Microsoft has not given up on its " Windows 11 on ARM" plan. The company has cooperated with Qualcomm to develop the next generation of Snapdragon processors, code-named "Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4". The latest Geekbench scores show that the multi-core performance of Qualcomm's new Windows 11 on ARM CPU is close to that of Apple's M2 chip.
According to documents seen by Windows Latest, Qualcomm internally refers to "Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4" as "Hamoa". The processor uses an improved ARM core, giving it an advantage over its predecessor. These new cores were likely developed by engineers at Nuvia, a company acquired by Qualcomm.
Windows Latest has discovered a new QRD listing that shows Qualcomm's most powerful Oryon prototype has 12 cores and up to 16GB of memory. New running scores show that "Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4" is becoming a strong rival to Apple's M2 chip.
However, it is worth noting that this running score was achieved under x86 simulation, not x64. While older versions of Geekbench may have some inaccuracies, the results are still stunning.
Directly comparing the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 with the Apple M2 chip, we get the following results:
Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4:
Single-core score: 1197, multi-core score: 9337
Apple M2 (MacBook Pro, 16-inch, 2023):
Single-core score: 2595, multi-core score: 14197
However, some other Apple M2 benchmarks show that the Snapdragon 8cx is catching up in multi-core performance:
MacBook Air (2022, Apple M2 3478 MHz, 8 cores):
Single-core score: 2641, multi-core score: 9795
MacBook Air (2022, Apple M2 3480 MHz, 8 cores):
Single-core score: 2645, multi-core score: 10082
MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023, Apple M2 Pro 3481 MHz, 10 cores):
Single-core score: 2641, multi-core score: 12109
The performance of Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 is not exactly equivalent to Apple's M2 chip, but it is getting closer, especially in terms of multi-core performance. Snapdragon's single-core performance clearly lags behind the Apple M2, but the gap in multi-core performance is smaller.
These benchmarks reveal the progress of Windows 11 on ARM and Qualcomm in the CPU field, hinting at an exciting competitive landscape shortly.
READ: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Unveiled: Outperforming x86 Chips with Double the Speed, 5G and Wi-Fi 7 Support
