1. Introduction: The End of the Mobile Cold War
Until last year, Qualcomm was accused of slightly tweaking ARM designs. But in 2025, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, everything changed. Qualcomm brought its custom Oryon architecture (from Windows laptops) to mobile. We are now dealing with a "Desktop Class" chip on Android.
On the other side stands Apple with the A19 Pro. Apple always won benchmarks with fewer cores and RAM. But this year, sensing the danger, the A19 Pro focuses on "Power Efficiency" and heavy "Apple Intelligence" processing.
2. Specs Table: What Do the Numbers Say?
The shocking fact is that Qualcomm has removed "Efficiency Cores"! The Snapdragon 8 Elite features 2 Prime cores and 6 Performance cores. A huge risk for battery, but a massive leap for power.
3. CPU Battle: Single-Core vs. Multi-Core
3.1. Apple's Single-Core Reign
In Geekbench 7, the A19 Pro still leads in Single-Core. Its wide architecture ensures that daily tasks like scrolling Instagram and OS animations feel "instant" and responsive.
3.2. Snapdragon's Multi-Core Coup
However, in Multi-Core, Snapdragon 8 Elite flips the script. Thanks to 8 powerful cores, it beats Apple by 15-20% in heavy rendering and multitasking. If you edit 4K video on your phone, Snapdragon is the absolute winner.
4. GPU: Console-Level Gaming
4.1. The Adreno 830 Leap
The Adreno 830 GPU uses a new "Slice Architecture." In games like Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero, Snapdragon maintained a stable 120 FPS better than the iPhone.
4.3. The Thermal Throttling Issue
This is the iPhone's Achilles heel. Due to its compact design and lack of a large Vapor Chamber, the iPhone 17 Pro throttles after 20 minutes of heavy gaming. Android phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite sustain performance much better (90% stability).
5. AI (NPU): The Mastermind of 2025
The NPU in Snapdragon 8 Elite is designed to run LLMs like Gemini Nano on-device. Image generation speeds are under 1 second! Apple's Neural Engine is optimized for its ecosystem features but falls short in raw AI generation speed compared to Qualcomm.
7. Tekin Plus Verdict: The Final Winner
- Raw Power & Gaming Winner: Snapdragon 8 Elite. Unrivaled for gamers and power users.
- Efficiency & Single-Core Winner: Apple A19 Pro. Still the king of smoothness and daily battery life.
Technically, Qualcomm has made the bigger leap in 2025, closing the gap and surpassing Apple in key areas.