Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy

CPU comparison

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy - 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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) has 12 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. Up to 36 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) was released in Q4/2023.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy 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 for Galaxy was released in Q1/2023.
Apple M series (25) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (103)
Apple M3 (6) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (2)
3 Generation 2
M3 Architecture Cortex-X3 / -A715 / -A510
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) has 12 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz) while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy is at 3.36 GHz.

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
12 Cores 8
12 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
6x P-Core
A-Core 3.36 GHz
1x Cortex-X3
0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core 2.80 GHz
4x Cortex-A715/A710
-- C-Core 2.00 GHz
3x Cortex-A510

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS AI specifications Hexagon 780 @ 26 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy 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 M3 Pro (18 Core) GPU Qualcomm Adreno 740
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.72 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 8
3 nm Technology 4 nm
3 Max. displays 2
288 Compute units --
2304 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
36 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 M3 Pro (18 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
Decode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) can use up to 36 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 153.6 GB/s. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy supports up to 24 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 67.0 GB/s.

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR5X-8400
36 GB Max. Memory 24 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
153.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 67.0 GB/s
No ECC No
36.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is 35 W, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
35 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is manufactured in 3 nm and has 36.00 MB cache. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy is manufactured in 4 nm and has a 0.00 MB cache.

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
3 nm Technology 4 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-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, iPadOS Operating systems Android, Windows 10/11 (ARM)
Q4/2023 Release date Q1/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (217 ratings). Rate now:
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (65%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (33%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
2314 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1573 (68%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15235 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
5017 (33%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
3152 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1924 (61%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15619 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
5163 (33%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Apple M3 Pro (18 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
6390 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Qualcomm Adreno 740 @ 0.72 GHz
1840 (29%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
26 (74%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
142 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1059 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1928 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15061 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
1238550 (100%)

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 M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
27304 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
Unknown

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