home-Programs-Comparison table of processors for a smartphone. Comparison of current Qualcomm mobile processors. How was the rating of processors for tablets compiled

Comparison table of processors for a smartphone. Comparison of current Qualcomm mobile processors. How was the rating of processors for tablets compiled

If you use your phone only for calls, reading books and surfing the Internet, then the question of what processor is inside is not very important. This becomes important for those who intend to use the gadget to the limit, for example, for gamers. Let's take a closer look at two leaders in the mobile processor market: Qualcomm and MediaTek.

What determines the performance of smartphones?

Subjectively, it is assessed as the speed of launching applications and rendering the interface, the absence of freezes, and quick response to control actions. Of course, the processor parameters are important for all this, but we must not forget about other factors:

  • the amount of RAM,
  • the type of processor used,
  • type of graphics adapter.

The highest performance is achieved with the best balance of these three indicators.

Mobile platforms

Most mobile devices are now released on the OS platform Android... It is free operating system on the Linux kernel, promoted by by Google, which is why many electronics manufacturers use it for their gadgets.

The second most popular platform is iOS which is installed only on Apple products. Source is closed, no other manufacturer can use this OS on their devices.

Processor manufacturers

Chipsets for mobile devices are produced by not so many companies. You can compare some of them occupying the top lines of popularity.

Qualcomm Is an American company that develops wireless communication devices and chipsets for mobile devices. Today it is one of the leaders in this industry.

MediaTek Is a Chinese engineering company that has been designing microelectronics since 1997. It does not have its own production facilities, it is only engaged in development. It is the second major leader in this area. The headquarters is located in Taiwan, and branches are scattered across many countries of the world.

Samsung Is a well-known South Korean corporation engaged in very many industries, from heavy industry to entertainment. In the consumer market, it is known primarily for its electronics and household appliances. Its electronic division also produces processors for mobile phones. They are mainly installed in equipment of our own production.

Intel- the undisputed technological leader in the development of microprocessor technology. The company is best known for its chipsets for computers, servers and communications equipment, but mobile processors are also in its product line. For example, the famous brand Atom.

Which processor to choose for a smartphone phone: from Qualcomm or MediaTek

A few years ago, MediaTek products were considered budgetary, focused exclusively on the lowest price range. The quality was low, and the percentage of various failures was significantly higher than that of competitors. But in recent years, this has no longer been the case. The company has learned to design chipsets that are not inferior in quality to Qualcomm products. However, the prejudice against the Chinese developer still remains.

It makes sense to pay attention to the processor manufacturer when buying a smartphone or tablet if you are going to work with "heavy" applications, for example, with mobile games.

For simple, uncomplicated applications, which are typical tasks for most users ( phone calls, banking programs, personal organizers, surfing the Internet, etc.) the difference is practically unimportant.

What Qualcomm and MediaTek have in common

The two industry leaders share some common traits, if only because they operate in a narrow market segment. Both of them develop processors and chipsets for mobile gadgets, and at the same time do not have their own production facilities - third-party manufacturing companies are directly involved in the manufacture of equipment for them.

In the line of both companies there are products of all price categories, from the most budgetary to the most expensive. And yet they are all based on the ARM architecture.

Pros and cons of Qualcomm processors

The Cortex processor core, which the company was licensed from the British firm ARM back in 2005, was redesigned for its own products. Currently, Qualcomm processors are branded as Snapdragon. A proprietary microkernel gives a company a serious competitive advantage (for example, other developers are forced to use it).

Based on its own ARM architecture, Qualcomm engineers are constantly improving the technology. The latest generation of Krait processors are manufactured using a 28nm process. They include models with one, two and four cores.

Embedded coprocessors and communication modules often begin to support new communication technologies even before these standards are introduced to the market. mobile operators... Chipsets work with all network standards without exception.

The company has its own GPU, Adreno, which is also constantly updated. In general, Qualcomm has a reputation for being at the forefront of technological advancement.

The shortcomings of the American giant's products are usually associated with overpriced. The constant pursuit of new products leads to the fact that products with Qualcomm chips are more expensive than their competing classmates.

In addition, the company has historically been oriented towards the luxury segment of technology. The main focus is on expensive, top-end smartphones and tablets, and there are few budget proposals. Perhaps this is the policy of the company's management.

Pros and cons of MediaTek processors

Have MediaTek processors has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The main one is the low price of devices assembled on the chipsets of this developer. The company initially, from the time of its inception, focused on the budget segment of electronics. Even the flagships of the product lines are usually priced at the level of the average competitors.

The second advantage follows from the first, namely the wide range of products. In the lower price category, almost the entire range of mobile electronics is based on the developments of MediaTek.

For its graphics subsystem, the firm uses cores from the manufacturer ARM. This is a basic solution, unlike Qualcomm's own Adreno GPU. In such conditions, manufacturers software easier to adapt your products. As a result, programs, and especially games, are less buggy and generate fewer bugs. This also leads to a decrease in the overall price of the gadgets.

Of the minuses, the main one is, probably, the reputation of a manufacturer of low quality equipment that has been preserved to this day. Due to the desire to save wherever possible, the company introduces technological innovations later than competitors. In part, this can also explain the poor support of mobile application developers.

The microkernel of its processors MediaTek does not develop itself, as Qualcomm, but uses the base Cortex solution. Such kernels are more difficult to optimize for their own solutions, as a result they often lose in performance.

Processor frequency: which is better for a smartphone?

Everything mobile devices are designed with the expectation that they will operate on batteries, which means that the issue of saving battery is very important. In the marketing promotion of gadgets, battery life plays essential, and for users it is more convenient a device that requires charging as little as possible.

This is taken into account when designing mobile electronics. All processors for smartphones and tablets are able to adjust their frequency: increase it at the moments of full load, and vice versa, decrease it during idle time to save battery. The specifications always indicate the maximum frequency at which the microcircuit can operate.

Modern mobile phones already very rarely have a processor frequency below 1000 MHz. The upper limit for today only slightly exceeds the value of 2.5 GHz.

  • From 1000 to 1300 MHz - the lowest bar, budget and most affordable device models.
  • From 1300 to 1700 MHz - the middle segment both in price and in capabilities.
  • From 1700 MHz and above - top models, flagships of their lines.

How many cores are required for effective device functionality?

It might seem that the more cores a processor has, the faster it is. In fact, this is not at all the case, and there is no direct relationship here. For example, in the products of MediaTek you can find up to 10 cores in one processor, but its overall performance will hardly be better than a 4-processor crystal from Qualcomm.

High-quality and careful optimization of all components and blocks of the processor is of decisive importance for performance. For example, Apple has solutions with only two cores, and at the same time they are in no way inferior to four- and even eight-core counterparts from competitors in the same class.

Friends, in this text we will show several authoritative ratings and tests for processors in smartphones at once, we will give a number of benchmarks for GPUs, and we will tell you all the necessary theory. However, if you are interested in taking a quick look at the top of only the best, most productive mobile processors, then, in our opinion, it looks like this:

  1. Snapdragon 855- the most powerful processor for Android smartphones for almost the entire 2019;
  2. Exynos 9820- the basis for the Galaxy S10, S10 + and S10e;
  3. Apple a12- the most powerful chip for the current iPhone XS and XR;
  4. Kirin 980- the most powerful of all Chinese processors, soon to be a successor;
  5. Snapdragon 845- main processor for Android flagships in 2018;
  6. Exynos 9810- processor from Galaxy S9;
  7. Kirin 810- Latest Huawei processor introduced in Summer 2019;
  8. Apple a11- "heart" for iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X;
  9. Snapdragon 730- high performance in smartphones for a reasonable price (announced in 2019, more powerful than 835);
  10. Snapdragon 835- the most powerful mobile SoC for Android smartphones in 2017;

Assessing what the processor is capable of in a particular smartphone is not an easy task. The choice here is much more complex and varied than between Intel and AMD models for desktop computers. Smartphone processor ratings come to the rescue. They are necessary, since even in the line of one manufacturer, everything can be quite confusing.

For example, did you know that Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 632 is inferior to the 630 in terms of GPU performance and built-in modem? Or that there are more differences between 630 and 636 than between 636 and 660? Often, such subtleties are not obvious even to advanced users. Beginners, on the other hand, have to navigate blindly.

Table of characteristics Kirin 980 against the previous flagship Huawei Kirin 970. The novelty is ahead of its predecessor in literally everything and is today the pinnacle among Chinese mobile processors

  1. Kirin 970(Huawei P20 Pro): 209884;
  2. Snapdragon 835(Nokia 8 Sirocco): 209577;
  3. Kirin 970(Honor 10): 200440;
  4. Snapdragon 835(LG V30): 182374;
  5. Exynos 8895 (Samsung Galaxy S8): 174435;
  6. (Xiaomi Mi 8 SE): 170218;
  7. Snapdragon 660(Samsung Galaxy A9 2018): 141011;
  8. Kirin 710 (): 137276;
  9. Kirin 710 (Huawei mate 20 Lite): 136583;
  10. Snapdragon 660(Xiaomi Mi A2): 130927;
  11. Exynos 7885(Samsung Galaxy A7 2018): 123883;

Table-comparison of characteristics of mid-range Qualcomm processors

  1. Helio P60(Nokia 5.1 Plus): 119428;
  2. Snapdragon 636(Nokia 7.1): 117175;
  3. (Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro): 115605;
  4. Snapdragon 630 (Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra) 89110;
  5. Kirin 659(Huawei P20 Lite): 87431; (in other smartphones, the chip shows a noticeably lower result)
  6. Snapdragon 625(Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite): 77964;
  7. Snapdragon 625(Xiaomi Redmi S2): 77488;
  8. Mediatek Helio P22(Xiaomi Redmi 6): 75182;
  9. Snapdragon 450(Samsung Galaxy A6 + 2018): 69899;
  10. Exynos 7870(Samsung Galaxy A6 2018): 63632;
  11. Mediatek Helio A22(Xiaomi Redmi 6A): 61660;

Frame from the presentation of Mediatek Helio P90 - the most strong processor in the assortment of the Taiwanese company today. Despite the non-flagship status, this SoC in some subtests holds a blow against the most powerful Snapdragon 855

  1. Mediatek MT6750S(LG Q7): 59.983;
  2. Snapdragon 430(Nokia 6): 47495;
  3. Mediatek MT6737T(Sony Xperia L2): 45023;
  4. Snapdragon 425(Redmi 4A): 36110;
  5. Mediatek MT6737(Nokia 3): 28441;
  6. Snapdragon 212(Nokia 2): 25210.

All figures are taken from tests conducted by Western publications GSMArena and PhoneArena.

We also note that from test to test, even the same processor in the same smartphone, depending on the situation, the available amount of RAM and the firmware version, may give slightly different results. Therefore, the rating figures should be considered as indicative and not absolute.

You should not attach any decisive importance to the numbers above. Especially if you are not choosing a device for sophisticated games and "heavy" tasks related to video processing, etc. For ordinary tasks related to launching applications, surfing the network and other things, a colossal multiple difference in speed, most likely, you are not see. Even if you decide to compare a very budget device with an expensive flagship.

Miniature form, which can be enclosed modern technologies sometimes surprises

Another clarification needs to be made for Apple processors. According to the creators of the AnTuTu benchmark, it is impossible to compare the results of processors running on Android smartphones directly with processors from the iPhone. All Apple smartphones run iOS, which is a different environment. That is, the results for Apple's SoC in AnTuTu are correctly compared only with each other:

  • Apple a12(iPhone XS Max): 353210;
  • Apple a12(iPhone XR): 346735;
  • Apple a12 (): 346379;
  • Apple a11(iPhone 8): 237594;
  • Apple a11(iPhone X): 233100;
  • Apple a10(iPhone 7 Plus): 179811.

iPhones are assembled and manufactured in India and Asia from, as a rule, components from Asian suppliers. However, the development of our own powerful mobile SoCs, albeit manufactured by TSMC, is the pride and real highlight of Apple devices.

Mobile Processor Ranking: GeekBench Performance Test

Unlike the AnTuTu shown above, GeekBench is not a comprehensive benchmark. It only evaluates the central processing unit of the mobile SoC. However, this is a key component, in addition GeekBench tests performance both on one core and all together, which AnTuTu does not.

Such testing is important, since all applications / games are optimized in different ways and for some of them the presence of one powerful core is more important than a successful combination of several "medium" cores. This time, for clarity, we will show the result as a percentage, where the leader of the rating gains 100%. And for the rest of the processors, the performance value is indicated, which they can "take" from the leader.

The winner in the smartphone CPU test today is Apple's A12. This mobile SoC has six, not eight cores, which does not prevent it from leading the ranking. By the way, we will explain how this is possible further in the text. For now, let's start with maximum performance in single-core mode.



GeekBench benchmark results in single core test mode (SC / Single Core)

Of the competitors in this subtest, Samsung came closest to Apple with its Exynos 9810, which is the heart of the Galaxy S9.

It is worth noting that the officially announced but not yet available platforms Exynos 9820 (chip for) and Snapdragon 855 (main processor for Android flagships for the whole of 2019) are still not participating in the tests. It is likely that if they do not remove the leader, then at least they will get very close to him.

Meanwhile, in the performance test of all cores, Apple's solution is still in the lead:



GeekBench test results in test mode for all SoC cores (MC / Multi Core)

Here, the closest to the "apple" competitor Huawei with its Kirin 980.

If we talk about the general results of GeekBench, then, again, they should not be taken too literally.

  • Firstly, although the benchmark tries to imitate real tasks, it is far from the fact that it succeeds;
  • Secondly, by "real tasks" we mean something more often associated with photo and video processing, archiving, encryption, and so on.

In turn, the opening of applications and the responsiveness of their interface should not differ very seriously (as one might erroneously assume from the figures above) in terms of speed on the iPhone in comparison with even very budgetary Android devices.

Some vendors, however, claim that their latest platforms still have little impact even on application launch speed. In the slide above, Huawei compares its new Kirin 980 to the Snapdragon 845

What is important to know about smartphone processors

Before continuing and showing you some more comparative characteristics mobile processors, we want to clarify a number of important points... You will need a better understanding.

Processor cores and gigahertz. As you noticed, in our article we do not focus on the number of cores and clock speeds of processors. The number of cores in almost all current models froze at "8". In turn, clock speeds from model to model can vary quite significantly.

However, there is something more important, which is why it would be wrong to compare processors "head-on" in frequencies. All mobile processors, be they Snapdragon, Exynos, Kirin, as well as SoCs from Apple and Mediatek, are based on ARM cores. Either basic or modified by a developer (like Qualcomm's Kryo). These kernels can be completely different. For example:

  • Cortex-A5, A7 and A15: they are used by the old or the most budgetary current processors for smartphones (example: the entire Snapdragon 2xx line);
  • A53: cores for budget and "mid-range" SoCs. One of the most popular solutions in the entire history of ARM. Frequencies can start from 1 GHz and go far beyond 2 GHz (examples: Snapdragon 425, 430, 435, 450, 625);
  • A55: you'll see these ARM cores in flagships and above-average solutions. Everywhere they still act as a junior "partner" for even more powerful A75 and A76 (Snapdragon 670, 675, 710, 845, 855; Helio P90; Kirin 980);

Clearly about the difference between the most powerful A73, A75 and A76

  • A 72, A73: until recently were the "heart" of last year's flagships and SoC above average. But today they can be seen in relatively affordable processors, for example, in Snapdragon 632 and 636, as well as in Kirin 710;
  • A75, A76: these cores or their modified versions are now used in the most powerful processors for Android smartphones (Snapdragon 670, 675, 710, 845, 855; Helio P90; Kirin 980).

Some ARM solutions, for example, such as the A57, did not find recognition among developers and did not find widespread adoption. In addition, a higher index number does not mean that the kernel was introduced later. For example, the aforementioned A57 was announced back in 2012 and has now been safely forgotten. In turn, the currently relevant A55 cores were released in 2017.

All cores belong to one or another ARM microarchitecture:

Up-to-date ARM microarchitectures and core groups in them. ARMv8-A brought the transition to 64 bit. The cores based on the latest ARMv8.3-A are unknown (TBA), but it was on their basis that the A12 Bionic processor from Apple was created (iPhone XR, XS, XS Max)

In order not to confuse readers, let us explain: the names of the current Apple processors (A11, A12, A12X, etc.) have nothing to do with the names of the ARM cores (Cortex A53, 55, 72, 73 ...), which are mentioned above in the text.

Different cores in one processor. Most modern mobile processors use different ARM cores. As a rule, some play the role of the most powerful and help out in serious applications / games. Others come into play when the user's current tasks do not require a lot of processing power. Such cores consume the battery much more economically.

For some particularly time consuming tasks, kernels of all types can work together if necessary.

An example of the arrangement of cores in some Snapdragon processors, the version of the Adreno graphics accelerator used is indicated to the left of the cores. SD626, like SD625, does not use different blocks and only relies on cores of the same type and frequency

Most often, in an eight-core processor, the separation of powerful / energy efficient occurs according to the 4 + 4 scheme. For example, 4 A53 + 4 A73. However, now, with the arrival of especially powerful A75 and A76, other schemes appear that show themselves very well. For example, 6 A55 + 2 A75 (Snapdragon 670).

There are also schemes where the cores are divided not into two, but three groups at once (energy efficient, medium or powerful and especially powerful). Mediatek experimented with this idea for a long time. Now she sparkled with new colors thanks to the powerful Kirin 980 and Snapdragon 855.

In the first, the scheme 4 A55 + 2 A is used [email protected] GHz + 2 A [email protected] GHz. In turn, the Snapdragon 855 uses 4 modified A55 cores, 3 A76 at 2.4 GHz and one A76 at 2.85 GHz.

Groups (clusters) of cores in Kirin 980

Scripts from daily tasks, at which in the Kirin 980 certain cores "enter into battle"

As you understood from the last examples, sometimes developers combine the same cores in their processor, but at different clock frequencies. For clarity, another example here is Snapdragon 630. It has 8 cores and they are all exclusively A53. But four "younger" ones work at 1.8 GHz, and four more powerful ones take the 2.2 GHz bar.

In the characteristics of mobile processors on different sites and directories, as a rule, the clock frequency of the strongest cores is indicated.

What else is important to know about smartphone processors? Let's go over a few additional points:

  • ARM architecture. All the developers of mobile processors named at the beginning of the article create them based on the ARM architecture, for which they license the technologies from the British company of the same name. That, in turn, a few years ago came under the control of the Japanese corporation SoftBank;
  • Processor manufacturing. Today, mobile processors are mainly produced by two companies: Korean Samsung and Taiwanese TSMC. The reason: it is they who master new technical processes (10 nm, 7 nm) faster than others. And yes, you rightly noticed: only Samsung itself develops processors and manufactures them itself;

However, Samsung was not in a winning position. Its flagship 2019 - Exynos 9820 does not look very strong against the background of competitors. Samsung still does not have its own graphics, the cores are based on A75 instead of A76, and the technical process is inferior to TSMC

  • Custom processor cores. Huawei and Mediatek so far only use combinations of core ARM cores. Qualcomm, Apple and Samsung for their powerful processors use modified and additionally strengthened ARM cores. Qualcomm uses the Kryo brand for them, Samsung has such cores under the name Mongoose (M);
  • Own graphics accelerators. Of the five key developers of in-house GPUs, only Qualcomm (Adreno) and more recently Apple have. The rest use standard GPU Mali of various modifications from ARM or (rarely) PowerVR from British Imagination Technologies;

Qualcomm offers its own Kryo processor cores and Adreno graphics instead of the standard ARM solutions. Thanks to this, the flagship Snapdragon looks practically the leader of the technology race today.

  • Your processor for your smartphones. Apple and Huawei only use their processors in their own smartphones. Samsung occasionally shares its Exynos with the Chinese Meizu. Qualcomm and Mediatek do not make smartphones, so they offer processors to everyone.

Rating of GPUs for smartphones

If you choose a mobile processor for games or you just need an ultimatum solution that will have enough power for any task, then you cannot do without a powerful graphics accelerator.

Apple is the undisputed leader in GPUs in smartphones today. Previously, the company ordered a powerful graphics unit for its proprietary processors from Imagination Technologies, but since 2017 it has switched to its own graphics solutions. And they are quite powerful.

In the "graphics" tests, the A12 processor (the heart of the iPhone Xr, Xs and Xs Max) so far beats any of its competitors. It was his results (from the graphic subsection of AnTuTu) that were taken for 100%. In turn, for the rest of the processors it is indicated what result they can "take" from the leader:



Testing the graphics unit of current processors for smartphones

The main competitor for Apple here is the proprietary Adreno graphics used in Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. The most productive version of it - Adreno 630 is installed in Snapdragon 845. This is the most powerful that Android smartphones can offer at the moment in terms of GPU.

As you can see, the Apple Adreno 630 lags behind the proprietary graphics accelerator quite seriously, having managed to score only 59% of its result. However, in the coming months, the first gadgets with Snapdragon 855 should hit the market. There you will be greeted by the Adreno 640, and now, judging by the specifications, it can give battle to Apple's solutions.

As for the current rating, the third place is occupied by the A11 processors (the "heart" of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X). The Kirin 980 and Exynos 9810, the main processors for Chinese Huawei and Korean Samsung in 2018, are in fourth and fifth places with a very close result.

Key information about mobile GPUs and whether their power is needed in modern smartphones

The Kirin 980 and Exynos 9810 use different powerful versions of Mali graphics, which Arm Holdings is in charge of. Even such powerful manufacturers, as we wrote above, do not yet have their own graphics.

For the objectivity of the picture, we will show one more benchmark testing the GPU. This time - 3DMark Ice Storm. For convenience, on the side, where necessary, we have signed the processors that use this or that graphics. You can observe the test result in the right column. Two columns in the center - the process used and the percentage of the leader's result.

The first lines here were occupied by Apple solutions, and the A12X is now at the top of the list. You will not find it in smartphones. This processor is used only in various iPad Pro models.

In 3DMark Ice Storm, the Chinese Kirin 980 manages to noticeably break ahead of the Exynos 9810, although in the previous test they were almost on par. Obviously, the more powerful Mali-G76, which the Kirin 980 carries "on board", shows itself at full strength only in certain subtests, and 3DMark Ice Storm just allowed it to open up.

The group of processors "simpler" is headed by flagships of different years. Of the current mid-tier solutions, only Snapdragon 660 got closer to the leaders here (it's a pity, but Snapdragon 670, 710 and some other processors have not yet passed the test).


In turn, the third screenshot contains old or current mobile SoCs with still powerful enough, but not the most impressive graphics accelerators. In the picture above, we were unable to fit a description for:

  • ARM Mali G72 MP3- used in Helio P60, P70, as well as in Exynos 9610;
  • ARM Mali T880 MP4- found application in many Mediatek platforms including MT6797, MT6797D, MT6797T and MT6797X. Also used in Spreadtrum SC9860 and SC9860GV, in addition was used in Kirin 950/955;
  • ARM Mali T628 MP6- designed for Exynos 5420, 5422, 5430 and 5800.

Looking closely at the benchmark results in 3DMark Ice Storm, you may notice some strange / curious things. For example, a slight superiority of the GPU in the Snapdragon 810 over the newer solution in the Snapdragon 820 may seem a mistake.

However, if you look at the characteristics of the Adreno 430 and 530, the result may not look so controversial, because the former has one and a half times more internal memory, which could be especially important for this test.

Comparison of FPS in games using the example of Snapdragon 625 and 636

If you look at the current and available processors, then Qualcomm's step forward from graphics in SD450 / 625 to 630/636 and even more to Snapdragon 660 is impressive. But the graphics of Adreno 506 in the recently introduced Snapdragon 632 look even more interesting, although old model Snapdragon 630 uses a GPU that is noticeably more powerful.

All this proves once again how unobvious some features can be for a simple user / buyer.

Manufacturing process

Evaluating the capabilities of a particular processor, of course, it is worth paying attention to the technological process of its production. The smaller it is, the better. This, of course, is relevant not only for mobile processors, but also for the CPU / GPU of stationary PCs and laptops.

A smaller, that is, more modern technological process allows the designer to accommodate more transistors in his solution. This has a significant impact on the performance potential and also makes the performance / energy tradeoff much more flexible.

The transition to more relevant technological processes and the growth of the number of transistors on the example of the Kirin processors from Huawei

As of the end of 2018, the most advanced smartphone processors (Apple A12 and A12X, as well as Kirin 980) were already being released using the latest 7nm process technology. At the beginning of 2019, Snapdragon 855 will join them. In turn, the simplest solutions that can now become the "heart" of budget devices are produced on the basis of 28-nm standards.

Currently:

  • 28 nm- a very outdated technical process, on which, nevertheless, budget solutions are still being produced. Examples: Snapdragon 425/430/435, MT6750, Helio P18;
  • 16 nm- not the newest technical process performed by TSMC, which now, specifically in the case of mobile processors, has already given way to 12 nm. Examples: Apple A10, Kirin 650/655/658/659/960, Helio P20 / P23 / P25 / P30;
  • 14 nm- Samsung's current technical process for mid-range mobile SoCs. Examples: Snapdragon 450/625/632/636/660, Exynos 7 7885;

New technical processes allow making solutions not only more powerful / energy efficient, but often also more compact. Snapdragon 820 - 14nm. Snapdragon 835 - 10nm

  • 12 nm- the current TSMC process technology for mobile mid-range SoCs (in fact, a highly optimized and improved version of 16 nm). Examples: Kirin 710, Helio P35 / P60 / P70 / P90;
  • 10 nm- according to these standards, Samsung and TSMC manufacture processors for the flagships of past years and current solutions "above average". Examples: Apple A11, Snapdragon 710/835/845, Kirin 970, Exynos 7 9610, Exynos 9 8895/9810;
  • 8 nm- the most advanced technical process mastered by Samsung. So far, only the flagship platform Exynos 9 9820 is being produced on it, which will become the heart of the Galaxy S10;

Kirin 980 is the first (at least in terms of the announcement time) 7nm mobile processor in the world. Also, the novelty is the first among SoCs to use powerful A76 cores, Mali-G76 graphics and LPDDR4X memory at a frequency of 2133 MHz

  • 7 nm- the most advanced TSMC process technology. The first devices with processors manufactured according to such standards went on sale in the fall of 2018. So far there are only three groups of processors made using such advanced technologies: Apple A12 / A12X, Kirin 980 and Snapdragon 855;
  • 5 nm- the next big technological step, plans for which were announced at least by TSMC. The first mobile SoCs here are expected by the end of 2020.

On the same technical process, both the most powerful and very budget processors can be executed. However, the smaller the technical process, the better. If in front of you budget solution, which does not show outstanding values ​​in benchmarks and real applications, then at least a modern technical process will provide it with high energy efficiency.

The 7nm process technology also allowed Apple to fit 6.9 billion transistors into its A12. In comparison: A11 (10 nm) - 4.3 billion. A10 (16nm) - 3.3 billion

It should be noted that the technologies listed above are relevant primarily for mobile processors. Developers of desktop CPUs and GPUs need time and technology improvements to design their solutions with more modern technological processes in mind. That is why, despite the presence of 7 nm mobile chips, there are still no corresponding desktop processors and video cards.

Other characteristics of mobile processors

A few years ago, the head of the Chinese Huawei said that the flagship mobile processors are already much more complex than the usual Intel / AMD central processors used in PCs and laptops. And this is true, since a mobile processor in terms of its functionality is much higher than theirs.

Modern mobile SoCs are equipped with more than cores central processing unit(CPU) and graphics accelerator (GPU). As a rule, they have an integrated LTE modem, as well as modules for other wireless networks... There are separate blocks for working with audio, image processing.

The head of Huawei Mobile demonstrates the advanced capabilities of Kirin 980 for the maximum download speed in Wi-Fi networks

By the way, it is the power of the mobile SoC that indirectly affects how often the camera can record video, whether it can record a picture in 4K, as well as perform various Slo-mo tricks (shooting slow-motion video) and how high the resolution will be.

Also recently, specialized computing units for working with tasks of artificial intelligence and machine learning (NPU) have begun to appear in flagship solutions. In addition, it is the processor that puts restrictions on what type of permanent and random access memory a manufacturer can use in his smartphone.

Even available SoCs can differ in technology quite significantly (from top to bottom: modem, image processing, GPU, maximum resolution, fast charging, bluetooth version and USB, RAM, the ability to constantly "listen" to the user)

Here are just a few examples from different areas:

  • Built-in LTE modems. They can be installed even in very low-cost SoCs today. However, the capabilities of the base solutions and the flagship ones are completely different. For example, in Snapdragon 625 the download speed limit for the modem is 300 MB / s. In the flagship 2018 SD845 - 1.2 GB / s. In the latest Snapdragon 855 - up to 2 GB / s;
  • Ultrasonic finger scanners. Support for ultrasound scanners under the screen (not to be confused with less accurate optical ones) has so far been added only to the Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 855;

A small preview video of the Snapdragon 855 processor glimpses a few more unexpected directions for which a modern mobile processor is responsible

  • UFS 3.0 memory. Latest super fast memory. So far, only gadgets with Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 855 will be able to use it;
  • Fast charging. And even for this point, it is mobile SoCs that are often responsible, since they carry with them the support of proprietary technologies fast charging from the manufacturer. For example, for the most modern Qualcomm solutions, this is Quick Charge 4+.

That's all for now. We will try to update and supplement this material so that it does not lose its relevance over time.

There are many phones on the market, and they are all equipped with different processors from manufacturers Qualcomm, Mediatek, Exynos, HiSilicon, Apple and others. To get confused in them is one piece of cake, so a potential buyer most often does not know which chip is used in the chosen phone. Below is a list of the TOP hardware used in the flagships.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

This mobile chipset includes the components necessary for the functioning of any smartphone: the processor itself, the Adreno 540 graphics core, 4G module, Wi-Fi module, sensor hubs, sound equipment. Snapdragon 835 is the successor to the previous TOP Snapdragon 821 chip, on the basis of which the flagships of 2016 were created (list).

The 835 is made using 10nm technology (like all top chips in 2017). That is, the size of the transistors is reduced, which allows them to be placed closer to each other in comparison with 14-nm and especially 20-nm processors. The result is lower energy consumption, smaller dimensions, higher productivity.

8 cores of Kryo 280 are applied:

  1. 4 powerful 2.45 GHz cores and 2 MB L2 cache.
  2. 4 low-performance cores with a frequency of 1.9 GHz and 1 MB cache memory.

Works 835th on the effective architecture of big.LITTLE.

Top Phones:

  1. OnePlus 5 (Shows Top Performance Results)
  2. Samsung Galaxy S8 - produced with proprietary Exynos or Snapdragon chips
  3. Google Pixel 2 (Best Camera, No.1 in).
  4. Nokia 8.
  5. HTC U11.
  6. Sony Xperia XZ1.
  7. Xiaomi Mi6.
  8. LG V30.
  9. nubia Z17.
  10. Xiaomi Mi MIX 2.

The other day at Qualcomm Tech Summit 2017, the company announced the release of a new mobile chip - Snapdragon 845. According to the developers, the hardware is supposed to be made using 10nm technology. It will be equipped with improved processing technology and an LTE modem, and will focus on maintaining and improving technology virtual reality... There are currently no smartphones with this processor, but it should appear in the first half of 2018.

Helio X30 and Helio P25 by MediaTek

Mediatek lags behind Qualcomm in terms of the popularity of its products. In early 2017, it introduced the Helio X30, a powerful 10-core processor with a standard set of components: video processor, modems, coprocessor, memory controllers, etc.

As befits top chips, this one is produced using 10nm technology and has three clusters:

  1. 2 Cortex-A73 cores with a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz (powerful productive cores are used if necessary).
  2. 4 cores Cortex-A53 up to 2.2 GHz.
  3. 4 Cortex-A53 cores up to 9 GHz.

Interesting is the model Helio P25 - a processor from "Mediatek", created for flagships with double cameras... There is a separate 12-bit coprocessor that provides "advanced" camera effects: changing the depth of field, improved exposure, support for Color + Mono Denoise technology (shooting without artifacts and with less noise). Helio-P25 is made using 16nm technology, so it cannot be called a flagship.

Phones based on the Helio X30 chip:

  1. Meizu Pro 7 is one of best phones from "Meizu", which took 3rd place in the rating.
  2. Meizu Pro 7 Plus.

Helio P25 based:

  1. Meizu Pro 7.
  2. DOOGEE Mix 6.
  3. DOOGEE S60.
  4. DOOGEE Mix 2.
  5. Ulefone Armor 2.

Exynos 8898M

Samsung's proprietary chip is created using a 10nm process technology - one of the best modern mobile processors for smartphones with machine learning technology. Thanks to it, the chip will cope better with the assigned tasks every time. For example, the first video conversion will take 30 seconds, the second - 28. Exynos 8898M gets used to the same type of tasks and performs them faster.

On the this moment the only smartphone equipped with this processor is new flagship from Samsung - Note 8. See its characteristics and comparison with the iPhone 8.

Future flagships of 2018 from Samsung (in the first half for sure) will be based on this chip.

HiSilicon Kirin 970

The new flagship processor from Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon is used in the only phone - the Mate 10 and its modification Mate 10 Pro. The new TOP models from Huawei in 2018 will also be equipped with this processor.

The chip is made using a 10nm process technology, equipped with a 12-core graphics processor and a neural processing unit for AI tasks. Artificial Intelligence allocates memory more efficiently, processes complex images and videos, and solves the problems of visualizing the interface. With this hardware, Huawei has stepped to a new level, and the phone itself took 1st place in the review best models manufacturer (the review itself is available).

Apple a11 bionic

The old Apple A10 fusion chipset has been replaced by a new one - A11 Bionic. Used in the new smartphones from Apple - iphone 8 and X. And although the models disappointed (why?

Here is a screenshot from the official Antutu benchmark blog:

Smartphones are listed in order of decreasing performance. There's no iphone x yet, but there is an iPhone 8 Plus with a similar processor.

A11 Bionic is built on 10nm technology, includes 4.3 billion transistors, a graphics coprocessor and IPS, 2 powerful Monsoon cores and 4 energy-efficient Mistral cores. Now the iPhone X and iPhone 8 (and 8 plus) are equipped with this chip, but Apple may launch other flagships (as was the case with the iPhone SE) based on the A11 Bionic.

Conclusion

These processors are the most powerful at the end of 2017 - beginning of 2018. Starting in mid-2018, there will be new chipsets from all manufacturers. Leadership is held by Apple processors among iOS devices, Qualcomm - among Android gadgets. Competition is Samsung Exynos and HiSilicon Kirin and MetiaTek is slightly behind. Their market share is much lower compared to Qualcomm and Samsung.

Which mobile processors will surprise users in 2016? Which processors from which companies will take the first places in terms of performance?

It's no secret that the processor is the key component of any smartphone. In order to choose the best device for yourself, it is extremely important to know about top-end processors.

Let's try to figure out what the year 2015 has become in the mobile processor industry and what to expect from 2016 .

Overall performance assessment

In 2015, the first three places of the position in the top 10 fastest mobile processors occupied Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, Apple a9 and Exynos 8890 from Samsung.

Let's remember the lucky smartphones who managed to get hold of best processor 2015 - Snapdragon 820: LeTV Max Pro, Xiaomi Mi5, LG G5, Sony Xperia X.

The gap between the 820 processor from Qualcomm and the one below Apple a9 is only 4000 points.The gap between Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890- 6500 points.

Interesting fact: Exynos 8890 became the "heart" for only one smartphone - Samsung Galaxy S7.

Qualcomm processors deserve special attention for their leadership.

Newly Released Snapdragon 652 and Snapdragon 650 also have high performance.

652 -th is close in performance with the flagship Snapdragon 810 , the overheating of which caused a lot of noise at one time. According to the developers, this flaw has been corrected in the new product.

Snapdragon 650 already overtaken in speed 808 -th processor to win the title of most lucky processor for smartphones of the middle segment.

It is noteworthy that MT6797 (aka Helio X20), since at the end of 2015, not a single device was released that would conceal this beast under its hood.

Now it is reliably known that the first Helio X20 will receive. Surprising enough, the news that the promising processor will go to the device several lost the former positions of the Zopo company. Apparently, Zopo places high hopes on his productive brainchild.

However, everything turned out to be not so smooth: the results appeared on the network Geekbench-test, in which Speed ​​8 scored 76,266 points, which is slightly worse than the performance of smartphones operating at more weak processors.

And in fact 10-core Helio X20 turned out to be less productive than the aforementioned 6-core Snapdragon 650.

At the moment, experts in the mobile industry agreed that the most likely reason for the unsuccessful results is poor optimization for the phone.

Whether careful optimization will help to change the current unpleasant situation, we will find out very soon. And there is a very high probability that the title “ fastest mobile processor in 2016”Will receive exactly X20.

One of the most popular representatives of smartphones powered by Snapdragon 652 , is an Samsung Galaxy A9... But the most popular device with Snapdragon stuffing 650 became XiaomiRedmi Note 3 Pro.

Don't miss our great Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review!

GPU score

Processors got a few other indicators in the GPU test.

The championship remains for Snapdragon 820(video accelerator Adreno 530) with 55000 points.

39104 points (note the significant separation) received the Apple A9 (PowerVR GT7600).

Samsung Exynos 8890 (Mali-T880 MP12) roughly caught up with its competitor one position higher and received 37545 points.

Famous enough Hisilicon Kirin 950(Mali-T880 MP4) disappointed me - only 18082 points. Snapdragon 808 (Adreno 418) and Snapdragon 652 (Adreno510) got almost identical results and closed the top 10 list.

It is also important to consider that the display resolution directly affects the results of the GPU test.

The above screenshots clearly show the leadership of the company. Qualcomm... Perhaps, the greatest hopes are pinned on this manufacturer. Do not discount the Helio X20 - it is not yet known what success the processor will have after the optimization for Zopo Speed ​​8.

As usual, all that remains is to observe and wait for news from the Middle Kingdom, but for now we advise you to read about other results from AnTuTu-test - TOP10 - popular smartphones in 2016!

ARM processor is a mobile processor for smartphones and tablets.

This table lists all currently known ARM processors. The ARM processor table will be updated and updated as new models become available. This table uses a conditional system for evaluating the performance of the CPU and GPU. ARM performance data has been taken from a wide variety of sources, mainly based on benchmarks such as: PassMark, Antutu, GFXBench.

We do not claim absolute accuracy. Absolutely accurate to rank and evaluate the performance of ARM processors impossible, for the simple reason that each of them, in some way has advantages, and in some way lags behind other ARM processors. The ARM processor table allows you to see, evaluate and, most importantly, compare different SoCs (System-On-Chip) solutions. Using our table, you can compare mobile processors and find out exactly how the ARM heart of your future (or present) smartphone or tablet is positioned.

Here's a comparison of ARM processors. We looked and compared CPU performance and GPUs in various SoCs (System-on-Chip). But the reader may have several questions: Where are ARM processors used? What is an ARM processor? How does ARM architecture differ from x86 processors? Let's try to figure it all out without going too deep into the details.

First, let's define the terminology. ARM is the name of the architecture and at the same time the name of the company that develops it. The abbreviation ARM stands for (Advanced RISC Machine or Acorn RISC Machine), which can be translated as: advanced RISC machine. ARM architecture brings together a family of both 32 and 64-bit microprocessor cores developed and licensed by ARM Limited. I would like to note right away that ARM Limited is solely engaged in the development of kernels and tools for them (debugging tools, compilers, etc.), but not in the production of the processors themselves. Company ARM Limited sells licenses to manufacture ARM processors to third parties. Here is a partial list of companies licensed to manufacture ARM processors today: AMD, Atmel, Altera, Cirrus Logic, Intel, Marvell, NXP, Samsung, LG, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, nVidia, Freescale ... and many more other.

Several companies licensed to manufacture ARM processors are creating their own versions of the cores based on the ARM architecture. Examples include: DEC StrongARM, Freescale i.MX, Intel XScale, NVIDIA Tegra, ST-Ericsson Nomadik, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Texas Instruments OMAP, Samsung Hummingbird, LG H13, Apple A4 / A5 / A6 and HiSilicon K3.

ARM-based processors are currently running virtually any electronics: PDA, mobile phones and smartphones, digital players, handheld game consoles, calculators, external hard drives and routers. They all contain an ARM core, so we can say that ARM - mobile processors for smartphones and tablets.

ARM processor represents a SoC, or "system on a chip". SoC system, or "system on a chip", can contain in one crystal, in addition to the CPU itself, and other parts a full-fledged computer... This is a memory controller, and a controller for I / O ports, and a graphics core, and a geolocation system (GPS). It can contain a 3G module, as well as many other things.

If we consider a separate family of ARM processors, say Cortex-A9 (or any other), we cannot say that all processors of the same family have the same performance or all are equipped with GPS module... All these parameters are highly dependent on the chip manufacturer and what and how he decided to implement in his product.

How ARM differs from X86 processors? The RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture itself implies a reduced instruction set. Which accordingly leads to very moderate energy consumption. Indeed, inside any ARM chip there are much fewer transistors than its counterpart from the x86 line. Do not forget that in an SoC system, all peripheral devices are located inside one microcircuit, which allows the ARM processor to be even more economical in terms of power consumption. ARM architecture was originally designed to compute only integer operations, in contrast to x86, which can work with floating point or FPU calculations. It is impossible to unambiguously compare these two architectures. In some ways, ARM will have an advantage. And somewhere else, and vice versa. If you try to answer the question in one phrase: what is the difference between ARM and X86 processors, then the answer will be: ARM processor does not know the number of instructions that an x86 processor knows. And those that know look much shorter. This is both its pros and cons. Be that as it may, lately everything says that ARM processors are starting to slowly but surely catch up, and in some ways even surpass the usual x86. Many are openly claiming that ARM processors will soon replace the x86 platform in the home PC segment. As we have already, in 2013, several world-famous companies have completely abandoned the further release of netbooks in favor of tablet PCs. Well, what will actually happen, time will tell.

We will keep track of the ARM processors already on the market.

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