The A19 Pro has officially lost its multi-core crown before some rivals even hit the market. Apple’s latest 3nm chip delivers modest gains, but it’s no longer the most powerful SoC in the game.
A19 Pro falls behind unreleased chips in multi-core battle
Geekbench 6 scores confirm it: the A19 Pro trails both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Samsung’s upcoming Exynos 2600 in multi-threaded performance. Despite being built on TSMC’s cutting-edge node, Apple’s new 6-core chip improved just 13% over the A18 Pro in multi-core results.
That wouldn’t be a problem if Qualcomm and Samsung hadn’t closed the gap. They didn’t just catch up. They passed Apple, and did it with headroom to spare.
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A19 Pro stays dominant in single-core performance
Even so, Apple still holds the single-core throne. The A19 Pro scored 3,895 in that category, comfortably ahead of the underclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which landed at 3,393. But that same Qualcomm chip, running at just 4.00GHz instead of 4.74GHz, smoked Apple in multi-core tests with a score of 11,515.
That’s an 18.2% performance lead for Android silicon, even with slower clocks.
A19 Pro vs Exynos 2600 shows a narrowing gap
Samsung’s Exynos 2600 also posted big numbers. Early benchmarks show it outperforming the A19 Pro by 15.5% in multi-core results. Single-core? Apple still leads, but the margin is tighter. Samsung trails by just 15%.
These gains don’t come from magic. They come from the muscle. Both rivals use more CPU cores than Apple’s efficiency-focused six. Here’s how they stack up:
- A19 Pro: 6-core CPU
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: 8-core CPU
- Exynos 2600: 10-core CPU
More cores don’t always mean better real-world speed, but in synthetic benchmarks, it’s enough to shift the scoreboard.
A19 Pro multi-core weakness may be intentional
Apple’s restraint isn’t a bug; it’s a design decision. The company prioritizes battery life and thermal control over raw throughput. It’s paid off in consistency, but it’s also opened the door for Qualcomm and Samsung to claim bragging rights in the benchmark space.
If Apple ever decides to scale beyond six cores, these comparisons could flip quickly. Until then, expect Android chips to lead in the multi-core race at least on paper.
A19 Pro benchmarks signal the end of Apple’s multi-core streak
The A19 Pro still leads where it counts for most users, single-threaded power and efficiency. But the era of Apple’s uncontested benchmark dominance is over. Qualcomm and Samsung came hungry this year. And it shows.
