The conclusion of Apple’s iPhone 17 event was quickly followed up by some single-core and multi-core scores belonging to the A19 Pro, with the 6-core CPU obtaining a modest 13 percent improvement over the A18 Pro. Understandably, Apple’s newest 3nm chipset would not deliver earth-shattering results, especially considering that its immediate predecessor was mass produced on the second iteration of TSMC’s cutting-edge lithography, meaning that the differences would likely be negligible.
However, on the Android side of things, Qualcomm and Samsung are outfitting their Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600 with raw performance to the extent that their multi-core capabilities outshine the A19 Pro in the latest comparison.
Apple’s strength is unyielding in single-core performance; A19 Pro is still the fastest smartphone SoC in this category
In this comparison, we picked the latest Geekbench 6 result, with the A19 Pro obtaining a single-core and a multi-core score of 3,895 and 9,746, respectively. These are decent figures for a flagship silicon, but Apple has hit a plateau in the multi-threaded category, likely because it wants to maintain the top-tier efficiency of its SoC. Unfortunately, that will mean leaving some performance on the table, allowing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600 to capitalize on this rare opportunity. Even though the A19 Pro is now trailing behind its rivals, Apple has cemented its dominance in the single-core category for yet another year, and it appears that rival chipset makers need quite a while to even the playing field.
Regardless, what is impressive is that an underclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 tested on the Galaxy S26 Edge with its performance cores running at 4.00GHz instead of the default 4.74GHz, successfully beat the A19 Pro in Geekbench 6’s multi-core tests with a score of 11,515, solidifying an 18.2 percent lead, but also being 12.9 percent slower in the single-core tests. As for the Exynos 2600, which is expected to be Samsung’s first 2nm GAA silicon, it competes with an underclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the multi-core results, as it beats the A19 Pro by 15.5 percent, though it trails behind its newest competitor by 15 percent in the single-threaded category.
There were always arguments several years ago that claimed that Android smartphone chipsets would never match Apple’s A-series performance, and while that is partially true, Qualcomm and Samsung have managed to close the gap extensively. However, while we will sing praises about the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Exynos 2600, we cannot ignore the fact that these multi-core scores were secured using an increased number of cores. Apple maintains a 6-core configuration on its smartphone chipsets to retain efficiency, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600 relied on an 8-core and 10-core CPU cluster, respectively, to claim bragging rights over the rival.
Assuming Apple also switched to an 8-core or 10-core CPU configuration for the A19 Pro, we would be having a completely different conversation right now. At the end of the day, synthetic benchmarks have their use cases, but these results will never trump real-world experiences, and while we await those tests, let us know in the comments what you think about the latest comparison.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
