IN THIS ARTICLE, WE DID A SNAPDRAGON 730 VS SNAPDRAGON 845 COMPARISON BASED ON THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE TWO & THEIR BENCHMARK SCORES.
In April this year, Qualcomm announced three new mid-range processors named Snapdragon 730, 730G & 665. Till now, we have seen some phones with Snapdragon 730, & almost all of them are from Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Lenovo, etc. One thing that makes these new 7 series processors stand out is the architecture.
They are based on the 8nm manufacturing process & this gives them a lead over the last year’s 10nm Snapdragon 845 which was a flagship SOC of last year. But, what about the overall performance? Which processor is better? Well, let’s find out that in the Snapdragon 730 vs Snapdragon 845 comparison.
On July 17, Redmi K20 and K20 Pro are launching in the Indian market and just for your information, the Redmi K20 is going to be the first Snapdragon 730-powered phone in India when it launches. So far, we have seen Realme launching the Realme 3 Pro with Snapdragon 710 & Vivo launching the Z1 Pro with Snapdragon 712 in India. But, all these chipsets fail in comparison to the Snapdragon 730, which is a significant upgrade.
CHECK OUT: Snapdragon 675 vs Snapdragon 712 – Comparison
SNAPDRAGON 730 VS SNAPDRAGON 845 – SPECIFICATIONS
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | |
|---|---|---|
| MANUFACTURING PROCESS | 8 nm | 10nm |
| CPU | 64-bit 8x Qualcomm Kryo 470 CPU 4th Generation multi-core Qualcomm AI Engine | 64-bit 8x Qualcomm Kryo 385 CPU |
| CLOCK SPEED | Up to 2.2 GHz | Up to 2.8 GHz |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 618 GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU |
| DSP | Qualcomm Hexagon 688 DSP | Qualcomm Hexagon 685 DSP |
| CAMERA | Qualcomm Spectra 350 ISP Dual Camera, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps: Up to 22 MP Single Camera, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps: Up to 36 MP Single Camera, MFNR: Up to 48 MP Single Camera: Up to 192 MP | Qualcomm Spectra 280 ISP Dual Camera, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps: Up to 16 MP Single Camera MFNR, ZSL, 60fps: Up to 16 MP Single Camera, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps: Up to 32 MP Single Camera, MFNR: Up to 48 MP Single Camera: Up to 192 MP |
| VIDEO | Video Capture Features: Rec. 2020 color gamut video capture, Up to 10-bit color depth video capture Slow Motion Video Capture: 720p @ 240 FPS, 1080p @ 120 FPS Video Capture Formats: HEVC Video Capture (30 FPS): 4K Ultra HD video capture | Video Capture (30 FPS): 4K HDR video capture Slow Motion Video Capture: 4K HDR @ 60 FPS, 720p @ 480 FPS Video Capture Formats: HDR10, HLG, HEVC Video Capture Features: Rec. 2020 color gamut video capture, Up to 10-bit color depth video capture |
| AUDIO | Audio Technology: Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology, Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology, Qualcomm aptX audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio playback support: Qualcomm aptX Adaptive | Qualcomm TrueWireless Technology Qualcomm Broadcast Audio technology Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio technology |
| CHARGING | Supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ | Supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 |
| DISPLAY | Up to FHD+ (2520x1080) | Up to 4K UHD Display |
| LTE | Qualcomm Snapdragon X15 LTE modem 800Mbps download 150Mbps upload | Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE modem 1.2Gbps download 150Mbps upload |
Like we do in all of our comparison related articles, let’s start off with the specifications of the two processors and see how they compare just based on the specifications.
CPU
Let’s start with one of the most important parts of any SOC, the CPU. While the Snapdragon 845 has an octa-core Kryo 385 CPU, the Snapdragon 730 gets the newer Kryo 470 CPU. But, don’t let this make you believe that the Snapdragon 730 has a better CPU performance. It all comes down to the clock speed. The CPU’s max clock speed in the case of 730 is 2.2GHz & it’s freaking 2.8GHz in the case of Snapdragon 845.
So, this gives the Snapdragon 845 an edge in the CPU performance, and you will see this in the benchmark scores as well.
GPU
Coming to the GPU now, there is Adreno 618 GPU on the Snapdragon 730 whereas the Snapdragon 845 gets the Adreno 630. And there is no need to tell that Adreno 630 is better than the 618. So if all you want is to play games without any issue, then Snapdragon 845 must be your choice instead of Snapdragon 730. The Snapdragon 730 is more of a balanced chipset.
ARCHITECTURE
This is interesting as the Snapdragon 730 is an 8nm chip whereas the Snapdragon 845 is a 10nm chip. So, this means the power efficiency is better in the case of Snapdragon 730. So, if you have two phones with similar software optimization, same battery size & with these two processors, then Snapdragon 730 powered phone will last longer in similar usage. And always remember, the lesser the size, the better the power efficiency and performance.
CAMERA
The Image Signal Processor or ISP plays a huge role in the image processing & the Snapdragon 730 has a better Spectra 350 ISP compared to Snapdragon 845’s Spectra 280. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a Snapdragon 730-powered phone can produce better images than Snapdragon 845-powered phone. Just take the example from above and replace the architecture with the ISP. It’s the same thing then.
So, in similar conditions, the Snapdragon 730 will produce better colors. By similar conditions, we mean the same camera setup, same optimizations, etc.
DISPLAY
If you don’t know, there are phones in the market with 4K HDR OLED displays. And these displays aren’t supported by all the processors. While the Snapdragon 730 supports up to FHD+ screen, the Snapdragon 845 supports up to 4K UHD display. So, now you know why we don’t see displays above FHD+ resolution in mid-range phones, right?
CONNECTIVITY
While the Snapdragon 730 has an X15 LTE modem, the Snapdragon 845 has the better X20 LTE Modem with better connectivity features. The X15 Modem supports LTE Cat.15 while the X20 supports LTE Cat.18. The download speeds are therefore, different. While it’s 800Mbps for the X15 Modem, it’s 1.2Gbps in the case of X20 LTE Modem.
READ: Snapdragon 636 vs MediaTek Helio P60 Comparison – Which one is better?
SNAPDRAGON 730 VS SNAPDRAGON 845 – BENCHMARKS
ANTUTU BENCHMARK
Let’s start with the good old AnTuTu Benchmark. On the left, we have the Redmi K20 with Snapdragon 730 while the Poco F1 is on the right with Snapdragon 845. As you can see, the Snapdragon 730 scores around 216K on AnTuTu benchmark but the Snapdragon 845 is there around the 300K mark.
Now, this is all due to GPU performance. If you notice, the CPU score is not that different. There is a margin of 7000, and that’s due to mainly the higher clock speed of Snapdragon 845’s CPU. But, when it comes to the GPU score, the Snapdragon 845 destroys the Snapdragon 730. It scores more than twice than what the Snapdragon 730 scores.
So yes, you are going to notice a difference while playing games but we are damn sure you won’t notice a difference in the real world normal usage.
GEEKBENCH 4
One thing I love about Geekbench is that it shows single-core and multi-core scores separately, letting us know how the performance differs on single-core and multi-core. Again, we have the Redmi K20 on the left and the Poco F1 on the right. The Snapdragon 730-powered Redmi K20 scores around 2500 on single-core and around 7000 on multi-core.
READ: Kirin 810 AnTuTu Score is out, outperforms Snapdragon 730
The Snapdragon 845-powered Poco F1, on the other hand, scores around 2100 on single-core and 6800 on multi-core. So here, the story is entirely different. The Snapdragon 730 seems to be winning here. But, let’s add one more phone here to the comparison, the OnePlus 6T.
Well, did you see what just happened here? Well, the OnePlus 6T also had Snapdragon 845, but the scores are higher than that of Poco F1. This could be most likely due to the software optimization of OnePlus 6T as Oxygen OS is better optimized than MIUI for performance. So, now you can see how much difference there is in terms of the Geekbench scores.
SNAPDRAGON 730 VS SNAPDRAGON 845 – FINAL WORDS
Well, that’s all about the comparison between Snapdragon 730 vs Snapdragon 845. One thing that we noticed is that the Snapdragon 845 easily beats the Snapdragon 730 in terms of the GPU performance, the multi-core performance of the CPU, the display support & the connectivity. But, the Snapdragon 730 has better architecture, better CPU, better AI Engine & better IS.
In short, you won’t notice any massive difference while using phones with these two processors side by side. And as we always say, benchmarks don’t necessarily reflect the real-world usage.
If you have any questions, then do let us know via the comments section below.