers of this Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 compare to previous generations and its main rival.
|
test mobile |
ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro |
Xiaomi 12 Pro |
iPhone 14 Pro |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Geek Bench 5 |
1,502 / 5,071 |
1,311 / 4,187 |
1,250 / 3,762 |
1,879 / 5,468 |
|
3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited |
14.051 |
10.925 |
– |
12.353 |
|
3D Mark Wild Life Stress Unlimited |
14.066 / 9.552 |
10.897 / 10.395 |
– |
12,344 / 7,931 |
|
CP brand |
15,600 |
17.589 |
13.180 |
– |
