Apple A18 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A18 Pro CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Apple A18 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

CPU comparison

Apple A18 Pro or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple A18 Pro has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.04 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 1 memory channels. The Apple A18 Pro was released in Q3/2024.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.40 GHz. The CPU supports up to 24 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was released in Q4/2023.
Apple A series (25) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (105)
Apple A18 Pro (2) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (2)
18 Generation 3
Donan Architecture --
Smartphone / Tablet Segment Smartphone / Tablet
Apple A17 Pro Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
-- Successor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A18 Pro has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A18 Pro is 0.70 GHz (4.04 GHz) while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is at 3.40 GHz.

Apple A18 Pro Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
6 Cores 8
6 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.04 GHz)
2x Donan P-Core
A-Core 3.40 GHz
1x Cortex-X4
0.74 GHz (2.30 GHz)
4x Donan E-Core
B-Core 2.96 GHz (3.15 GHz)
5x Cortex-A720
-- C-Core 2.27 GHz
2x Cortex-A520

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple A18 Pro Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications Hexagon NPU @ 34 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A18 Pro or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 750
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.90 GHz
1.68 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
3 nm Technology 4 nm
1 Max. displays 2
24 Compute units --
768 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 6 GB
-- DirectX Version 12.1

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 750
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A18 Pro can use up to 8 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 60.0 GB/s. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 supports up to 24 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 76.6 GB/s.

Apple A18 Pro Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory LPDDR5X-9600
8 GB Max. Memory 24 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
60.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 76.6 GB/s
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache --
24.00 MB L3 Cache 12.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A18 Pro is 12 W, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a TDP of 12.5 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A18 Pro Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
12 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 12.5 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A18 Pro is manufactured in 3 nm and has 44.00 MB cache. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is manufactured in 4 nm and has a 12.00 MB cache.

Apple A18 Pro Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
3 nm Technology 4 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems Android, Windows 10/11 (ARM)
Q3/2024 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price 190 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A18 Pro to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (266 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.1 stars (395 ratings). Rate now:

Average performance in benchmarks

Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple A18 Pro (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (67%)
Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple A18 Pro (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (84%)

Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 is a partial load benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. In the single-core test, only the fastest CPU core is measured. The test run simulates the performance in practice.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 4.04 GHz
3409 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
2293 (67%)

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

The practical Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests the system's performance under partial load. The processor's maximum power consumption is far from being used up.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 4.04 GHz
8492 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
7117 (84%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
Apple A18 Pro (6 GPU Cores) @ 1.68 GHz
2580 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Qualcomm Adreno 750 @ 0.90 GHz
2287 (89%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
34 (89%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 4.04 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
1701 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 4.04 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
6280 (100%)

AnTuTu 10 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 10 benchmark is one of the best-known benchmarks for mobile processors, which is now available in version 10. There is a version for Android-based smartphones and tablets, as well as a version for Apple mobile devices, i.e. iPhones and iPads.

The Antutu 10 benchmark has 3 phases. In the first phase, the device's RAM is tested, in phase 2 the graphics are tested and in the final phase the entire device is pushed to its performance limits by rendering 3D graphics.

Antutu 10 is therefore ideal for comparing the performance of different devices.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
1949480 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
Apple A18 Pro Apple A18 Pro
6C 6T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
1476480 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A18 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Xiaomi 14
Xiaomi 14 Pro
ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro
Samsung S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Google Tensor G4Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Google Tensor G4 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
2. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
3. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Samsung Exynos 2400 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Samsung Exynos 2400
4. Apple A17 ProQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Apple A17 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
5. Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100)Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
6. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
7. Apple A18 ProApple M2 Apple A18 Pro vs Apple M2
8. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Apple M4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple M4
9. Apple A18 ProQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Apple A18 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
10. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Google Tensor G3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Google Tensor G3


back to index