I tried out the 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite, and having that additional core really makes a difference.

      The Snapdragon 8 Elite powers many of the top Android smartphones, offering significant enhancements in CPU, GPU, and NPU performance. However, Qualcomm faces a notable challenge with the ongoing trend towards slimmer devices, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite needs better cooling solutions to manage heat effectively.

      Qualcomm's solution is the 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is essentially the same chipset but eliminates one performance core to improve cooling and heat dissipation. This makes it perfect for ultra-thin devices like the Oppo Find N5, which incorporates this new chipset.

      Though sacrificing one performance core may seem acceptable for the potential of improved battery life, does it deliver on that promise? Qualcomm claims it is roughly 14% less powerful than the overclocked 8-core version. However, what do the benchmarks indicate, and is this compromise reasonable? I conducted tests on both variants to find out.

      Regarding the phones used for testing, it’s important to mention the models chosen and the testing methods employed. We used two widely recognized benchmarks for our analysis: GeekBench 6 and 3DMark.

      Different phone manufacturers apply varying software optimizations, and devices come with distinct RAM and storage configurations. To minimize these differences, we selected the OnePlus 13, equipped with the 8-core Snapdragon 8 Elite, which offers a user experience closest to that of the Oppo Find N5.

      The Oppo Find N5 is the first phone to utilize the 7-core Snapdragon 8 Elite, necessitated by its thin design of only 4.2mm when unfolded. Having spent just a couple of days with this new foldable, it's premature to assess its overall performance, yet many of the observations below reflect real-world experiences.

      To analyze the impact of losing one core, we conducted several benchmarks multiple times on the Oppo Find N5 and averaged the results. For the OnePlus 13, we used an average derived from our previously conducted tests.

      Whenever possible, I also included additional results from devices employing the Snapdragon 8 Elite and other processors, using tests conducted by myself or my colleagues. It's notable that while most phones share similar specifications, they also exhibit variations in other aspects.

      For GeekBench, I executed CPU and GPU tests, yielding three scores for both single-core and multi-core CPU performance, along with GPU performance under strenuous conditions.

      **Tests:**

      | Test Type | CPU Single | CPU Multi | GPU |

      |-----------|------------|-----------|-----|

      | OnePlus 13 (Snapdragon 8 Elite 8-core) | 3107 | 9213 | 18065 |

      | Oppo Find X8 Pro (Dimensity 9400) | 2753 | 8102 | 20522 |

      | Realme GT7 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Elite 8-core) | 3112 | 9425 | 19065 |

      | ROG Phone 9 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Elite 8-core) | 3073 | 9855 | 19403 |

      | Oppo Find X8 (Dimensity 9400) | 2839 | 7991 | 20349 |

      | Oppo Find N5 (Snapdragon 8 Elite 7-core) | 2885 | 7978 | 13875 |

      | Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) | 2314 | 7104 | 15898 |

      | Samsung Galaxy S24 FE (Exynos 2400e) | 2122 | 6625 | 15526 |

      Unsurprisingly, having one less performance core significantly affects all tasks. While CPU performance matches that of the Mediatek Dimensity 9400—and the Oppo Find N5 runs smoothly like the Find X8 Pro—there is a clear decline in graphical performance.

      Comparing to last year’s models, the graphical capabilities of the 7-core 8 Elite also fall short compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Exynos 2400e. CPU performance shows notable improvement, whereas GPU performance is somewhat disappointing.

      In the Geekbench 6 evaluation, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 7-core displays significant throttling for both CPU and GPU performances, yet this is just one assessment. Do our subsequent tests reveal the same patterns? We split this test into two sections: we assessed the GPU on each device using the Solar Bay test for performance and also performed the Solar Bay Stress Test to evaluate battery life during heavy demands.

      **Tests:**

      | Test Type | Solar Bay |

      |-----------|-----------|

      | OnePlus 13 (Snapdragon 8 Elite 8-core) | 11714 |

      | Oppo Find X8 Pro (Dimensity 9400) | 11560 |

      | Realme GT7 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Elite 8-core) | 11200 |

      | Oppo Find N5 (Snapdragon 8 Elite 7-core) | 9333 |

      |