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Two 4nm smartphone chips still sit at the centre of the premium mid-range market in 2026, even though neither is new. MediaTek announced the Dimensity 8400 in December 2024, and Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 in March 2024.
On aggregated benchmark data, the MediaTek part wins most multi-core and graphics tests by a wide margin. The Qualcomm part keeps a clear edge in single-core speed and supports newer Wi-Fi. The harder question in 2026 is simpler: which of the two can buyers in the United States and Europe still find inside a phone?
At a Glance
- Dimensity 8400: eight Cortex-A725 cores with no low-power efficiency cores, plus Mali-G720 MP7 graphics.
- Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3: one Cortex-X4 core, four Cortex-A720 cores and three Cortex-A520 cores, plus Adreno 732 graphics.
- Aggregated AnTuTu 11 data puts the Dimensity chip about 17 percent ahead overall and about 41 percent ahead in the graphics sub-score.
- Geekbench 6 single-core results run the other way, with the Snapdragon chip about 18 percent ahead.
- Wi-Fi is the cleanest split. Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 supports Wi-Fi 7, while Dimensity 8400 supports Wi-Fi 6E.
Why this comparison still matters in 2026
Neither chip is a current-generation part, and that is exactly why the comparison has become useful for shoppers. Phones built around them are now discounted, so both chips often appear in the same price band as newer mid-range hardware. A phone from 2025 with either chip can still offer LPDDR5X memory, UFS 4.0 storage and a 120Hz AMOLED panel, which is why retailers in Europe and import sellers in the US keep listing them.
The comparison also splits cleanly along brand lines. MediaTek's chip sells in volume, because POCO, Redmi and several Chinese brands built multiple models around it. Qualcomm's chip had a smaller list of devices, and its best-known Western phone is now tied to a brand that has left the region.
Two different ideas of a fast phone
MediaTek built the Dimensity 8400 around an all-big-core layout. All eight Cortex-A725 cores are performance cores, clocked at up to 3.25GHz, with no small cores for background tasks. MediaTek says the design delivers up to 41 percent more multi-core performance than the previous Dimensity 8300 and cuts CPU power use by up to 44 percent in its own testing.
Qualcomm took the familiar 1+4+3 route with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3. One Cortex-X4 prime core at up to 2.8GHz handles the heaviest single-thread work, four Cortex-A720 cores cover sustained load, and three Cortex-A520 cores handle light tasks. Qualcomm described it as the most powerful 7-series platform of its time, and it also added a 18-bit triple cognitive ISP for photos and video.
The practical difference is where each chip peaks. MediaTek's approach spreads performance across every core, which helps multi-tasking, rendering and multi-threaded games. Qualcomm's approach concentrates speed in one core, which helps app launch times, single-threaded workloads and older games that lean on one thread.
Table 1. Dimensity 8400 vs Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 on paper
Benchmarks: where the gap is real and where it is small
NanoReview's aggregated AnTuTu 11 results, which average user-submitted tests across many phones, give the Dimensity 8400 a total of about 1,940,000 against about 1,660,000 for the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3. That is a gap of roughly 17 percent.
The breakdown explains where the difference comes from. PetaTech24 calculated from the same dataset that the graphics sub-score is about 41 percent higher on the MediaTek chip, while the CPU sub-score is only about 7 percent higher. In other words, the headline gap is mostly a graphics gap, not a processor gap.
Geekbench 6 tells a more mixed story. The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 averages about 1,860 in single-core, about 18 percent above the Dimensity 8400 at about 1,581. The MediaTek chip replies in multi-core with about 6,195 against about 5,045, a lead of roughly 23 percent.
Table 2. Third-party benchmark averages
Figures are averages of user-submitted results compiled by NanoReview. Real scores vary by phone, cooling system, memory configuration and software version.
Heat, throttling and the part benchmarks miss
A benchmark average hides one important detail: what happens after ten minutes of play. Beebom's testing of a Dimensity 8400 phone recorded about 71 percent CPU stability over a 15 minute throttle test and 61.5 percent stability in a repeated 3DMark Wild Life Extreme run, with a peak graphics score of 3,994. That fits MediaTek's all-big-core design, which pushes more silicon harder and depends on the phone's cooling to hold its clocks.
Comparable stability data for the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is thinner in public databases, so a direct sustained-performance verdict is not possible from the available evidence. Both chips handle modern Android titles at high settings, MediaTek lists hardware ray tracing support for the Dimensity 8400, and game developers tend to tune for Adreno drivers first. That last point is a quiet advantage for Qualcomm that no specification table captures.
The phones, and what they cost in the US and Europe
Table 3. Devices and launch prices
Prices are regional launch or list figures and street prices move quickly. The Dimensity 8400 Ultra inside the POCO X7 Pro is a MediaTek variant of the same platform, with the same core layout as the standard 8400.
Availability is the part of this story that changed most in 2026. OnePlus confirmed in July 2026 that it will not launch new products in the United States or Europe, and that existing stock will be sold while it lasts. That removes the Nord 4, the most visible Western phone built on the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, from shelves once inventory runs out. Parent company Oppo will keep selling phones in Europe, but it has confirmed it will not replace OnePlus in North America.
MediaTek's position is the opposite. The Dimensity 8400 family sold through POCO and Redmi models that were widely available in Europe, and the POCO X7 Pro remains on sale in several markets. In the US, buyers mostly see it through imported global models on marketplaces rather than carrier shelves.
What replaces both chips
MediaTek announced the Dimensity 8500 in January 2026 as the successor line, keeping the all-big-core CPU design and a more efficient 4nm process. It has already shipped in the POCO X8 Pro, which lists at around 400 euros in Europe depending on configuration and retailer, and in the Xiaomi 17T, which launched globally in May 2026 from 749 euros.
Qualcomm's newer 7-series parts, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 and the 7s Gen 4, have both arrived since. On 91mobiles' database, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 records about 1,385 in Geekbench 6 single-core, below the roughly 1,826 recorded for the older 7+ Gen 3, so the plus tier of 2024 has not been clearly beaten in that test by its own successor line.
That leaves a narrow but real buying case. If a discounted phone with either chip lands well below the launch price of a 2026 mid-ranger, the older chip is usually the better value, as long as the phone still has a reasonable software update commitment.
What the numbers do not settle
Aggregated benchmark databases mix different phones, memory speeds, software builds and ambient temperatures, so they describe a trend rather than a controlled test. PetaTech24 has not tested either chip first hand. Camera quality, modem behaviour, modem efficiency and long-term software support all vary by phone, and none of those appear in an AnTuTu total.
FAQ
Which chip is faster, the Dimensity 8400 or the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3?
It depends on the workload. The Dimensity 8400 leads in multi-core and graphics scores, while the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 leads in single-core speed. Multi-threaded and graphics-heavy tasks favour MediaTek, and latency-sensitive single-thread tasks favour Qualcomm.
Is Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 better for gaming?
For sustained gaming the phone matters as much as the chip. Qualcomm's Adreno drivers are often optimised first by game studios, and the single X4 core helps in games with heavy main-thread load. The Dimensity 8400 offers a higher peak graphics score, but tested phones show notable throttling under long sustained loads.
Are these chips still worth buying in 2026?
Yes, if the price is right. Both support LPDDR5X memory, UFS 4.0 storage and 120Hz WQHD+ displays, and both handle modern Android software. Check the device's update policy and the current selling price against newer options such as the POCO X8 Pro with the Dimensity 8500 Ultra.
Was Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 discontinued?
Qualcomm has not announced the end of the platform, and phones with it remain on sale. What changed is distribution. OnePlus, which shipped the Nord 4 with the chip, has stopped launching new products in the US and Europe, so the chip's Western presence now depends on remaining stock and on brands such as Realme.
Bottom line
The Dimensity 8400 is the stronger chip on paper, mostly because of its graphics and multi-core lead, and it is the easier of the two to buy in Europe in 2026. The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 remains the better pick for single-core responsiveness and Wi-Fi 7 support, but its most visible Western phone is now being phased out after OnePlus left the US and European markets. For buyers, the deciding factor is rarely the chip logo. It is the cooling design, the current street price and the years of software support attached to the specific phone.
Sources
- MediaTek Dimensity 8400 launch specifications, MediaTek and launch coverage from GSMArena, Notebookcheck and Beebom.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 product page and specifications, Qualcomm.
- Nanoreview aggregated AnTuTu 11 and Geekbench 6 comparisons for Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 and Dimensity 8400.
- 91mobiles chipset database entries for Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 and Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.
- Beebom Dimensity 8400 benchmark and throttling tests.
- GSMArena device pages for POCO X7 Pro, OnePlus Nord 4 and Realme GT 6T.
- OnePlus withdrawal from the United States and Europe, reported by The Verge and TechRadar, July 2026.
- POCO X8 Pro and Xiaomi 17T launch coverage, PhoneArena, Notebookcheck and Xiaomi announcements.
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