Now focused on artificial intelligence, Apple needs power in its latest iPhones. The American giant has mastered the subject rather well, as we saw last year with the A17 Pro chips of the iPhone 15 Pro. The Cupertino firm is back this year with the Apple A18, a chip that equips its iPhone 16 and which evolves into a Pro version for the brand’s most high-end mobiles. Apple’s first opponent is called Google, which drew its Tensor G4 (in its Pixel 9) in August.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro will also face fierce competition from the Android universe, led by new chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek. The former is currently working on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, an SoC that will appear on many high-end models. It will notably be present in the OnePlus 13 and the first tests on Geekench indicate that the chip will be powerful. Leaker Ice Universe recently saw the OnePlus 13 pass through the benchmarking software, under the model number PJZ110. In the test, the next flagship smartphone from OnePlus scores 3,236 points in the single-core test and 10,049 points in the multi-core test. For comparison, the iPhone 16 with the Apple A18 chip scores 3,114 points in the single-core test and 6,666 points in the multi-core test.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Dimensity 9400 go head-to-head with Apple A18 and A18 Pro
Codenamed iPhone 17.2, a Pro model equipped with the A18 Pro would display a single-core score of 3,409 points and do better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Qualcomm’s future SoC would maintain a lead in multi-core, since the A18 Pro would be satisfied with 8,492 points.
These smartphones (and chips) will also have to rely on the Dimensity 9400. MediaTek’s next SoC should equip the Oppo Find X8 range, a series that could make its appearance in France. We remind you that the manufacturer has made a timid return to our countries, with its Reno12 range.
Under the code name PKB110, Oppo’s next device is also passing through Geekbench. Armed with its MediaTek Dimensity 9400, the future Find X8 has a single-core score of 2,889 points and a multi-core score of 8,833 points. If the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 maintains a head start, the Dimensity 9400 has what it takes to rub shoulders with Apple’s latest chips.
iPhone 16 Beaten? It’s a Little Early to Say
These results, which appeared a few days apart, are interesting… and should be taken with a pinch of salt. The results can vary from one attempt to another on Geekbench 6 and other benchmarks allow us to refine each person’s progress. We will also have to wait for the release of Qualcomm and MediaTek chips, which may still evolve a little between now and then.
It is also worth distinguishing between single-core and multi-core results. On the single-core side, we see that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 tends to offer slightly better raw performance than the A18. Qualcomm’s SoC, however, performs slightly less well than the A18 Pro that powers the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.
In multi-core, we see that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (or the Dimensity 9400) is widening the gap on the Apple chips. These gaps are logical given that the SoCs from Qualcomm and MediaTek have 8 cores, compared to 6 for the A18 and A18 Pro. The latest chip from Cupertino offers a 6-core processor part (CPU), with 2 performance cores and 4 high-energy efficiency cores. Facing it, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 claims an 8-core CPU composed of two high-performance cores and six more energy-efficient cores.
Once again, MediaTek would distinguish itself by offering an 8-core CPU part without real Efficient-cores (low-power cores). A format already seen on the Dimensity 9300, even if the reality is a little different from the manufacturer’s promise. One thing is for sure, this approach is different from the one chosen by Apple for its chips.
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