Apple M4 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)

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Note: The information shown below is based on a pre-sample. Technical details or benchmark results may be different in the final version of this processor.

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
Apple M4 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)

CPU comparison

Apple M4 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple M4 has 9 cores with 9 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.41 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M4 was released in Q2/2024.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) has 12 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.00 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) was released in Q2/2024.
Apple M series (25) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (3)
Apple M4 (2) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (3)
4 Generation 1
M4 Architecture Oryon
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M3 Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M4 is a 9 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz). The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) has 12 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 1.00 GHz (4.00 GHz).

Apple M4 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
9 Cores 12
9 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
A-Core 1.00 GHz (4.00 GHz)
12x Oryon
0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core --

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple M4 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications Qualcomm Hexagon NPU @ 45 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M4 (10 Core) GPU Qualcomm Adreno X Elite/Plus
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 1.00 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
3 nm Technology 4 nm
2 Max. displays 4
160 Compute units --
1280 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version 12.2

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Apple M4 (10 Core) GPU Qualcomm Adreno X Elite/Plus
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode
Decode Codec AV1 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M4 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 8 memory channels.

Apple M4 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory LPDDR5X-8533
8 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 135.2 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 MB L2 Cache 42.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M4 has a TDP of 22 W, that of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) is 23 W.

Apple M4 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 23 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 80 W
15 W TDP down 12 W
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M4 has a 18.00 MB cache, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) cache has a total of 42.00 MB.

Apple M4 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
3 nm Technology 4 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, SME ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows 10/11 (ARM), Linux
Q2/2024 Release date Q2/2024
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.4 stars (68 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (84%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
12C 12T @ 1.00 GHzNot verified
45 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
12C 12T @ 4.00 GHzNot verified
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
12C 12T @ 4.00 GHzNot verified
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
12C 12T @ 3.40 GHzNot verified
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Apple M4 Apple M4
Apple M4 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100) Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
Qualcomm Adreno X Elite/Plus @ 1.00 GHzNot verified
3800 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) Unknown

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