The Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC was officially unveiled last month, and we’re now seeing early tests on the first wave of devices equipped with the new processor. While initial reports claimed the chip might produce excessive heat that could ultimately impact battery life, new findings suggest otherwise. Instead, the chip appears to deliver improved battery performance.
On paper, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s CPU features Oryon cores with significantly higher clock speeds than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The Adreno 830 GPU also boasts a higher frequency output. While these upgrades raised concerns about battery consumption and heat management, Qualcomm claims the new Snapdragon silicon is both more efficient and better at power management.
Battery life test on new Snapdragon 8 Elite smartphones
The OnePlus 13 and the recently launched Asus ROG Phone 9 (Pro) were among the first devices to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite. YouTube channel Dave2D conducted tests on both devices, delivering some promising insights.
As expected, both phones showed remarkable performance improvements in processing speed and graphics. However, the more intriguing findings hail from the battery benchmarks conducted on these devices.
Battery life of the OnePlus 13 and Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro vs. their predecessors
Testing revealed a substantial increase in battery life for both devices compared to their predecessors. For instance, the OnePlus 13 achieved 17 hours and 25 minutes in synthetic battery benchmarks, a notable 43% improvement over the OnePlus 12, which managed 12 hours and 13 minutes. In gaming, the OnePlus 13 lasted 5 hours and 39 minutes, marking a 47% increase compared to the 3 hours and 51 minutes recorded by its predecessor.
Battery Life Test on OnePlus 13 and Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
| Device | PCMark Battery Test | Genshin Impact | Battery capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| OnePlus 13 | 17 hours 25 minutes (~43%) | 5 hours 39 minutes (~47%) | 6000 mAh (11%) |
| OnePlus 12 | 12 hours 13 minutes | 3 hours 51 minutes | 5400 mAh |
| ROG Phone 9 Pro | 14 hours 29 minutes (~30%) | 4 hours 57 minutes (~35%) | 6000 mAh (5%) |
| ROG Phone 8 Pro | 11 hours 10 minutes | 3 hours 42 minutes |
Similarly, the ROG Phone 9 Pro also showed significant gains, lasting 14 hours and 29 minutes in synthetic tests, which is about 30% longer than the 11 hours and 10 minutes achieved by the ROG Phone 8 Pro. In gaming benchmarks, the ROG Phone 9 Pro delivered nearly 5 hours of runtime, a 35% improvement over the previous model’s 3 hours and 42 minutes. These results highlight a significant leap in battery performance.
It’s worth noting both devices come with slightly larger batteries, which contribute to their extended runtimes. The OnePlus 13 packs a 6,000 mAh battery, representing an 11% increase in capacity, while the ROG Phone 9 Pro includes a 5,800 mAh battery, just 5% larger than its predecessor. Despite these increases, the gains in battery life far exceed the size increments, suggesting that Qualcomm’s efficiency improvements do play a major role.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see how upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered smartphones perform. However, based on these initial results, it’s clear that users upgrading to these handsets can expect significantly longer battery life.
What do you think of these benchmarks? Are you considering an upgrade to a Snapdragon 8 Elite device? Share your thoughts in the comments below!