The Weekly Authority: The 5nm chipset war of 2021 is going...

Authority check: 5nm chipsets and 2021

Question without notice: What sizing process did the first Qualcomm Snapdragon, the S1 chip, use? Back in 2007?

ONE: 65 nm.

Next question: How good will the Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 be in 2021, 14 years later if it is a 5nm process?

Reply: You will find out details within a few weeks. But the hopes are high!

Firing Snapdragon: According to reports that are now available via a 5 nm process, the Snapdragon 875 will supply flagship smartphones with power from January. On the 875, the first process after two generations (Snapdragon 855 and 865) will shrink on TSMC’s 7nm node, and the shift to 5nm is no small shift. It could be one of the better leaps in performance and efficiency in years.

In addition, there is the reported shift from what is arguably the world’s best factory at TSMC. Instead, several reports indicate that Samsung Electronics’ next Snapdragon will be made using a 5nm process.

• Samsung again: The last time Samsung produced a Snapdragon was in 2017: the Snapdragon 835, which is available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, OnePlus 5, Razer and Essential PH-1, among others. (Update: corrected)

Key point: Samsung will also manufacture its own 5nm Exynos chipsets using a radically new approach. After disappointing performance by uncompetitive Exynos chipsets, Samsung cut losses and dropped custom designs in favor of Arm’s Cortex IP. Samsung also partners with AMD for Exynos graphics and licenses the RDNA graphics microarchitecture. We can see the first fruits of these new partnerships in 2021.

• Sad fact: Samsung’s custom Mongoose CPU has been constantly struggling for energy efficiency even in the latest Exynos 990.

While consolidation is bad for broader industry competition, flagships in 2021 with the latest Snapdragon and Exynos silicon are exciting as the 5nm process is said to increase both energy efficiency and silicon areal density. More density means more transistors and space to add more useful elements.

• Side note: The 7nm drop on the industry’s smallest 5nm manufacturing nodes doesn’t really represent transistor geometry. Think of it more like a model number, but in this game, lower is better.

Add two more competitors:

5nm is already there:

We get a little insight into two chips that are already in the 5 nm process: the Apple A14 Bionic (manufactured by TMSC) in the iPhone 12 series and the iPad Air 2020 as well as the Kirin 9000 chipset from Huawei (also by) TSMC), released in the Huawei Mate 40 series.

My colleague Rob Triggs has broken down what we know about the Apple 14 Bionic, including benchmarks. Apple took advantage of the increase in silicon density to increase CPU and memory capacity, but left GPU performance roughly the same. Still, it’s the fastest chip on the block right now. But the Snapdragon line did not reach 5 nm.

• Take away: The Snapdragon 875 will be the first real test of Android hardware against Apple hardware.

At Huawei Kirin 9000, my colleagues did not complete all of the benchmarks on this chip to fully reveal everything we see. However, the Mate 40 Pro outperformed the Snapdragon 865 in all CPU benchmarks, even when the GPU fell short. a Huawei / Kirin problem for several years.

Perhaps more important is efficiency. Something https://twitter.com/andreif7/status/1322338185129721857?utm_source=androidauthority&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=weeklyauthority This has not yet been verified. This indicates that the Kirin 9000 is gaining at least double-digit energy efficiency thanks to the 5 nm process.

What to Expect from the Snapdragon 875? 5nm wins and more::

• The next Qualcomm X60 5G modem should make the X55 modem look second-rate when actually integrated rather than a separate chip. A complete SoC solution in one chip reduces excess silicon in flagship smartphones, frees up more space for other components, including battery and camera housings, and reduces power consumption. Dual-SIM 5G may even be supported.
• The increase in silicon density on the A14 and Kirin 9000 improves the performance and efficiency of the 875, as mentioned earlier: double-digit increases from the process alone, even before the CPU was improved?
• Also, it will be a test of Samsung’s manufacturing performance in 5nm.
• Fact: Samsung announced in 2019 that it would spend $ 116 billion to compete with TSMC and Intel in the to-order foundry business.

What it all means:

• 5G flagships in 2021, at least on paper, to be more powerful, more energy-efficient and to have more space for components.
• And while we can say that the jump between 2020 and 2021 each year can be one of the biggest and most important in a few years.
• Think of more power but less power, a kind of holy grail. In addition, more space has been made available for larger batteries and tricks such as pop-up cameras.

Popular news

Nokia TV? Many have noticed this, but I’m sorry to say I have bad news. Continue reading!

In addition, new drones, Google’s pixel quality control and Apple’s event announcement were once again questioned. It’s been a long week, but we kept track of things.

• Nokia introduced a variety of affordable 4K Android TVs. Well, something like that. I personally saw these televisions here in Berlin. They are actually made by a third party and a Nokia brand and are slated to be sold as super cheap Android TVs in Europe. That’s good and all, but the display quality didn’t blow my mind, even though the meeting room wasn’t set up to show them at their best. At least the smarts were Android TV! But unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of true Nokia about it (Nov 3, 2020).
• Google confirms that screen gaps in Pixel 5 are part of the phone’s design. Despite complaints in the forum, a Google representative said these were “normal” and had “no effect on water and dust resistance or functionality”. Pixel quality control, as it can be said, has never been the best in the industry (Nov 4th 2020).
• Introducing the OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk Limited Edition: Many Comments on the Purposely Oversized Main Camera! For now only in China, unfortunate. (November 2, 2020).
• WhatsApp brings out disappearing news this month! Finally! Messages disappear for seven days. Oddly enough, unlike competing messaging apps, you can’t adjust the expiration period (November 2nd, 2020).
• The new DJI Mini 2 drone seems like a good entry into space and takes the popular DJI Mavic Mini even further with 4K, 4x zoom, 150% more range, and just a $ 50 increase in price. No FAA registration required yet! We are waiting for full reviews. (November 5, 2020).
• Impressive from AMD: The new Zen 3 CPUs are really good. Detailed test reports show that AMD is doing exactly the magic against Intel (November 6, 2020).
• And next week the Apple event “One More Thing” will take place. It is far from certain that we will see the first Apple MacBooks with arm-based chipsets, like the iPhone and also Android devices! Expect Apple to explain the advantages over Intel CPUs as you try not to obsolete Intel-based MacBooks (November 3, 2020).

There are also a few leaks and rumors:

reviews

Xbox (upcoming release on November 10th):

• I broken down the Xbox Series X and Series S reviews on Friday and the reviewers liked the feeling of having a great PC gaming experience in a box with the seamless console approach.
• Downside: There are no real must-buy-on day 1 games that usually inspire players to make money before their brains can stop them

PlayStation 5 (upcoming release on November 12th):

• It’s historically large, but powerful, with fast load times and launch titles that Xbox lacks.
• The problem with the expandable SSD storage remains as 667GB of built-in space is insufficient, but Sony should fix this in a few months.
• A massive PlayStation 5 exclusive is how good the new DualSense controller is. Everyone seems to love it. Not just like that love it.

Everything else:

• Apple iPhone 12 Pro Review: Yes, our reviewers also rate iPhones, of course. This ensures that we can help you, beloved readers, to know what is best and what is missing on both sides. It helps us be at the top of our game, and David Imel is at the top of his list here. (With video).
• Huawei Mate 40 Pro Review: The newest Huawei flagship would be one of the best Android flagships of 2020. It’s just that Huawei can’t deliver the usual software experience that people without the Google ecosystem expect – by Ryan- Thomas Shaw. (With video).
• Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light Rating: A pretty strong positive rating for a better way to wake up, but a clear recommendation to buy one for sale. The editor’s choice! – by Kris Carlon
• Tesvor S6 Review: This is a sturdy Robovac and Mop that is a cheaper option and is good with 4/5 stars. A strong recommendation to buy the extra water tank if it’s not included! – by Kris Carlon.
• Amazfit GTS 2 and GTR 2 Review: They’re OK, but the Garmin Venu Sq is better all round – from Jimmy Westenberg.

Features & opinion

C. Scott Brown has the best opinion of the week – what does he personally think of the OnePlus 8T as a longtime OnePlus fan?

This is a great quote: “Ultimately, the OnePlus 8T felt like a sideways movement in terms of specs and a downgrade in terms of design. When I think about the fact that I paid $ 749 for the top-of-the-line 7 Pro in May 2019 and the OnePlus 8T will cost the same in October 2020.

Give it a try, it’s a good look at the issues OnePlus is facing in its current range of products.

Our benchmarking and tests of the Apple A14 Bionic are also good readings.

• Is iPhone silicon still more powerful than Android SoCs? Robert Triggs asked, and the answer is yes.
• But Apple didn’t move the needle on the front of the GPU, which leads to some thoughtful questions.
• Does this mean Apple assumed other elements like the AI ​​cores and machine vision silicon needed more buoyancy in a confined space? Will we see that in Android chipsets in 2021 too?

Tech tweet of the week:

Linux is free, if you don’t value your time

— I Am Devloper (@iamdevloper) November 2, 2020

Linux is free, if you don’t value your time

— I Am Devloper (@iamdevloper) November 2, 2020

Linux is free, if you don’t value your time

— I Am Devloper (@iamdevloper) November 2, 2020

• (It is also valid to say that learning the skills required to learn the intricacies of Linux is great !!)

deals

If you’re looking for tech right now, check out these popular deals – and make sure every day that we’ve seen some great deals for just one day this week:

Give away

Recognition: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority

We’re giving away three prize packages this month! Take part in the November competition to take advantage of your chance to win.

That’s it guys! We’ll have more top stories for you next week. Stay up to date on all things Android Authority In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter using the link below.