Snapdragon 8 generation 3 chip surpassed Apple’s A18 Pro

In examining the performance of Apple’s Snapdragon 8 generation 3 and A18 Pro chips in the Genshin Impact game, we see the superiority of Snapdragon over its competitor.

According to reports, Apple has added a graphene thermal system to the iPhone 16 Pro models, which helps in better heat dissipation and in turn stabilizes the performance. Thus, the A18 Pro chip offers better performance than last year’s model. But the real question is, does it deliver the same performance compared to flagship Android phones with superior heat dissipation systems?

Recently, the YouTube channel 极客湾Geekerwan played Genshin Impact and similar heavy titles on iPhone 16 Pro Max, some previous iPhone models and some Android flagships equipped with Snapdragon 8 generation 3 chip and Dimension +9300.

iPhone 16 Pro Max performed better than iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, the Red Magic 9S Pro, launched in July this year with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, was able to beat Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max in the game. It should be noted that Red Magic 9S Pro is equipped with an active cooling system that makes it use more power.

Apple’s A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max delivered a frame rate of 55.5 fps in Genshin Impact, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Red Magic 9S Pro had an average frame rate of 59.9 fps. While this may not seem like much of a difference, gaming ran significantly smoother on the Red Magic 9S Pro.

Another interesting point is that the output frame rate of the iPhone 16 Pro with the same chip is only 49.5 fps, offering much more stable performance compared to the larger model. The reason for this is probably related to the relatively weak heat dissipation system in the Pro model. However, the case is strangely different for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, as the A18 chip in the smaller 6.1-inch phone achieves a higher frame rate than its larger 6.7-inch sibling.

It should be noted that the performance of all Android phones equipped with Snapdragon 8 generation 3 is not the same. The Xiaomi 14 Pro, which also packs a 3rd generation Snapdragon 8 chip, only managed an average frame rate of 38.9 fps. This case can also be related to the difference in heat dissipation system and performance adjustment.