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Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is the stronger chipset of the two. It is built on a 6nm process rather than 12nm, pairs two Cortex-A78 cores with six Cortex-A55 cores, supports sub-6GHz 5G where Helio G35 is 4G-only, and posts much higher Geekbench 5 scores on a third-party comparison page. The chip sets the ceiling, but the phone around it (memory, cooling, software updates and radio bands) decides what you actually get.
Specifications side by side
The table below uses each vendor’s own product specifications where available. Where a value comes from a third-party reference instead, the source is named.
| Area | Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 | Helio G35 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | Qualcomm lists a Kryo CPU with a clock of up to 2GHz. NanoReview reports 2 × Cortex-A78 plus 6 × Cortex-A55 (A55 cores up to 1.8GHz). | 8 × Arm Cortex-A53, maximum frequency 2.3GHz (MediaTek specification) |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno GPU; model and clock not stated in the sources used | IMG PowerVR GE8320, up to 680MHz (MediaTek specification) |
| Process | 6nm (Qualcomm) | 12nm FinFET (MediaTek) |
| Cellular | X51 5G modem; sub-6GHz 5G support | 4G LTE, with dual-4G SIM support |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 5; Bluetooth 5.2 (Qualcomm) | Wi-Fi 5; Bluetooth 5.0 (MediaTek) |
| Display and charging | Up to 120fps at FHD+ display support; Quick Charge 4+ (Qualcomm) | Not stated by MediaTek in the sources used |
| Storage, camera and software features | Not stated in the sources used | eMMC 5.1 storage; capture support up to 25MP; HyperEngine features (MediaTek) |
A chipset specification sheet tells you what the silicon can do, not what a given phone enables. Display limits, charging hardware and camera pipelines are set by the handset maker, so treat the vendor rows as capability claims for the platform.
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On paper, Helio G35 looks faster in one number: its eight cores reach 2.3GHz, while Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 tops out at 2GHz. Clock speed alone does not make a processor faster, because the core design determines how much work each cycle completes.
#1 Best Overall
- Ultra-high Performance Chipset: This cell phone is equipped with a powerful and efficient Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, using 4nm technology and a full-core 3.2GHz CPU, supporting 24GB LPDDR5X memory + UFS 4.0 flash memory, and equipped with an AI engine, with comprehensive performance upgrades.
- Revolutionary 50MP Quad Camera System: This smartphone is equipped with All 50MP four camera system: Including a Main Camera, a Periscope, an Ultra-wide Camera, and a ultra-clear Front Camera; this cell phone support Ultra XDR 4K video, Auto Tone, Portrait Optimiser, Motion Capture Mode, Night Mode; Whether you're a photographer, vlogger, or social media enthusiast, with the pro-grade camera system and AI enhancements, this Nothing phone can ensure every shot is masterpiece-ready.
- One-Touch Control, AI-Powered Organization：ESSENTIAL KEY: A new button on the side of your device.Press once to capture your screen, long-press to record voice and ideas, and double-press to access Essential Space; ESSENTIAL SPACE: Everything in one place, organised the way you want it to be，AI mobile phones helps organise your captures, generating suggestions, and staying on top of what matters; Explore more AI features, Let AI enrich your life
- GLYPH INTERFACE: Where Light Speaks; The Glyph Matrix transforms your phone into an interactive playground—smart animations turn notifications, tools, and games into living light experiences; NFC: An animation comes to life when NFC is triggered; Glyph Button: Quick-tap to browse Glyph Toys, long-press to launch—from utilities to games; Smarter Alerts: Notifications now speak in light and sound, blending visuals with meaning; Beyond illumination; This is interaction, redefined.
- Larger and Brighter FHD Display: 6.67" FHD+ 1.5K AMOLED flex screen with 1.07B colors & 120Hz adaptive refresh for ultra-smooth visuals; Vs Nothing Phone (2)/(3a): Phone (3) boasts 181.2% brighter (4500 nits), 16.7% sharper (460 PPI), and 316% faster touch response (1000Hz); IP68-rated—tough enough for any adventure.
Core design
The Cortex-A53 used in Helio G35 is an older, in-order design aimed at efficiency. The Cortex-A78 in Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is an out-of-order design with a much wider execution pipeline, and it does considerably more work per clock. The Cortex-A55 cores in the Snapdragon chip are closer in concept to the A53, but they are paired with two A78 cores that handle the heavier single-threaded work.
Why the layout matters
Most everyday app launches, web page scripts and UI animations depend on how fast one or two cores can run. Helio G35’s eight-core cluster can help when many threads run at once, but its per-core speed is lower. This is why the benchmark results below show a much bigger gap in single-core performance than in multi-core performance.
Graphics and process node
Helio G35 uses an IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU clocked up to 680MHz. Qualcomm describes Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 with an Adreno GPU but, in the sources used for this article, does not give a model or clock for it. That means you cannot calculate a precise graphics gap from the specifications alone.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsRank #2
- Ultra-high Performance Chipset: This cell phone is equipped with a powerful and efficient Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, using 4nm technology and a full-core 3.2GHz CPU, supporting 24GB LPDDR5X memory + UFS 4.0 flash memory, and equipped with an AI engine, with comprehensive performance upgrades.
- Revolutionary 50MP Quad Camera System: This smartphone is equipped with All 50MP four camera system: Including a Main Camera, a Periscope, an Ultra-wide Camera, and a ultra-clear Front Camera; this cell phone support Ultra XDR 4K video, Auto Tone, Portrait Optimiser, Motion Capture Mode, Night Mode; Whether you're a photographer, vlogger, or social media enthusiast, with the pro-grade camera system and AI enhancements, this Nothing phone can ensure every shot is masterpiece-ready.
- One-Touch Control, AI-Powered Organization：ESSENTIAL KEY: A new button on the side of your device.Press once to capture your screen, long-press to record voice and ideas, and double-press to access Essential Space; ESSENTIAL SPACE: Everything in one place, organised the way you want it to be，AI mobile phones helps organise your captures, generating suggestions, and staying on top of what matters; Explore more AI features, Let AI enrich your life
- GLYPH INTERFACE: Where Light Speaks; The Glyph Matrix transforms your phone into an interactive playground—smart animations turn notifications, tools, and games into living light experiences; NFC: An animation comes to life when NFC is triggered; Glyph Button: Quick-tap to browse Glyph Toys, long-press to launch—from utilities to games; Smarter Alerts: Notifications now speak in light and sound, blending visuals with meaning; Beyond illumination; This is interaction, redefined.
- Larger and Brighter FHD Display: 6.67" FHD+ 1.5K AMOLED flex screen with 1.07B colors & 120Hz adaptive refresh for ultra-smooth visuals; Vs Nothing Phone (2)/(3a): Phone (3) boasts 181.2% brighter (4500 nits), 16.7% sharper (460 PPI), and 316% faster touch response (1000Hz); IP68-rated—tough enough for any adventure.
The 6nm process used for Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is a generation more advanced than the 12nm FinFET process in Helio G35. Smaller nodes generally support better power efficiency and thermal headroom, but the phone’s cooling design and power limits determine how long sustained performance holds. MediaTek says Helio G35 was designed for “enhanced power efficiency” and “seamless gameplay,” but those are vendor descriptions, not measured game results.
No controlled, same-phone gaming test comparing the two chipsets was found in the sources used for this article. Any statement about frame rates in a specific game would require testing on identical handsets, which is outside what the available evidence supports.
Connectivity: 5G versus 4G
This is the clearest functional difference between the two platforms. Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 uses Qualcomm’s X51 5G modem and supports sub-6GHz 5G. Helio G35 is a 4G LTE platform and cannot connect to 5G networks, so a phone built on it will stay on LTE even where 5G coverage exists.
Rank #3
- This phone is Unlocked for GSM Carriers in USA like T-Mobile (Excluding Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular) and not compatible with any CDMA Network Carriers. Dual-SIM (2x Nano-SIM + or Nano-SIM + eSIM or Dual eSIM)
- Samsung Regional Lock will be unlocked. This process requires unsealing the unit prior to shipping.
- 6.9" full rectangle, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD+), 120 Hz, 16M Color Depth, Corning Glass Victus 2
- 1TB UFS 4.0 Storage, 12GB RAM
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
Both chips support Wi-Fi 5. Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 lists Bluetooth 5.2, while Helio G35 lists Bluetooth 5.0. Helio G35’s dual-4G SIM support is a feature to check if you need two active lines.
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- Check that your carrier’s 5G bands are supported by the specific phone model, not just by the chipset.
- Check the regional model number, since the same phone can ship with different radio bands in different markets.
- Confirm that the handset supports the Bluetooth profiles you use, because chipset specifications do not always reflect the final configuration.
Benchmark evidence
CPU-Monkey’s comparison page, last updated May 4, 2026, displays Geekbench 5 results for both chips. These figures are what that page shows; they are not guaranteed scores for every device built on either processor.
| Geekbench 5 test | Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 | Helio G35 | Ratio (calculated from the displayed scores) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-core | 926 | 166 | About 5.6 times higher |
| Multi-core | 2,979 | 892 | About 3.3 times higher |
The single-core gap is large, and it fits the architectural difference described above. The multi-core gap is smaller because Helio G35’s eight cores narrow the distance when a test spreads work across all of them. The page does not give the handset, software build, temperature or power limits behind these runs, so treat them as a snapshot of one configuration rather than a verdict on every phone.
Rank #4
- World's First Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, plus a custom Wi-Fi chip and dedicated Touch Response chip, you get lightning-fast speeds, stable connections, and ultra-responsive touch control.
- Impossibly Smooth 165Hz Display: Experience extreme smoothness on a 165Hz, 1.5K flagship display powered by our 3200Hz Touch Response Chip for lightning-fast interactions.
- Our largest-ever 7,400mAh battery:Power up your day with 80W SUPERVOOC charging for power that last all day and beyond.
- Industry's Most Complete IP Ratings:Backed by the industry's most complete IP ratings, the OnePlus 15R doesn't even blink at dust storms, and shrugs off powerful water blasts.
- OxygenOS 16 delivers a faster, smoother, and more intuitive experience, with refined design, smarter features, and enhanced performance that keeps up with your day.
How to verify on your own phone
- Install Geekbench 5 from the Google Play Store on the phone you are considering.
- Close other apps, keep the phone at room temperature and plug it in only if the test instructions require it.
- Run the CPU benchmark three times and use the median result.
- Compare against the same phone model’s results from other users, not against the chipset’s figure in a comparison table.
Phones built on each chip
NanoReview lists the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G and the Motorola Moto G (2024) among phones that use Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. For Helio G35, the sources used here did not establish a current handset listing, so this article cannot name a phone you can buy today on that chip.
Availability, price and regional stock change frequently. Confirm them directly with the retailer or manufacturer before purchase.
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What MediaTek says about Helio G35
MediaTek announced the Helio G25 and G35 on June 30, 2020. Dr. Yenchi Lee, Deputy General Manager of its Wireless Communications Business Unit, said in that announcement: “The MediaTek Helio G25 and G35 chips offer smartphone users premium features included in our other G-series family, including enhanced power efficiency, optimum performance, seamless gameplay, and enhanced photography.” That statement describes the platform’s positioning; it is not independent performance evidence.
Which chip fits your situation
- Choose a Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 phone if you need 5G, expect to run demanding apps or games, or want more headroom in single-threaded tasks.
- Consider a Helio G35 phone only if you are on a 4G network, need dual-SIM 4G operation, and the specific handset is priced low enough to justify the lower CPU performance.
- Judge the whole phone first. Memory, storage, display, battery capacity, software update commitment and local radio bands can matter more to daily use than the chipset.
Keep in mind that a chipset comparison cannot tell you how a specific phone’s thermal design, memory configuration or software behaves over time. Read the handset’s own specifications and reviews before you decide.
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