2025 has been an eventful year for smartphone silicon, and the flagship SoC battle is heating up again. One matchup that’s caught everyone’s attention is XRING O1 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite. On one side, we have XRING’s first mainstream mobile SoC. On the other, Qualcomm’s most powerful chip to date.
Both chips promise big performance, cutting-edge specs, and elite efficiency. But which one actually delivers? Let’s break it all down.
XRING O1
The XRING O1 is a flagship-tier SoC developed by Chinese company XRING Semiconductor. It was announced in early 2025 and is built on TSMC’s second-gen 3nm process, which makes it more efficient than most other chips on the market.
Xiaomi didn’t go halfway with this one. The Xring O1 is loaded with top-tier specs: Cortex-X925 cores, LPDDR5T RAM support, UFS 4.1 storage, an Immortalis-G925 GPU, and a robust MediaTek T800 modem.
Phones like the Xiaomi 15S Pro are already shipping with the XRING O1, and a few other Chinese OEMs are reportedly lining up to use the chip in their premium devices.
Snapdragon 8 Elite
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm’s 2025 flagship SoC, launched in October 2024. It’s Qualcomm’s first chip to fully abandon ARM Cortex CPU cores in favor of custom Oryon cores designed by Nuvia (a company Qualcomm acquired).
Fabricated on TSMC’s 3nm process, the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings a powerful Adreno 830 GPU, LPDDR5X RAM support, UFS 4.1 storage, and an X80 modem that supports just about every network tech under the sun.
You’ll find it in top-tier devices like the RedMagic 9S Pro, Realme GT7 Pro, OnePlus 13, and the ROG Phone 8S Ultimate.
XRING O1 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite – Spec Comparison Table
| Feature | XRING O1 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2x Cortex-X925 (3.9GHz)
4x A725 (3.4GHz) 2x A520 (1.89GHz) 2X A520 (1.8GHz) |
2x Oryon Phoenix L (4.32GHz) 6x Oryon Phoenix M (3.53GHz) |
8 Elite has more faster and efficient custom cores |
| GPU | Immortalis-G925 MP16 | Adreno 830 | Very tight but Adreno wins |
| Process | 2nd Gen 3nm (TSMC) | 3nm (TSMC) | Xring’s process is slightly newer |
| ISA | ARMv9.2-A | ARMv9.2-A | Tie |
| AnTuTu 10 | ~2,700,000 | 2,750,000 | Very tight |
| Geek Bench 6 | 3017 / 9264 | 3155 / 9723 | 8 Elite has a minor edge |
| RAM | LPDDR5T (4800MHz) | LPDDR5X @ 5333MHz | XRING supports the faster RAM |
| Storage | UFS 4.1 | UFS 4.1 | Draw |
| Display | Up to WQHD | 3840×2540p | 8 Elite |
| Camera | Up to 200MP | Up to 320MP | 8 Elite wins |
| Video | 8K@30FPS, 4K@120FPS | 8K@60FPS, 4K@120FPS | 8 Elite supports higher frame rates |
| Modem | MediaTek T800 (5G mmWave + Sub-6GHz) | Snapdragon X80 (5G, 4G, 3G, 2G) | 8 Elite wins on |
| Bluetooth | 5.4 | 6.0 | 8 Elite is ahead |
| WiFi | WiFi 7 | WiFi 7 | Tie |
CPU core performance
The XRING O1 uses ARM Cortex cores, including the high-performance X925 and power-efficient A520. It’s a solid setup with high clock speeds, especially the 3.9GHz on the X925. That said, the Snapdragon 8 Elite uses fully custom Oryon cores, which are better optimized for both performance and efficiency.
While XRING’s setup is impressive on paper, real-world tests show that Qualcomm’s Oryon cores pull ahead, especially in multi core workloads and sustained tasks.
GPU
XRING O1 features the Immortalis-G925, ARM’s most powerful GPU to date, clocked at 1392MHz. It supports advanced ray tracing and high frame rates. On the other hand, Adreno 830 is a custom GPU optimized for Android gaming, thermals, and battery life.
In benchmarks, Adreno 830 typically outperforms Immortalis-G GPUs across the board. XRING is close, but Qualcomm wins this round for now.
Benchmarks
Performance-wise, this is a very close fight. The XRING O1 does superbly on AnTuTu (~2,700,000) and GeekBench 6 (3017 / 9264). It however falls slightly short of the Snapdragon 8 Elite‘s AnTuTu (2,750,000) and GeekBench 6 (3155 / 9723) scores.
As a result, the Snapdragon has a slight lead in both CPU and GPU performance, though the XRING O1 is dangerously close—especially for a first-gen product.
RAM and Storage
XRING O1 supports LPDDR5T, the latest and fastest memory tech on the market. This gives it an advantage in RAM bandwidth and latency. Snapdragon 8 Elite supports LPDDR5X @ 5333MHz, which is still very flagship level quick.
Both SoCs support UFS 4.1, so storage performance is a draw.
Display
The XRING O1 supports up to WQHD resolution, while the Snapdragon 8 Elite pushes slightly higher at 3840 × 2540p. Both support high refresh rates and HDR, but Snapdragon is slightly more capable when it comes to outputting higher resolutions for QHD+ and foldable devices.
Camera and Video
XRING supports cameras up to 200MP and video recording at 8K@30fps. The Snapdragon 8 Elite bumps that up to 320MP and supports 8K@60fps, which is a significant difference.
This is largely a tie. However if you care about cutting-edge photography, extra FPS and advanced video modes, then the 8 Elite has the upper hand.
Comms
The XRING O1 uses the MediaTek T800 modem, which supports 5G Sub-6GHz and mmWave, plus Bluetooth 5.4 and WiFi 7. That’s impressive. But Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem offers more advanced carrier aggregation, better fallback support (3G, 2G), and Bluetooth 6.0.
This again is largely a tie, however the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers wider compatibility and future-proofing because of its support for Bluetooth 6. This makes it a better all-around choice for connectivity.
Conclusion
The XRING O1 is an absolutely stunning debut for Xiaomi. It brings top-tier performance, cutting-edge ARM cores, a next-gen Immortalis GPU, and LPDDR5T memory support, all on a 3nm TSMC process. It’s competitive, efficient, and fast—there’s no doubt about it.
That being said, the Snapdragon 8 Elite still reigns supreme in the flagship world. Its custom Oryon cores, Adreno 830 GPU, faster ISP, more complete modem, and higher video/camera capabilities give it the edge in nearly every category.
In conclusion, the XRING O1 has proven it can play in the big leagues. But Qualcomm is still the team to beat.
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