Is the Snapdragon 8 Elite worth the excitement?

Yes, it will be worth it. SnapDragon 8 Elite is a completely new architecture that will change SoCs going forward. They didn't include efficiency cores because it was found that using less voltage at higher clock speed is more efficient than throttling the cores while still consuming higher power. SD8E can also duty cycle to not use that core if it's not needed. So it has 2 Primecores, and 6 Performance cores, instead of large/medium/small.

Compare to the MediaTek in real-world scenario:

For the same game:

OnePlus 13 maintained a frame rate of 120.5fps at 3W

Dimensity 9400 reached 120.7fps at 3.8W

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 managed 114.6fps at 4.28W

For another game:

OnePlus 13 delivered 59.8fps at 4.07W

Dimensity 9400's 59.3fps at 5.35W

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's 56fps at 6.6W

This article does a good job of explaining it, using interviews straight from the manufacturer:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/the-equation-has-changed-qualcomm-explains-why-the-snapdragon-8-elite-doesn-t-need-efficiency-cores/ar-AA1sJEBa

"It turns out that if you can lower the voltage to minimize energy consumption per operation...higher performance was getting to be more and more worth it," Whealton explained.

"A performance core operating at a lower voltage—or sometimes even duty cycling to turn off the core completely—that started to get more efficient than the smaller cores."

It basically reiterated Farahani's earlier point: Oryon cores at low voltage are just as efficient as efficiency cores or can simply be turned off if unneeded but can also boost to higher clock speeds in a pinch. The "equation around [efficiency cores'] utility had changed," Whealton said.

Yes, yes and yes. Then again I am a retired computer engineer and new innovative tech always floats my boat. However, we need to caution ourselves about potentially unreal extended battery life expectations that some assume most assume this SOC alone will give thereby setting ousrlves up for a big disappointment. In the great article that Brewski was so kind to reference, increased power efficiency in a given SOC is the percentage of power used to reach the previous generations performance benchmarks. These SOCs will be used to significantly increase those previous performance benchmarks and guess what...this requires more power. Does that mean you won't phones with this new SOC get some better battery life, absolutly not. What you can be sure of is you won't see a 40% plus increase in battery life. My best educated guess, based and the many technical articals and some experts opinions, is we are going to see a significant increase in performance over the gen 3, with less performance throttling, and some measures of extended battery life due to the new SOCs improved performance. How much increased battery life, single digital, double digit....we will just have wait and see.

Well actually it is not a direct descendant of the 8 gen 3. It is actually a descendant of the X Elite that powers some Windows PC's now.

This chip beats everything including Apple's A18 Pro.

And before you even mention single core scores, most apps are multithreaded the the single core benchmark is nothing.

I know PA isnt excited because benchmarks which all of a sudden means something when Apple had the lead, but when Samsung had the benchmark advanatge they were crying foul and saying only real life usage matters.

Now you aren't going to hear about benchmarks because this chip blows the A18 Pro in everything.

And while some losers here were attaching mediatek's chip, it actually wasn't that much slower and it too was faster than the A18 Pro.

I'm so glad Qualcomm purchase Nuvia and not Apple.

If Microsoft does actually fully supports Windows on ARM, that will be the very slow death of x86.

ARM may finally get their dream world to kill off Intel x86.

However, Intel has made huge strides of late and they could be very close to having a full x86 SoC that will rival ARM chips in power per watt.

This chip has 8 cores that use the exact same chip, they only clocked 6 of the cores at a lower frequency. Then they took the GPU which is basically a Radeon cards and laid them side by side 3 in a row. Each at just over 1Ghz. Which on mobile is very fast.

You will be able to run desktop-class graphics. For anyone who streams Xbox games on their phone, this is a huge massive improvement for mobile GPU capability and even better ray-tracing.

Apple's own M4 is only slightly faster than the SnapDragon Elite X. This chip uses updated cores which means they are even faster and a higher clock too. This chip may even be faster than the Elite X. Which means if it is, it will Rival Apple's M4.

And based on benchmarks, the SD 8 gen 3 was already beating Apple A17 and even the A18 in some benches.

Any mobile chip that uses the Mali GPU wont hit huge benchmarks This is where the Exynos and Dimensity fail miserably.

At this point Samsung should has to step up, because if ARM has it's way, this could be the last ARM SoC Qualcomm will get to make. Qualcomm should win this court battle. They have an architecture license. This allows them to customize their own version of ARM designs, just like Apple can an does. ARM is just mad Qualcomm did even better with buying Nuvia.

If ARM wanna play hardball, at 1st I didn't want Qualcomm to buy Intel. But if ARM acts douche, Qualcomm should buy intel, make a chip that can run ARM based applications and run ARM out of business.

Qualcomm is beast now and now Apple fans will all run into a corner and cry, because Apple is beaten yet again.

It’s great to see Qualcomm addressing the thermal management issues that have been a concern in recent years. If these first tests are any indication, the Snapdragon 8 Elite could indeed be a game-changer and might finally give Qualcomm the edge over Apple’s top mobile chips.

As for whether it's a good reason to change your smartphone, it really depends on your current needs and how much you value cutting-edge performance. If you're someone who uses your phone for intensive tasks like gaming, video editing, or anything that demands top-tier performance, this new chipset could make a noticeable difference. Plus, the improved power efficiency and thermal management mean your device could run cooler and last longer on a single charge.

In terms of expectations, I’m looking forward to seeing how this chipset performs in real-world usage, especially in flagship devices. It’ll be interesting to see how manufacturers optimize their phones around this new technology and what kind of features and enhancements they’ll introduce to take full advantage of the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s capabilities.

What about you? Do you think you'll upgrade your smartphone for this new chipset? 🚀📱