Apple M1 (7-GPU) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 (7-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

CPU comparison

Apple M1 (7-GPU) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - 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 M1 (7-GPU) has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 (7-GPU) was released in Q4/2020.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.36 GHz. The CPU supports up to 24 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was released in Q4/2022.
Apple M series (23) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (2)
1 Generation 2
M1 Architecture Cortex-X3 / -A715 / -A510
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
-- Successor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 (7-GPU) is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz). The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.36 GHz.

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
A-Core 3.36 GHz
1x Cortex-X3
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm
B-Core 2.80 GHz
4x Cortex-A715/A710
-- C-Core 2.00 GHz
3x Cortex-A510

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

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. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications Hexagon 780 @ 26 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M1 (7 Core) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 740
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.68 GHz
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation 8
5 nm Technology 4 nm
2 Max. displays 2
112 Compute units --
896 Shader --
No 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 M1 (7 Core) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 740
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 Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M1 (7-GPU) supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can connect up to 24 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR5X-8400
16 GB Max. Memory 24 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 67.0 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 8.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M1 (7-GPU) has a TDP of 18 W, that of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is --.

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
18 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
25 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M1 (7-GPU) has a 16.00 MB cache, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 cache has a total of 8.00 MB.

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
5 nm Technology 4 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
macOS Operating systems Android, Windows 10/11 (ARM)
Q4/2020 Release date Q4/2022
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M1 (7-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (45 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (43 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 (7-GPU) (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (85%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 (7-GPU) (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (65%)

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 M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1502 (86%)

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 M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
5089 (67%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1985 (84%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
5315 (62%)

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 M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
Apple M1 (7 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2290 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Qualcomm Adreno 740 @ 0.68 GHz
1740 (76%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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 M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (42%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
26 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1281650 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple M1 (7-GPU) Apple M1 (7-GPU)
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 (7-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Unknown Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M1 (7-GPU) and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2


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