Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is Apparently More Efficient Than Apple’s M2

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 earlier this year in November with substantial improvements on paper. One of the most highlighted aspects of this SoC was how it promised >30% power efficiency compared to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with better performance numbers.

On the flip side, Apple’s flagship SoCs have generally performed well with decent performance figures across the board, but compromises have been made on the efficiency part. For instance, Apple Silicon is generally regarded as the prime example of a balance well-struck between power and efficiency. However, Qualcomm is catching up.

@Golden_Reviewer recently posted some interesting findings on X regarding the graphical performances for some of the best-performing SoCs available on the market in different benchmark tests (3DMark Wildlife Extreme, GFXBench 3.1, 3DMark SolarBay and GFXBench Aztec). Surprisingly, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 showed great results with strong scores and coupled with decent power consumption numbers.

Competing with the likes of Apple SIlicon’s M2, it managed to outperform it in the “Efficiency” category. While the M2 was about 37% faster than the 8 Gen 3, it was 59% less efficient (3DMark Wildlife Extreme). However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 managed to beat the M1 in both performance and efficiency numbers.

Keep in mind that the list above doesn’t include Apple’s latest M3 chipsets along with the 3nm-based A17 Pro, so until those results are included, it’s hard to jump to conclusions. Both of these SoCs are important as Apple made huge graphical leaps this year around, with focus on professional creators and gamers.

This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.