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The Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4 has become a hot topic of discussion among tech enthusiasts. Qualcomm has been one of the biggest names for producing powerful chipsets for smartphones, and now they are ready to get into the laptop CPUs market. But before the Snapdragon X Elite debut, Apple introduced its latest M-series processor with iPad Pro. Quite an interesting move to maintain its healthy lead against its competitors.
Even though we know a lot about the M4 processor, we have to wait for the new MacBook release to see its true potential. Currently, the M3 silicon is a direct competitor of the Qualcomm offering.
In this article, we will compare these three chipsets to figure out which one is more powerful.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer’s opinion.
Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4: Specifications
Let’s begin our analysis with the core specs. Below, you can see what these three chips bring to the table.
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Qualcomm’s new CPU looks decent. Fabricated on a 4nm process, it supports LPDDR5x-8448 memory and PCIe version 4.0. It comes with 12 performance cores, the highest among the three. However, it falls short of the base frequency. Qualcomm has released four variants of the chipsets with a slight differentiation in terms of Max Multithread frequency, Dual-core boost, and TFLOPS. However, the difference is not that significant.
Coming to Apple processors, the M3 chip works on the ARMv8 instruction set. It has 4-performance and 4-efficiency cores. On the other hand, its successor has two extra E-cores. The cache memory and PCIe version are the same on both chipsets.
Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4: Performance
Qualcomm’s latest laptop CPU is based on the company's new Oryon cores, which are said to deliver a well-balanced performance in terms of power and efficiency. Following the success of M-series chips, Qualcomm is also aiming to deliver powerful ARM-based processors for Windows laptops.
The Snapdragon X Elite carries an NPU capable of 45 TOPS, making it an AI powerhouse. Qualcomm is also calling it "the world's fastest NPU for laptops.” Graphics performance also looks competitive with Adreno 750 integrated GPU.
The M3 processor, which powers the MacBook Air and the base model of the MacBook Pro, is one of the most powerful chips available on the market. It was the first chip (along with its Max and Pro variants) built on the industry-leading 3-nanometer process. This technology allows more transistors to be packed into a smaller space. It features 25 billion transistors. The GPU comes with Dynamic Caching, which allows the use of local memory in hardware in real-time.
The latest M4 chip is much faster than its predecessor in terms of CPU performance. It boasts 4(P)+6(E) cores and 28 billion transistors. It is built using second-generation 3-nanometer technology, making it highly efficient. Arguably the most efficient in the market. It has a blazing-fast Neural Engine capable of performing 38 TOPS.
In the table below, we have compiled various benchmark test numbers for this Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4 battle. The data is sourced from Nano Review.
The numbers are interesting. The chips from Apple perform well in single-core tests. The Qualcomm offering outperforms them in the multi-core scenarios.
Microsoft recently unveiled the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 with the Snapdragon X Elite. A third-party lab, Signal65, has performed various tests to compare the new processor with the existing competitors, including the M3.
Based on their report, the MacBook Air 15” with an M3 processor outperforms the X Elite in Geekbench 6 (single-threaded) by 10%. In multi-threaded tests, the Qualcomm offering outperforms the Apple M3 chip by around 15%.
A similar outcome is seen in the Cinebench test. While the MacBook Air with M3 chip comes out to be about 15% faster in the single-threaded test, the X Elite gives 30% faster performance than the Apple M3 in the multi-threaded test.
In media processing, Qualcomm's offering delivers up to 25% faster encoding than the Apple M3. Finally, in GPU power, the M-series chip leads by 30%.
Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4: Final Verdict
Deciding the winner of the Snapdragon X Elite vs Apple M3 vs M4 battle is a bit confusing. On paper, the M4 chip looks superior in various aspects. This includes cache memory, TDP, and GPU. On the other hand, Snapdragon X Elite has more P-cores, faster NPU, and support for LPDDR5x-8448. It can go head-to-head directly with the M3 chip.
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