Introduction

Pitting a modern mid-range MediaTek chip and a brand-new Huawei flagship against a three-year-old Snapdragon flagship raises an obvious question: does the aging Snapdragon still hold up? This Dimensity 8350 vs Kirin 9030 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 comparison uses verified NanoReview specification and benchmark data to explain how these three chips perform in CPU work, gaming, camera processing, and connectivity, and which one genuinely delivers the strongest package.

1. Processor Overview

The Dimensity 8350, announced November 2024, is an 8-core mid-range chip built on TSMC’s 4nm process, using a 1+3+4 layout: 1x Cortex-A715 at 3.35GHz, 3x Cortex-A715 at 3.2GHz, and 4x Cortex-A510 efficiency cores at 2.2GHz, paired with a Mali-G615 MP6 GPU.

The Kirin 9030 Pro, announced November 2025 and the newest chip here, is HiSilicon’s latest flagship, built on SMIC’s 5nm process. It uses an unusual 9-core layout: 1x Taishan v124 Big core at 2.75GHz, 4x Taishan v124 Mid cores at 2.27GHz, and 4x Taishan v124 Little cores at 1.72GHz, paired with a large Maleoon 935 GPU, HiSilicon’s own in-house graphics architecture.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, announced November 2022 and the oldest chip in this comparison by two to three years, uses an 8-core layout on the same TSMC 4nm process as the Dimensity 8350: 1x Cortex-X3 at 3.2GHz, 2x Cortex-A715 at 2.8GHz, 2x Cortex-A710 at 2.8GHz, and 3x Cortex-A510 efficiency cores at 2.0GHz, paired with an Adreno 740 GPU.

Despite its age, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 remains a genuine flagship-class design, and as the benchmarks below show, it still holds its own against both newer chips.

2. CPU Architecture & Processing Power

The Dimensity 8350 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 both use ARMv9-A, while the Kirin 9030 Pro uses the older ARMv8-A instruction set with HiSilicon’s own custom Taishan cores rather than licensed ARM designs.

In Geekbench 6 single-core, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads by a wide margin at 2004, about 30.2% higher than the Dimensity 8350 (1398) and about 47.1% higher than the Kirin 9030 Pro (1362). The Cortex-X3 prime core’s architectural strength, even three years after launch, remains decisive here. Between the Dimensity 8350 and Kirin 9030 Pro, the Dimensity 8350 leads by about 2.6%.

Multi-core also favors the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2: it leads with 5311, narrowly ahead of the Kirin 9030 Pro (5169, about 2.7% lower) and well ahead of the Dimensity 8350 (4313, about 18.8% lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2). The Kirin 9030 Pro’s 9-core layout gives it a real multi-core advantage over the 8-core Dimensity 8350, leading by about 16.6% in this test.

3. GPU & Gaming Performance

GPU hardware differs substantially. The Kirin 9030 Pro’s Maleoon 935 has the largest configuration by far, with 256 shading units and 1536 total shaders, rated at 2866.1 Gigaflops, the highest theoretical figure of the three. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s Adreno 740 follows at 2089 Gigaflops, and the Dimensity 8350’s Mali-G615 MP6 is rated lowest at 2150.4 Gigaflops, though it’s worth noting the Dimensity 8350 actually edges out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 slightly here.

Geekbench 6 GPU Compute results are surprisingly close: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads narrowly at 9254, just ahead of the Dimensity 8350 (9142, about 1.2% lower) and the Kirin 9030 Pro (8043, about 13.1% lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2). The Dimensity 8350 actually outperforms the Kirin 9030 Pro here by about 13.7%, despite the Kirin chip’s much larger GPU on paper.

3DMark data is incomplete for the Kirin 9030 Pro, which has no 3DMark figures disclosed, likely reflecting its very recent announcement and limited sample size. Between the Dimensity 8350 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, results are mixed: the Dimensity 8350 leads Steel Nomad Light (1205 versus 1092, about 10.4% higher), while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads Solar Bay (5312 versus 4852, about 9.5% higher). Uniquely, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has real-world gaming FPS data at Ultra settings, showing strong results including PUBG Mobile at 90 FPS, World of Tanks Blitz at 120 FPS, and Shadowgun Legends at 118 FPS; no equivalent gaming FPS table is supplied for either the Dimensity 8350 or Kirin 9030 Pro.

4. Manufacturing Process & Efficiency

The Dimensity 8350 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 share the same TSMC 4nm process, while the Kirin 9030 Pro uses SMIC’s 5nm node, reflecting different foundry access. TDP is disclosed for the Dimensity 8350 (6W) and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (8.5W); no TDP figure is supplied for the Kirin 9030 Pro.

NanoReview’s battery-life sub-scores favor both the Dimensity 8350 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which are tied at 91, notably higher than the Kirin 9030 Pro’s 84. Despite its newer process and node, the Kirin 9030 Pro’s larger 9-core CPU and GPU appear to draw more sustained power in practice.

5. RAM, Memory & Storage Support

All three chips use LPDDR5X memory. The Kirin 9030 Pro runs at the highest frequency (4800MHz, 76.8Gb/s bandwidth), followed by the Dimensity 8350 (4266MHz, 68.2Gb/s) and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4200MHz, 67.2Gb/s, essentially tied with the Dimensity 8350). Maximum RAM support favors the Dimensity 8350 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, both at 24GB, versus the Kirin 9030 Pro’s lower 16GB ceiling.

Storage support favors the Kirin 9030 Pro, which supports both UFS 4.0 and UFS 4.1. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 supports UFS 3.1 and UFS 4.0, and the Dimensity 8350 supports UFS 4.0 only.

6. AI & NPU Capabilities

All three chips confirm a dedicated NPU: the Dimensity 8350 uses a named MediaTek APU 780, the Kirin 9030 Pro uses HiSilicon’s Da Vinci architecture, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 uses Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU. None of the three has a disclosed TOPS figure, so no numeric AI performance ranking can be made across this comparison.

7. ISP, Camera & Video Capabilities

Camera resolution is disclosed for two of the three: the Dimensity 8350 supports up to 320MP, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 supports up to 200MP. No maximum camera resolution is disclosed for the Kirin 9030 Pro.

Video capability strongly favors the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which supports 8K capture at 30FPS and 4K capture at 120FPS, with playback reaching 8K at 60FPS and 4K at 120FPS. Both the Dimensity 8350 and Kirin 9030 Pro are limited to 4K at 60FPS for both capture and playback. Codec support also favors the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which adds VP8 alongside H.264, H.265, AV1, and VP9; the Dimensity 8350 supports H.264, H.265, AV1, and VP9, while the Kirin 9030 Pro’s supplied list includes H.264, H.265, and VP9 only, notably missing AV1.

8. Display Support

The Kirin 9030 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 both support a maximum display resolution of 3840 x 2160, higher than the Dimensity 8350’s 2960 x 1440 ceiling.

9. Modem, 5G & Connectivity

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, via its Snapdragon X70 modem, has the fastest disclosed 5G download speed at 10000 Mbps, with an upload speed of 3500 Mbps. The Kirin 9030 Pro, via its Balong 6000 modem, discloses a download speed of 7500 Mbps and matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s upload speed at 3500 Mbps. The Dimensity 8350 discloses the lowest download figure at 5170 Mbps, with no upload speed supplied.

Wi-Fi favors the two newer-standard chips: the Kirin 9030 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 both support Wi-Fi 7, while the Dimensity 8350 supports the older Wi-Fi 6. Bluetooth favors the Kirin 9030 Pro, at the newest version 6.0, ahead of the Dimensity 8350 (5.4) and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (5.3). GNSS support is broadest on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which adds SBAS alongside GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, and NAVIC; the other two include the same list without SBAS. These are theoretical maximums; real-world network speeds depend on carrier infrastructure and will not always reach these ceilings.

10. Benchmark Comparison

All benchmark figures below use AnTuTu 11 and Geekbench 6, so comparisons are apples-to-apples.

AnTuTu 11 Total:

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2: 1,757,044
• Kirin 9030 Pro: 1,725,229 (Dimensity 8350 trails the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 by about 1.8%, and is essentially tied with the Kirin 9030 Pro, trailing by less than 0.1%)
• Dimensity 8350: 1,724,757

Geekbench 6 Single-Core: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads by a wide margin with 2004, ahead of the Dimensity 8350 (1398, about 30.2% lower) and Kirin 9030 Pro (1362, about 32.0% lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2).

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads with 5311, ahead of the Kirin 9030 Pro (5169, about 2.7% lower) and Dimensity 8350 (4313, about 18.8% lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2).

Geekbench 6 GPU Compute: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads narrowly at 9254, just ahead of the Dimensity 8350 (9142, about 1.2% lower) and Kirin 9030 Pro (8043, about 13.1% lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2).

3DMark: Not disclosed for the Kirin 9030 Pro. The Dimensity 8350 leads Steel Nomad Light (1205 versus 1092, about 10.4% higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2), while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leads Solar Bay (5312 versus 4852, about 9.5% higher than the Dimensity 8350).

PCMark 3.0: Only disclosed for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, at 15,557. Not disclosed for the Dimensity 8350 or Kirin 9030 Pro.

The overall picture strongly favors the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 despite its age, leading AnTuTu total score, single-core, multi-core, and GPU Compute, while the Dimensity 8350 and Kirin 9030 Pro are essentially tied on AnTuTu but split other categories between them.

11. Real-World Performance

Everyday users should notice dramatically snappier single-core responsiveness on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which leads by roughly 30-32% over both newer chips.

Multitaskers also benefit most from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s multi-core lead, though the Kirin 9030 Pro’s 9-core layout keeps it competitive against the Dimensity 8350.

Gamers get the most complete picture from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the only chip with disclosed real-world gaming FPS data, and it also leads GPU Compute and one of two comparable 3DMark tests.

Content creators benefit substantially from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s 8K video ceiling, well ahead of both newer chips’ 4K/60FPS limit.

AI users cannot be meaningfully differentiated here, since none of the three chips has a disclosed NPU TOPS figure.

Camera users get the highest disclosed resolution from the Dimensity 8350 (320MP), though no camera resolution is disclosed for the Kirin 9030 Pro at all.

Connectivity-focused users should lean toward the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the fastest disclosed 5G download speed, though the Kirin 9030 Pro matches its upload speed and offers the newest Bluetooth version.

12. Strengths & Weaknesses

MediaTek Dimensity 8350

• Strengths: Leads 3DMark Steel Nomad Light; highest disclosed camera resolution (320MP); tied for the highest battery-life sub-score; nearly matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in GPU Compute.
• Weaknesses: Trails the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 by roughly 30% in single-core and 19% in multi-core; slowest disclosed 5G download speed; no disclosed PCMark or gaming FPS data.

HiSilicon Kirin 9030 Pro

• Strengths: Essentially tied with the Dimensity 8350 for the highest AnTuTu total score; highest theoretical GPU Gigaflops rating; newest Bluetooth version (6.0); matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s fastest disclosed 5G upload speed.
• Weaknesses: Lowest Geekbench single-core score of the three; lowest NanoReview battery-life sub-score (84); no disclosed TDP, 3DMark, PCMark, or camera resolution data, reflecting its very recent announcement; missing AV1 codec support.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

• Strengths: Highest AnTuTu 11 total score; leads Geekbench single-core by a wide margin; leads multi-core and GPU Compute; only chip with disclosed PCMark score and real-world gaming FPS data; widest video ceiling (8K/60FPS) and fastest disclosed 5G download speed.
• Weaknesses: Highest disclosed TDP (8.5W); oldest Bluetooth version (5.3); lowest disclosed camera resolution (200MP) of the two chips with data.

13. Best Processor For Different Users

• Best for Gaming: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Best for AI: Not determinable from supplied data
• Best for Efficiency: MediaTek Dimensity 8350 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (tied on battery-life score)
• Best for Camera Processing: MediaTek Dimensity 8350 (only disclosed resolution advantage)
• Best for Connectivity: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Best for Balanced Performance: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Final Verdict

This Dimensity 8350 vs Kirin 9030 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 comparison is another reminder that release date does not guarantee performance. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, despite being announced two to three years before the Primary Processor, the Dimensity 8350, and its rival the Kirin 9030 Pro, still leads nearly every directly comparable benchmark.

Final Verdict

1. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — Best Overall It leads AnTuTu 11 total score, Geekbench single-core, multi-core, and GPU Compute, and is the only chip with disclosed PCMark and real-world gaming FPS data, giving it the most thoroughly documented and best-performing profile despite being the oldest chip here.

2. HiSilicon Kirin 9030 Pro — Best For AnTuTu Parity and Connectivity It is essentially tied with the Dimensity 8350 for AnTuTu total score, has the highest theoretical GPU rating and newest Bluetooth version, but its lack of disclosed TDP, 3DMark, and PCMark data, combined with the lowest single-core score of the three, makes it the least documented option.

3. MediaTek Dimensity 8350 — Best For Camera Resolution and Steel Nomad Light It leads 3DMark Steel Nomad Light and has the highest disclosed camera resolution, but trails the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 clearly in single-core, multi-core, and connectivity speed.

Best for Gaming: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Best for AI: Not determinable from supplied data Best for Efficiency: MediaTek Dimensity 8350 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Best Balanced Choice: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Bottom Line: Despite being announced years before either rival, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 remains the strongest all-round performer in this comparison, leading AnTuTu total score, single-core and multi-core speed, GPU Compute, and offering the most complete disclosed specifications, including real-world gaming FPS data neither newer chip provides. The Dimensity 8350 and Kirin 9030 Pro are essentially tied on the composite AnTuTu score, but each has genuine gaps in disclosed data and trails the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the benchmarks that matter most for everyday responsiveness and gaming.