If you want benchmark comparisons, it will depend on the actual device, cooling, silicon bins, and software. In many cases, the Apple M5 can outperform in optimized workloads; on the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 may perform better in AI or burst tasks.
Table of Contents
| Feature | Apple M5 Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Target Devices | Premium MacBooks, iPad Pros, Apple Vision Pro | Flagship Android Smartphones (e.g., Xiaomi 17, OnePlus 15, Galaxy S26 series) |
| Manufacturing Process | (Likely) 3nm | 3nm |
| CPU | Up to 10-core (4 performance + 6 efficiency) with a faster design than M4. | 8-core Oryon CPU (custom cores), up to 4.6GHz. Claimed 20% performance and 35% power efficiency improvement over the previous generation. |
| GPU | Next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core. Up to 1.6x faster graphics than M4. Supports 3rd-gen ray tracing. | New Adreno GPU with Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM) cache. 23% better graphics. Supports mesh shading, Nanite, and Lumen (Unreal Engine 5). |
| Neural Engine (AI) | Enhanced Neural Engine. Up to 3.5x faster AI performance compared to M4. Designed to accelerate Apple Intelligence (on-device LLMs). | Next-generation Hexagon NPU. 37% higher NPU performance. Handles on-device AI for features like computational video and Agentic AI. |
| Memory | Unified Memory Architecture, with 153GB/s bandwidth (a 30% increase over M4). | LPDDR5X RAM support (specific bandwidth not an apples-to-apples comparison with unified memory). |
| Key Video Feature | – | First mobile platform to support Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec for near-lossless video capture. |
| Release | Announced October 2025; available October 22, 2025 (in devices). | Announced September 2025; devices launching late 2025/early 2026. |
What we know about each chip
Apple M5
- The M5 is built on a 3-nm process (3rd generation 3 nm) according to public info.
- The M5 uses a 10-core CPU: 4 performance cores + 6 efficiency cores.
- The GPU side is a 10-core GPU in many configurations, with a “Neural Accelerator” integrated per GPU core for better AI throughput.
- Compared to M4, Apple claims up to ~30-45% uplift in graphics, and 15%in multithreaded CPU, depending on workloads.
- The M5 is part of Apple’s push for better AI/ML workloads on device.
- As of now, the M5 is appearing in Apple’s MacBook Pro and iPad Pro lines.
Because Apple designs its entire stack (hardware + software) in a deeply integrated way, the real-world performance (especially in optimized software) often outpaces what raw specs alone would imply.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Announced by Qualcomm as their next top-tier mobile SoC.
- It uses a 3-nm manufacturing process.
- CPU configuration: 8 cores total — 2 “Prime” cores up to 4.6 GHz + 6 performance cores up to ~3.62 GHz.
- Qualcomm claims a ~20% CPU performance boost over previous generation, ~23% uplift in GPU performance, plus improved efficiency.
- GPU is an updated Adreno architecture (reportedly Adreno 840).
- The chip has a redesigned Hexagon NPU (neural processing unit) for AI/ML workloads, with claims of ~37% improvement in neural performance.
- It supports APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec/capture capabilities (near-lossless video) and improved camera pipelines.
- The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 also includes a modern modem (Snapdragon X85), Wi-Fi 7 support (via FastConnect 7900), and focus on on-device AI features.
- In early benchmark leaks, it performs very strongly: in 3DMark WildLife Extreme, it scored 8492 in one test.
- In review tests, reference units with 24 GB LPDDR5X and fast storage showed it beating many previous “flagship” SoCs.
The Apple M5 chip and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 are both high-end System-on-Chips (SoCs) released in late 2025, with a primary focus on boosting AI performance, CPU speed, and graphics. They are targeted at different device ecosystems: the M5 for Apple’s premium devices (MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Vision Pro) and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for flagship Android smartphones and devices.
One thing to keep in mind: Snapdragon is for smartphones (Android/Android-based devices), whereas M5 is intended for laptops, tablets, desktops in Apple’s ecosystem. Their design goals differ somewhat (power envelope, thermal constraints, software stack, etc.).
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What a Men!
Apple M series is to be compared with Snapdragon X Elite series.
And Apple A series is to be compared with Snapdragon 8 Elite series.
did you cross-compare from the platforms of the M series with the 8 Elite series??
What a article. really a good comparison.
The M5 competes with the X series of snapdragon chips, the A series competes with the 8 series.
Apple M5 uses: iPad, MacBook, MacBook pro, Macs
SD8G5 uses: Android smartphones and tablets
This comparison is fair, and even funny, and reflects the ignorance of its author.
The thermal and TDP differences between them is ridiculous to even compare.
It’s basically comparing a desktop/laptop chip to a phone chip.