Huawei Kirin 9030S Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks
There are 8 key differences between Huawei Kirin 9030S Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks.
كوالكوم (Qualcomm)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks
9.5
Key differences
| Huawei Kirin 9030S Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks | |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication | Not officially confirmed (independent estimates range from advanced 7nm to 5nm from SMIC) | 3 nm (TSMC N3P) |
| Announced | 20 April 2026 (with the launch of Huawei Pura 90 Pro andPro Max) | 25 September 2025 |
| CPU cores | 8 cores (some sources cite 12 logical threads via SMT, not officially confirmed) | 8 cores |
| Core configuration | 1× Taishan Big clocked above 3.0 GHz + 3× Taishan Mid at ~2.27 GHz + 4× Taishan Little at ~1.72 GHz | 2× Oryon Gen 3 Prime at 4.6 GHz + 6× Oryon Gen 3 Performance at 3.62 GHz — no separate efficiency cores |
| Max clock | ~3.0 GHz | 4.6 GHz |
| Architecture | ARMv8-A, 64-bit (Huawei's own core design) | ARMv9, 64-bit |
| GPU | Maleoon 920 (some less consistent sources cite the Maleoon 935; not officially confirmed) | Adreno 840 |
| GPU clock | Not officially announced | No exact figure announced by Qualcomm |
Huawei Kirin 9030S Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks
A chip that reflects real progress in Huawei's technical independence, with a clear focus on AI imaging improvements and unique satellite connectivity. The lack of full official transparency means final performance should be judged cautiously until more reliable data is available.
- +A real, officially stated improvement in AI image processing
- +Two-way Beidou satellite connectivity — a world exclusive
- +CPU performance approaching Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 level
- −No full official transparency on the CPU and GPU details
- −Independent sources clearly disagree on the exact GPU name
- −Performance still well short of the newest global flagship chips in 2026
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks
An exceptional flagship chip that puts Qualcomm, for the first time, in genuine head-to-head competition with Apple's best, thanks to a radical step forward in CPU, graphics and imaging. Take care not to confuse it with the weaker Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 when buying.
- +CPU performance that takes on the Apple A19 Pro directly and beats it in multitasking
- +An upgraded GPU with desktop-class features (ray tracing, Unreal Engine 5)
- +The first phone chip to support the professional APV video codec
- −Inconsistent thermal behaviour during very long gaming sessions
- −Easily confused with the weaker and completely different "Snapdragon 8 Gen 5"
- −The exact TOPS figure for the AI engine is not fully disclosed
Full specifications
| Huawei Kirin 9030S Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks | |
|---|---|---|
| التصنيع | ||
| Manufacturer | — | Qualcomm |
| Fabrication | Not officially confirmed (independent estimates range from advanced 7nm to 5nm from SMIC) | 3 nm (TSMC N3P) |
| Announced | 20 April 2026 (with the launch of Huawei Pura 90 Pro andPro Max) | 25 September 2025 |
| Availability | Available | Available |
| المعالج المركزي | ||
| CPU cores | 8 cores (some sources cite 12 logical threads via SMT, not officially confirmed) | 8 cores |
| Core configuration | 1× Taishan Big clocked above 3.0 GHz + 3× Taishan Mid at ~2.27 GHz + 4× Taishan Little at ~1.72 GHz | 2× Oryon Gen 3 Prime at 4.6 GHz + 6× Oryon Gen 3 Performance at 3.62 GHz — no separate efficiency cores |
| Max clock | ~3.0 GHz | 4.6 GHz |
| Architecture | ARMv8-A, 64-bit (Huawei's own core design) | ARMv9, 64-bit |
| الرسوميات والذكاء الاصطناعي | ||
| GPU | Maleoon 920 (some less consistent sources cite the Maleoon 935; not officially confirmed) | Adreno 840 |
| GPU clock | Not officially announced | No exact figure announced by Qualcomm |
| NPU | A new, improved NPU — 200% better image understanding than the Kirin 9020 (officially announced by Huawei) | Hexagon NPU (37% faster than the previous generation, supports agentic AI and the Qualcomm Sensing Hub) |
| AI performance | Not officially announced by Huawei | ~100 TOPS approximately (a not fully confirmed estimate, versus 40–45 TOPS in the previous generation) |
| الذاكرة والاتصال | ||
| Supported RAM | No exact official figure (supports up to 16 GB per some sources) | LPDDR5X |
| Max RAM | Not officially announced | 5300 MHz (bandwidth up to 84.8 GB/s) |
| Supported storage | Not precisely announced | UFS 4.1 |
| Modem | Integrated 5G, theoretical download up to 3,500 Mbps (some less reliable sources cite higher figures under the "5.5G" label) | Snapdragon X85, theoretical download up to 12.5 Gbps and upload up to 3.7 Gbps |
| 5G | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 7 (power savings of up to 40%) |
| Bluetooth | 6.0 (depending on the actual device's specifications) | 6.0 |
| نتائج الاختبارات | ||
| AnTuTu | ~1,614,887 | ~4,033,382 (with some independent tests at ~3.7 million and above) |
| Geekbench single-core | ~1,411 | Roughly matches the Apple A19 Pro (no unified precise official figures published) |
| Geekbench multi-core | ~4,121 | Beats the Apple A19 Pro by up to 21% in independent tests |
| مميزات إضافية | ||
| Key features | 43% better AI colour processing, 110% clearer zoomed video, 30% steadier frame rates in games, 25% better overall performance versus the Pura 80 generation, plus Beidou satellite connectivity | The first chip with the professional APV video codec, cameras up to 320 MP, 4K@120fps video and 1080p@480fps slow motion, display support up to 240Hz (QHD+) or 4K@120Hz, and full Unreal Engine 5, ray tracing and mesh shading support |
| Phones using it | Huawei Pura 90 Pro, Huawei Pura 90 Pro Max | Xiaomi 17/17 Pro/17 Pro Max, OnePlus 15, iQOO 15, Honor Magic V6, Oppo Find X9 Ultra, Oppo Find N6, Vivo X300 Ultra/Pro, RedMagic 11 Pro/11S Pro, Realme GT8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S26 (expected early 2026) |
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