Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 review: impressive stats, disappointing when it comes to everyday use

I got my hands on a Redmagic 9 Pro straight after it was launched. However, I’m only marginally interested in the fan-equipped gaming smartphone. I want to know what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 built into it can do. I’m setting up the first smartphone with Qualcomm’s new chipset.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s CPU is said to be 30 per cent faster, with the new Adreno GPU allegedly increasing its performance by 25 per cent. But more power shouldn’t mean more power consumption. When introducing the system on a chip (SoC), Qualcomm mentioned 25 per cent less energy consumption.

Benchmarks: numbers please

I’m comparing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with three different smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, including the test device’s predecessor, the Redmagic 8S Pro. I’m also using the figures from another gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 7. More specifically, these are the results with high performance mode enabled. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 serves as an example for more conventional smartphones. As with all Samsung devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the performance computing core is clocked slightly faster at 3.36 instead of 3.19 gigahertz.

The Redmagic 9 Pro and the ROG Phone 7 have 16 gigabytes of RAM, while the Redmagic 8S Pro and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 each have 12.

Geekbench 6: clear graphics gains

The first numbers come from Geekbench 6. The test provides results for using one or more computing cores with two different graphics interfaces.

The performance increase in the single-core test is small: 12 per cent compared to the average of the three devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. When using multiple computing cores, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 clearly leaves its predecessor behind. Geekbench found 29 per cent more performance than average, so the promised 30 per cent more performance is within reach.

The graphics interfaces perform above average. The test result is 57 per cent higher for OpenCL and a whopping 71 per cent higher for Vulkan. Impressive numbers.

Since Geekbench allows comparisons across device boundaries, here’s a look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The A17 Pro achieved 2,934 and 7,208 points on Geekbench. This puts it on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the multi-core test and offers significantly more performance when only one computing core is used. Since Apple uses a different graphics interface in Metal, there’s no comparison here.

PCMark Work 3.0: less of an everyday edge

Unfortunately, I only have detailed figures available for PCMark Work 3.0 for the two Redmagic devices. At least the ROG Phone 7 is still in the mix with an overall result.

In this scenario, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 beats the second generation Redmagic 8S Pro by 13 per cent overall. The increases vary in individual areas. When it comes to editing text, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is actually ahead. A bit of a dent in the Gen 3 pride. The Gen 2 in the ROG Phone 7 scores higher overall. But only in high performance mode. Otherwise, it ends up in last place with 13,197 points.

3DMark: graphics for games

The 3DMark benchmarks attempt to measure graphics power. While Wild Life Extreme is generally intended to make graphics performance comparable using 4K renderings, Solar Bay focuses on ray tracing and the Vulkan interface.

In all categories, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 outperforms its predecessor in 3DMark: 53 per cent in Solar Bay and 31 per cent in Wild Life Extreme – both in points and fps.

Both SoCs are able to keep their performance stable. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 scored 99.7 per cent in the Solar Bay stress test and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 achieved virtually the same result with 99.6 per cent, although it slipped to 96.8 per cent in the Wild Life Extreme Stress Test. The Gen 2 managed to repeat its 99.7 per cent score.

However, the Redmagic 9 Pro got significantly hotter than the 8S Pro during the longer benchmarks. At 59 degrees Celsius, it was too hot to hold. Its predecessor was 10 degrees colder. This reminded me of the Snapdragon 810, which throttled its performance in 2015 because it got too hot (article in German). It’s quite possible that the fan needs to be fine-tuned. Yes, Redmagic builds fans into its smartphones.

Energy consumption: no simple solution

Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 uses up to 25 per cent less energy. While a synthetic battery test confirms this, my everyday observations suggest something else.

The result of PCMark’s Work 3.0 battery life test is clear: the Redmagic 9 Pro with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 lasts two hours longer. Impressive.

In everyday life, however, I notice the opposite. The Redmagic 9 Pro’s charging percentage drops faster than the 8S Pro’s, which implies that its smaller battery won’t last as long during identical activities. All the more so because, according to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is supposed to be more efficient.

Rubbish. After a night of no use, 50 minutes of YouTube, 22 minutes of 4K video recording and rendering the corresponding video twice, the 9 Pro’s 6500 mAh battery is only 77 per cent charged. The 8S Pro’s 6000 mAh battery is showing 83 per cent.

Especially when I consider the differing battery capacities, the Redmagic 9 Pro doesn’t perform well against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It used 1495 mAh during the period in question, while the 8S Pro only used 1020.

So far, this is only anecdotal experience, which may also be influenced by other components and the software on the test device. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 may well mirror the result of the battery test in other devices.

From numbers to everyday life

When it comes to measured values, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performs better in (almost) every aspect. But as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 already offers more than enough power for most applications, I wonder where the new chipset offers noticeable added value. Two areas come to mind: gaming and video editing.

I install two games that support ray tracing: CarX Street and Arena Breakout. Using the best possible graphics settings, I can’t see any difference.

As nice as the better representations of lights and reflections look in the demo videos, I don’t particularly notice them in either game. Maybe there are other suitable scenes in these games.

Using VN Video Editor, I export the same 4K video on both smartphones. It’s five minutes long, has 60 fps and is about 3.9 gigabytes in size. The Redmagic 8 Pro takes 3 minutes 49 seconds, the Redmagic 9 Pro 3 minutes 41 seconds. After all the fuss about the announcement and the benchmark numbers, I don’t think an improvement of eight seconds or three per cent is enough.

Preliminary verdict: not yet at full potential

In most cases, chipsets from recent years are already at a sufficient level. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 confirms this. It performs significantly better than its predecessor in the benchmark tests. When it comes to everyday comparisons, however, there’s hardly any advantage over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

I don’t want to make a final assessment of the impact on battery life yet. There’s too much of a contradiction between the benchmark results and my everyday experience.

I’m also not ruling out the possibility that other apps can also be optimised for the new chipset. I’m thinking primarily of games, but also VN Video Editor. Maybe in six months’ time it’ll actually export videos faster. Photos and videos are a good example of how device manufacturers’ software developers get different results from the same hardware. And the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 gives you new options again. I’m curious to see whether the new processor will be more convincing in other smartphones.