Snapdragon 888 vs Snapdragon 6 Gen 5: the old flagship is still faster

Snapdragon 888 was released in 2020 as a flagship SoC, while Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 came out in 2026 as a mid-range solution. The age difference exceeds five years, but Snapdragon 888 still scores higher in AnTuTu 11 and Geekbench 6. Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is slower, but it is installed in new smartphones of 2026, whereas models with Snapdragon 888 primarily have to be sought on the secondary market today.

Key Differences

The main advantage of the Snapdragon 888 is the Cortex-X1 core, which is not present in Snapdragon 6 Gen 5. The new chip uses four Cortex-A78s, so the gap between the processors in multi-threaded Geekbench is noticeably smaller.

Benchmarks for Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 5

In all three tests, Snapdragon 888 scores higher.

AnTuTu 11

Snapdragon 888 - 1,135,878

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 - 1,012,134

The difference is about 124,000 points, or 12%.

In the GPU test, the gap is smaller:

Snapdragon 888 - around 233,000 points

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 - around 215,000 points

That's about 8% in favor of Snapdragon 888.

Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Snapdragon 888 - 1,481

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 - 1,180

In single-core testing, Snapdragon 888 is about 26% faster due to the Cortex-X1 core.

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Snapdragon 888 - 3,794

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 - 3,501

In multi-core, the gap reduces to 8%.

Real Smartphones, Benchmarks, and Prices

The table lists the results of specific smartphones, so they may differ from average values for the SoC. Results depend on cooling, firmware, memory, and power limits.

Prices are in dollars, as of early September 2026. Models with Snapdragon 888 are mostly sold refurbished or used.

Prices for Snapdragon 888 appear particularly low because they refer to refurbished and used smartphones. When purchasing, one should consider the condition of the battery, the device's history, and the remaining update timeline.

The base version of HONOR X80 Pro Max with Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 costs around $295 and has a battery capacity of 11,000 mAh. The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max 5G is significantly more expensive but is sold new and is expected to have a longer update timeline.

CPU: Snapdragon 888 is faster

Snapdragon 888 uses one Cortex-X1 clocked at up to 2.84 GHz, three Cortex-A78s up to 2.42 GHz, and four Cortex-A55s.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 has four Cortex-A78 cores clocked up to 2.6 GHz and four energy-efficient Cortex-A55 cores.

In Geekbench 6 Single-Core, the advantage of Cortex-X1 is particularly noticeable: Snapdragon 888 is faster by 26%.

Snapdragon 888 performs better in tasks where single-core speed is especially important.

GPU: Adreno 660 maintains its advantage

Adreno 660 was Qualcomm's flagship GPU of its generation. The newer Adreno 812 in Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 still falls behind in AnTuTu 11 results.

In the graphics test, Snapdragon 888 scores around 233,000 points compared to 215,000 for Snapdragon 6 Gen 5. This is about an 8% advantage for Snapdragon 888.

In prolonged gaming loads, the result already depends on the cooling of the smartphone.

Heating and Battery Life

Under prolonged load, Snapdragon 888 can heat up significantly, and the frequencies depend on how effective the smartphone's cooling is.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is made with a more advanced process technology, but without direct tests of the two platforms, comparing their energy efficiency is not possible.

The HONOR X80 Pro Max comes with an 11,000 mAh battery, while the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max 5G has about 9,200-10,000 mAh, depending on the market.

Models with Snapdragon 888 typically have smaller batteries, and for used devices, one must consider their wear.

Connectivity and Multimedia

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. The presence of these interfaces should be checked based on the specifications of the specific model.

Snapdragon 888 has broader video recording capabilities. The ISP of Snapdragon 888 supports 8K recording at 30 FPS and 4K at 120 FPS, while Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 only supports up to 4K at 30 FPS.

Smartphone manufacturers can restrict the available camera modes.

What to Choose in 2026

Choose Snapdragon 888 if:

• performance is more important than the smartphone's age;
• you are okay with a refurbished or used device;
• you need higher single-core performance;
• you need a more powerful GPU;
• the battery condition can be checked before purchase.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is a better choice if:

• you need a new smartphone;
• warranty and a new battery are important;
• a longer update lifespan is required;
• you prioritize a new smartphone with a large battery.

Conclusion

In terms of performance, Snapdragon 888 remains faster even in 2026. It is around 12% ahead of Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 in AnTuTu 11, 26% in Geekbench 6 Single-Core, and 8% in Multi-Core tests. In the GPU test, the advantage of Adreno 660 is about 8%.

Today, smartphones with Snapdragon 888 are mainly sold as used or refurbished, with potential battery wear and limited timeline for further updates.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is slower but is installed in new smartphones of 2026. Snapdragon 888 is more interesting on the secondary market, while Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is appealing when purchasing a new smartphone.