Honor’s next flagship is shaping up to be a serious challenger to Xiaomi’s latest. While the Xiaomi 17 series was first out of the gate with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, early numbers suggest the Honor Magic 8 could leapfrog it in raw performance.
According to an AnTuTu V11 run shared by Honor product manager Li Kun, the non‑Pro Magic 8 posted an impressive 4,166,339 points overall. The breakdown lists 1,213,845 for CPU, 1,468,351 for GPU, 570,553 for memory, and 913,590 for UX. For context, a recent Xiaomi 17 Pro score came in at 3,749,435 overall, with 1,053,385 CPU, 1,332,311 GPU, 529,807 memory, and 833,932 UX.
On paper, that gives the Honor Magic 8 an early lead in both CPU and GPU performance, plus gains in memory and UX. However, power and thermals tell another part of the story. During the benchmark session, the Magic 8 reportedly dropped 7% battery, while the Xiaomi 17 Pro lost just 2%. Even so, the Xiaomi’s chipset temperature was shown to be comparatively higher, hinting at different tuning strategies for heat and power management.
It’s worth keeping perspective. These are early results on newly released AnTuTu V11, and firmware optimizations for Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices are still evolving. Scores can shift as manufacturers refine performance modes, thermal limits, and drivers ahead of retail launch.
Honor has confirmed the Magic 8 series, including the Magic 8 Pro, is slated for an October 2025 debut. The company has already teased the design and shared camera samples from the Pro model’s 200 MP telephoto, signaling a strong focus on long‑range photography alongside flagship‑class performance.
If these early benchmarks hold, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 showdown could come down to sustained performance, heat management, and power efficiency as much as peak scores. With launch season around the corner, expect a tighter race as both brands fine‑tune their devices for real‑world use.
