I used the first Snapdragon 8 Elite phone, and it’s hot stuff

When the courier handed over the box containing the Realme GT 7 Pro, I was keen to open it up. Not because it was a new phone (they come quite often), but because it was one of the very first phones with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside — and the first phone I’d use with the chip.

Qualcomm has hyped the Snapdragon 8 Elite up as a considerable improvement over its previous chips, so I got to work testing it out. I can confirm, it’s hot stuff in every sense of the phrase.

A crucial update arrives

Following the publication of this feature on October 31, 2024, Realme contacted Digital Trends to say it was working on a software update that would cure the software compatibility issue it claimed was causing the phone to overheat during some benchmarking tests. It arrived several days later, and we published a separate feature on November 4, 2024, explaining how it affected the phone.

The Realme GT 7 Pro now completes the 3D Mark Solar Bay Stress Test, unlike before, but the phone still gets very hot. A Qualcomm spokesperson also told Digital Trends the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor was not the cause of the overheating problem. The Realme GT 7 Pro remains the only phone with the new processor we’ve used at the time of writing, so we cannot compare performance with a non-Realme phone yet. The story below remains largely unchanged to maintain the timeline of events.

The first benchmark tests

Everything began quite normally when I first tested the Realme GT 7 Pro, but little did I know what was to come. I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for the past few weeks, which has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside it, making it the perfect comparison device.

With both phones in hand, I installed the Geekbench 6 and 3DMark benchmarking apps. While benchmark scores aren’t always representative of overall performance and how a phone feels — and phones can also be adapted by manufacturers to provide high scores — they are a simple way to illustrate performance differences. How did the two processors compare?

The Realme GT 7 Pro with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite obliterated the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with a CPU multi-core score of 9425 compared to 7104. Running the GPU test, it was a similar pummeling, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s 19065 score much higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s score of 15898. There’s no question about it — the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a powerhouse.

I moved on to the 3DMark tests, which concentrate on gaming and graphics performance, but can also give some insight into efficiency. As you probably expect, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s score was far higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s score in the standard Solar Bay test, but when I went on to the extended 20-minute Solar Bay Stress Test, things took an unexpected turn.

Hardcore gaming tests

I ran the first series of benchmarking tests back-to-back, and three quarters through the Solar Bay Stress Test, the Realme GT 7 Pro shut the app down, stating the phone had become too hot, and certain functions were unavailable. Sure enough, it was roasting when I picked it up, front and back. The Galaxy S24 Ultra completed the Solar Bay Stress Test without a problem, despite running it immediately after the Geekbench 6 tests and the Solar Bay test, as did the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

I can’t remember the last time I tested a phone that overheated during a short series of benchmarking tests, so this was a surprise. Realme claims the GT 7 Pro has an “Iceberg VC” vapor cooling system, which at 11,480mm squared is apparently the largest in its class, so it’s not like it hasn’t compensated for the increased performance. I let the phone cool down and ran the test again.

Once again, the phone overheated after about 14 minutes, the benchmark test failed, and the phone restricted functionality for a few moments. I picked the phone up several times during the test and found that even 10 minutes in, I would have considered the Realme GT 7 Pro too hot to comfortably hold. Instead of trying the test again, I waited until the phone cooled down and played Asphalt Legends Unite.

After playing for 30 minutes, there was only a hint of increased heat, and I’d had the screen at full brightness with the phone in its high-performance gaming mode. The game ran faultlessly and was incredibly smooth and exciting to play, although it didn’t really feel that different from any other flagship phone I’ve used this year. It’s not the most demanding game, though, and the 3DMark stress tests more closely replicate long sessions on power-intensive games like Genshin Impact.

High-speed connection

How about a different unscientific speed and performance test of the Snapdragon 8 Elite? The Realme GT 7 Pro uses the Qualcomm FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi modem, compared to the FastConnect 7800 paired with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and found inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The on-paper specs seem to be identical, but they don’t tell the whole story.

I downloaded Asphalt Legends Unite from the Play Store on both the S24 Ultra and the GT 7 Pro, both over the same Wi-Fi network, and timed the process. It’s a massive 3.27GB file, and it took three minutes and 40 seconds on the Realme GT 7 Pro. It was installed and ready to play just a few seconds later.

What’s interesting is the Galaxy S24 Ultra was barely 60% into the download process by this point, and it went on to take six minutes and 30 seconds in total. To make sure it wasn’t a one-off fluke, I tried a few more app downloads and got the same results. For example, the 102MB Crossy Road game took just 6 seconds to download and install on the GT 7 Pro and 20 seconds on the S24 Ultra.

Both phones support Wi-Fi 7, but my router does not, so they used a 5GHz connection. I ran an Ookla Speed Test to better understand the differences and, sure enough, the Realme GT 7 Pro achieved far higher download and upload speeds. In my simple test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite and FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi modem in the Realme GT 7 Pro download apps much faster than the last version of the chip and modem. More importantly, despite downloading multiple apps in a row and running several speed tests, there was no obvious increase in device heat.

What about the Realme GT 7 Pro itself?

I can’t tell you much about the Realme GT 7 Pro as a phone just yet, but I can comment on the design and the way it feels in my hand. It’s a substantial device, weighing nearly 223 grams and measuring 8.55mm thick. The flat metal sides make it feel quite chunky in your hand. The oversized camera module on the back, with its angles and sharp edges, only adds to the chunky look and feel.

The Realme GT 7 Pro in our photos is in its Mars Orange color, which has an unusual sand dune-like effect that’s visible in certain lighting conditions. It’s very pretty and really eye-catching, reminding me of Huawei’s beautiful Amber Sunrise color on the P30 Pro. If it’s too bright for you, there’s also a Galaxy Green version that’s more muted.

Too hot to handle?

I have been using the Realme GT 7 Pro ahead of its final release, and I’m only able to assess and tell you about the performance of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite at this time. It’s also the first phone with the chip I’ve used, so I have nothing to compare it to besides older versions, meaning I can’t say whether the overheating issues I experienced are the fault of the processor, the phone, the software, the benchmarking app, or inefficiencies in the new cooling system.

Realme says a software compatibility problem caused the overheating, and Qualcomm states the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor did not cause it. A software update has now enabled the phone to complete the 3D Mark app’s stress tests, but it still gets very hot in the process. Although I haven’t used the phone as my primary device yet, it has not overheated at any other time or shown anything but stellar performance.

Reaching a conclusion at this stage is impossible, but I’m looking forward to trying another phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor to see if it really is a fiery little beast — or if the Realme GT 7 Pro just wasn’t quite ready for the spiciest mobile chip we’ve ever seen when I tried it.