Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite tests show that smartphones running it are prone to overheating

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chip promises to revolutionize Android smartphones and provide iPhone-like performance. But this performance may not be of any use if the processor heats up too much.

Image source: qualcomm.com

One of the first phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite will be Realme GT7 Pro – it has already fallen into the hands of journalists from some publications, and they reported that it can get too hot during operation. The central processor contains two main cores at 4.32 GHz and six performance cores at 3.53 GHz – the platform is manufactured using the TSMC 3 nm process technology; Qualcomm promises a 40% increase in processor performance and a 45% increase in graphics performance. The chip also promises an increase in energy efficiency compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Image source: androidauthority.com

However, during stress tests, the Realme GT7 Pro became so hot that the protective mechanisms were activated, and the benchmark application stopped working without completing performance measurements – all applications were disabled except for Phone and Messages. And this is with a cooling system. But there is a version that the problem is not in the processor – it was the phone that tried to cheat the benchmark and violated the power limits. This was confirmed when running modified benchmarks that the Realme GT7 Pro was not trained to recognize.

It performed adequately in games, only warming up slightly after a 30-minute gaming session, as expected. The device really showed high performance, without giving other compelling reasons for concern. In alternative benchmarks, however, the Snapdragon 8 Elite was only 11-13% faster than its predecessor, which doesn’t quite match Qualcomm’s claim of a 40% speed increase. Perhaps the reason is the synthetic nature of the benchmarks, but other options that are less pleasant for Realme and Qualcomm cannot be ruled out.