Last week, Apple launched a new lineup of Macs with the M4 family of processors. While the base M4 first appeared in the iPad Pro earlier in 2024, this is the first time we get to see it in a Mac. This means we can finally compare it fairly to other PCs.
This year has been packed with new chips from many companies, so you might be curious how the Apple M4 compares. To find out, we put the Apple M4 in the new Mac Mini up against the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, which are two of the best laptop chips available right now.
What we’re testing
Before we get started, we are testing the standard Apple M4 chip found in the base Mac Mini. This version has 10 CPU cores: four for performance and six for efficiency, unlike the iPad Pro’s nine-core version. It also comes with a 10-core GPU.
For the Snapdragon X Elite, we’re using the Surface Laptop 7, one of the best laptops with this chip, which features the X1E-80-100 variant. There’s a more powerful X1E-84-100 version, but it’s only in the 16-inch Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, so we couldn’t test it. We also don’t have the lower-tier X1E-78-100 model yet, but we’ll update this article if we get to test it in the future.
For Intel’s Core Ultra series 2 (Lunar Lake), we’re testing the Asus Zenbook S14 with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258 V, which is the top model in Intel’s lineup.
Geekbench 6
A basic CPU test
Let’s begin with Geekbench 6, a standard test for any CPU. Right from the start, Apple clearly leads in single-core performance.
It’s surprising how far ahead Apple is here, beating both competitors by over 1,000 points in the single-core test, which is about 39% higher. Compared to the Snapdragon X Elite, it has only a 4.7% performance lead. This is because the Snapdragon X Elite has only 12 high-performance cores. The Apple M4 only has four performance cores and six efficiency cores, which aren’t as fast. Still, it pulls ahead, and both models beat Intel’s offering by a wide margin.
Cinebench 2024: A more demanding CPU test.
Cinebench is another popular CPU benchmark, but it’s more demanding. It runs longer and puts more stress on the CPU. Once again, Apple leads in single-core performance.
The Apple M4 scores 178 in single-core performance, beating the Snapdragon X Elite by over 43% and holding an even bigger lead over the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
Multicore performance is a bit different, with the Snapdragon X Elite coming out on top thanks to its 12 high-performance cores. It’s a close race: the Snapdragon X Elite scores 972, and the Apple M4 scores 968. Once again, Intel lags behind with a score of just 501.
CrossMark
Snapdragon falls behind
CrossMark is a general-purpose benchmark that measures performance for many everyday tasks on Windows. CrossMark doesn’t run natively on ARM, so this affects the Snapdragon X Elite’s results.
Apple leads again with a score of 2,071, easily beating both competitors. Emulation really hurts the Snapdragon X Elite here, dropping it to third place with a score of 1,558, well behind both Intel and Apple.
This matters because it shows how real-life performance on Snapdragon PCs can drop if apps aren’t optimized. Even if the hardware is strong, Snapdragon PCs might give a worse experience. Apple doesn’t have this issue as much since most apps now support Apple Silicon.
3DMark
Apple’s GPUs are no joke.
Now for the GPU tests: Apple wins here too. We ran both Wildlife Extreme and Steel Nomad Light, and Apple easily came out on top.
Again, Apple leads with Intel in second place, but the gap is big. In Wildlife Extreme, Apple scores 35% higher than Intel, and in Steel Nomad Light, Apple wins by about 25.5%.
The GPU is where Snapdragon struggles most, failing, falling far behind in both tests, especially in Steel Nomad Light.
Conclusions
In terms of raw performance, it’s easy to see that Apple is still the clear leader overall. Qualcomm comes close in multi-core performance, but Apple dominates in GPU and has fewer app compatibility issues. Still, Qualcomm is making things competitive, so Apple will need to keep improving. It’ll be interesting to see how Qualcomm responds when its next PC chips are released. Lunar Lake was a big jump forward, but Apple still has a comfortable lead across the board. It’s hard to imagine this changing anytime soon.
Source: We tested it: Here’s how Apple’s M4 compares to Intel Lunar Lake and Snapdragon X Elite
