If you ’re planning on buying an Android flagship smartphone over the next year or so , it ’ll almost certainly be powered by one of two new processors . For many years , it was almost certain to be the recent Qualcomm Snapdragon processor , and while that ’s still the guinea pig for many phones , there ’s a large and growing contingent of sound makers that have opt for the chief competitor , made by MediaTek .
MediaTek unveiled its latest chipset a few months ago , and the first earpiece to be power by it — theOppo Find X8 Prowhich I reviewed — was release shortly after . The first smartphone run theQualcomm Snapdragon 8 elite group — theRealme GT7 Pro — was also release almost straight out , but how do these two chipsets compare ?
Most phone manufacturing business will pick one or the other , but some may offer one form powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite , with another variant — whether expert , forged , or freestanding — powered by MediaTek . With this in mind , which one should you piece ? I ’ve used phones running both C.P.U. over the retiring few months , and here ’s what I ’ve found .
Picking the right phones
It ’s worth observe that there ’s more to a smartphone than just its processor . Each phone maker extend a suite of software that at once affects the performance and optimization of each machine , and the specific choice around battery applied science , Aries and storage amount , and even the display driver can all have a marked encroachment on the overall public presentation .
With that in creative thinker , how can we somewhat compare these two devices ? At first , I started testing with the Realme GT7 Pro and the Oppo Find X8 professional , but last month , a novel opportunity presented itself for a much clean comparison . In particular , Oppo ’s sis company , OnePlus , seeded the OnePlus 13 — ahead of its global launch this workweek — which has nearly monovular eyeglasses to the uncovering X8 Pro . There ’s just one fundamental difference in the internals : it ’s running the Snapdragon 8 Elite .
With that in mind , let ’s get nonplus into this comparison . First , here ’s how the specs of the uncovering X8 Pro and OnePlus 13 equivalence . While there are other variate , these are the specs of the mannikin we tested .
Both sport similar shelling size — and the same battery technology — as well as the same amount of RAM ( in the models I tested ) , the same connectivity standards , very like software program experiences , and even the same top - melody charge stop number . All of this serves to prove that neither of these central processor forbid companies from offering the good charging velocity , the high random-access memory , or a streamlined exploiter experience .
To jolly test this , I ’ve split this into three parts : CPU and GPU graphic benchmark , a battery benchmark , and my own veridical - world experience with both speech sound . Many companies are get it on for their willingness to optimize for known benchmark apps , so the latter in especial will help pair the benchmarks with my experience using both phones .
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Dimensity 9400: Performance
I ’ve pick two well - known benchmarks for this compare : 3DMark , and GeekBench as these are the benchmarks we apply for all carrying into action testing at Digital Trends . Both are well - known and respected and prove dissimilar aspects of each equipment .
Where potential , I ’ve also included extra results on devices running both the Snapdragon 8 Elite and the Dimensity 9400 , as try out by myself and my colleagues . It ’s worth noting that most of these earphone also have interchangeable specification , but have departure in the rest of the specs package . They ’re included for reference , but I ’m primarily ground my comparison on the OnePlus 13 and Find X8 Pro .
For GeekBench , I start the CPU and GPU tests , ensue in three mark in total for each gadget .
When I go these exam on the uncovering X8 professional , the results surprise me for one rationality : the GPU test . In particular , the GPU has traditionally been the weakest part of the MediaTek experience , but this yr , the GPU performance is systematically better than the Snapdragon 8 Elite .
In the Geekbench 6 test , the Immortalis - G925 GPU outperforms the Adreno 830 in the Snapdragon 8 Elite . However , this is just one run ; does this also continue into our next test , on 3D Mark ? This test is split into two part : we quiz the GPU in each equipment on the Solar Bay test but also ran the Solar Bay Stress Test to test the stamp battery life under heavy functioning needs .
Here the differences between the two machine are far less , and it ’s clear that they proffer virtually identical graphical performance . Factors like warmth and background tasks also make a difference and can generate different results with each test , but for the most part , the graphical public presentation seems to be at least equal .
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Dimensity 9400: Battery
Alongside graphical public presentation , barrage biography is every bit important . If you ’re a gamer , how long can you game without want to recharge ? If you are go away for the weekend , how long will your phone last ?
Some gadget running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 last yr — the harbinger to the Snapdragon 8 Elite — suffer from poor bombardment life than expected , so does the Snapdragon 8 Elite deliver ? Yes , this is a highly subjective interrogation , but we do have some interesting data point points that we can turn over to .
Our battery trial uses the Solar Bay Stress Test , which runs a longer version of the Solar Bay test for twenty proceedings and is designed to show how a equipment will perform over extended menses of beam - trace gaming . Alongside the account produced , we also log the assault and battery drain to understand the overall impingement of 20 minutes of resource - intensive gambling on your battery life sentence .
This test provides some interesting results , many of which I ’ve have in the real universe as well . First , the delta in the Snapdragon 8 Elite testing resolution suggest big differences in gambling performance between phone makers . Second , it also prove both of these processors are nearly identical in overall graphics performance .
Third , the results from last year’sGalaxy S24 Ultra — which runs the old generationSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 — also show a major melioration in the graphics performance year - over - year , but also an increase in the battery necessitate . This , in particular , is perturbing , particularly study the Dimensity 9400 has similar gambling performance , but importantly less battery drainpipe , but we ’ll have to see whether this continues as more devices are launched with both chipsets .
Of course , it would be easy to claim that this is due to the speech sound Godhead and their optimizations , but the chasm between the battery drain on the OnePlus 13 and the Oppo Find X8 professional — the latter having a 90mAh smaller electric battery as well — paint a picture that this is refer to the power essential of the chipset . This makes sense , especially considering that the Snapdragon 8 Elite use the same Oryon mainframe find in theSnapdragon X Elite , which powers many of my favoriteWindows PCs .
Do the differences truly matter in the real world?
So far , I ’ve found that CPU and GPU public presentation is mostly equal on both devices , but computer hardware - based ray - trace when play has more battery drain on the Snapdragon 8 Elite than the Dimensity 9400 , but do these difference of opinion matter in day - to - day usage ? The answer is that they do n’t , for the most part . However , my own experience back up these finding , while also providing extra data points that are worth mention .
First , the operation differences are token between both processors . Both are speedy and have presented no signal of slowdown and while I ’ve had a few performance glitches with both twist , these have been one - offs . When using comparative specs and computer hardware , these are virtually identical .
secondly , when gaming , the Snapdragon 8 Elite is slightly suave than the Dimensity 9400 , but at the price of extra battery drainpipe . play PUBG Mobile for 30 minutes on both equipment resulted in a 23 % waste pipe on the OnePlus 13 , while the Oppo uncovering X8 Pro drain just 13 % . It ’s not quite half , but the performance - to - assault and battery drain proportion is significantly better on the Dimensity 9400 .
Lastly , in Clarence Day - to - sidereal day usage , I ’ve find that the Dimensity 9400 offers more or less honorable electric battery life than the Snapdragon 8 Elite . The OnePlus 13 has a 90mAh large barrage , but the Oppo Find X8 Pro has a somewhat smaller video display ( 6.78 inches vs 6.82 ) . Anecdotally , during my unconstipated day - to - daylight employment , the Find X8 Pro last close to 30 minutes longer than the OnePlus 13 .
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Dimensity 9400: Which is better?
My gravid takeout from this trial is just how standardized both processors are . For many years , a equipment running the latest MediaTek CPU would sometimes be considered inferior to a gimmick track down the later Snapdragon C.P.U. , but this yr is dissimilar . The MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is equal to the Snapdragon 8 Elite , peculiarly in CPU and GPU performance .
Of of course , there ’s more to mainframe than just mainframe and GPU performance , and while this test has only considered those test , there ’s also AI , camera , and more . We ’ve already break-dance downthe differences between the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400including those sections , and I have more comparison planned to focalise on these areas as well .
For now , there ’s little difference between these two processors . If I had to pick one processor , I would lean towards the Dimensity 9400 , simply because I value battery life over most other cistron . However , it remains to be seen whether the other parts of the mainframe are equally as telling as the Dimensity 9400 ’s CPU and GPU carrying into action .
