Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4: Does Qualcomm's next-gen chip give the M4 series proper competition?

Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip on September 24 at its annual Summit in Hawaii, and the press — including our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino — attended a live benchmarking session to analyze performance.

The second-generation ARM64-based chips from Qualcomm provide strong competition for Apple's M4 series of chips, which are also based on the ARM architecture.

While I won't have any real-world performance numbers until laptops with the X2 Elite Extreme chip launch early next year, I can provide details as to how they're expected to compare against the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon Systems-on-Chip (SoC) are designed to incorporate a processor (CPU), graphics (GPU), and Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and that's what I've focused on in this comparison.

Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4: CPU performance

Qualcomm uses a "reference design" laptop with 48GB of embedded RAM for these tests, so it's worth noting that the X2 Elite Extreme that OEMs use in their own laptops might differ depending on thermal and power designs.

Nevertheless, the X2 Elite Extreme's Oryon CPU comes out ahead of the Apple M4 — tested in a 14-inch MacBook Pro in this case — when benchmarked using Geekbench 6.5.

The X2 Elite Extreme scored 4,080 points compared to the M4's 3,872 points for single-core, and Qualcomm's chip also came out ahead of the M4 in multi-core, scoring 23,491 points compared to the M4's 15,146.

It's worth pointing out that the standard M4 has either 8 or 10 CPU cores, while the X2 Elite Extreme has 18 cores. It's unclear which version Qualcomm used for its comparison.

Apple's M4 Pro is likely a better comparison to the X2 Elite Extreme, sporting either 12 or 14 CPU cores. That pushes its Geekbench 6.5 multi-core score to around 22,500 points, which is still about 1,000 behind the Qualcomm chip.

For Geekbench 6.5 single-core, the M4 Pro usually hits around 3,800-3,900 points. The X2 Elite Extreme remains out front with a score of 4,080.

Apple's top-tier M4 Max chip with 14 or 16 CPU cores can achieve multi-core Geekbench 6.5 scores beyond 25,000 points, placing it well ahead of the X2 Elite Extreme's 23,491 posting.

However, the X2 Elite Extreme continues to best the M4 Max in single-core, where Apple's chip generally tops out at about 3,850-3,900 points.

TL;DR: Qualcomm's X2 Elite Extreme beats the Apple M4 and M4 Pro in Geekbench 6.5 tests. It also bests the M4 Max's single-core benchmark, though the M4 Max comes out ahead in multi-core testing.

What about Cinebench?

Qualcomm also provided some benchmark numbers for Cinebench 2024, which again measure single- and multi-core CPU performance.

In Qualcomm's reference laptop, the X2 Elite Extreme hit a 162 single-core score and a 1,988 multi-core score.

Using similar performance ranges for Apple's full line of M4 chips, I can see that the X2 Elite Extreme comes in below single-core scores by about 10-15 points.

Multi-core results are a different story, with the X2 Elite Extreme besting the 10-core M4 and 14-core M4 Pro, only falling behind the 16-core M4 Max by about 60 to 70 points.

TL;DR: Qualcomm's X2 Elite Extreme falls slightly behind the M4 lineup in single-core Cinebench 2024 scores, but bests the 10-core M4 and 14-core M4 Pro in multi-core results. The 16-core M4 Max remains at the top for multi-core scores.

Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4: NPU performance

The NPU is designed specifically to run AI locally, and it's becoming ever more important as AI PC features ramp up.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme features an NPU with 80 TOPS of power, which is currently unmatched by Intel, AMD, and Apple. M4 chips have an NPU with 38 TOPS of power.

Using the Procyon AI Computer Vision benchmark, Qualcomm showed off a score of 4,151. Apple's M4 managed a score of 2,121.

In Geekbench AI 1.5, the X2 Elite Extreme topped out at a score of 88,919. The M4 generally sits at around 52,000.

TL;DR: The NPU in the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme with 80 TOPS easily beats the NPU of 38 TOPS in Apple M4 chips.

Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4: GPU performance

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme contains an integrated Adreno GPU that has received a substantial upgrade compared to the first-gen X Elite chips. It's more than twice as strong as its predecessor, and it now supports ray tracing.

Qualcomm's testing using a reference laptop shows the X2 Elite Extreme hitting a 90.06 score in 3DMark's Solar Bay benchmark (great for testing ray tracing), trouncing the Apple M4's score of 62.7.

The M4 Pro with a 20-core GPU, however, hits about 126.1, keeping it ahead of the X2 Elite Extreme. The Apple M4 Max GPU with either 32 or 40 cores remains the top dog.

Turning to 3D Mark's Steel Nomad Light test, Qualcomm posts a high score of 42.61. The standard M4 chip won't touch that; however, the M4 Pro with 20-core GPU bests it with a 58.1 score.

TL;DR: The X2 Elite Extreme's integrated GPU bests that of the Apple M4, but M4 Pro and M4 Max chips score higher in Solar Bay and Steel Nomad Light benchmarks.

Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme vs. Apple M4: Major takeaways

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme demonstrates a massive upgrade over the original X Elite lineup, and it's now better positioned than ever to take on the awesome M4 lineup from Apple.

These early performance numbers show the X2 Elite Extreme ahead of the M4 and M4 Pro in terms of CPU performance, with the M4 Max retaining its title in multi-core performance.

Qualcomm now has the most powerful NPU for local AI work at 80 TOPS, easily besting the 38 TOPS in the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max.

And for the GPU, the X2 Elite Extreme beats the M4 but falls behind the M4 Pro and M4 Max in the 3DMark results provided. I'll have more information to share once we can actually test the X2 Elite Extreme first-hand.

It's well worth noting that Apple plans to launch its next-gen M5 chips around the same time as the X2 Elite Extreme hits markets next year, providing a whole new set of numbers to pore over.

Hungry for more information? Check out my Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. X Elite comparison to see how the two generations compare.

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