Samsung is likely one of the few smartphone corporations possessing the power to design its personal high-end chipsets, together with Apple and Huawei (till the US commerce ban nipped that within the bud). The Korean agency’s Exynos flagship processors have been a fixture in its high-end telephones for years now, protecting the Galaxy S collection and Galaxy Word collection.
However the place did this story truly begin? Be a part of us as we check out the historical past of Samsung Exynos flagship processors, from the earliest telephones with this silicon all the way in which to immediately’s superphones.
Associated: Every thing it’s essential learn about Samsung’s Exynos processors
2010: When flagship chipset meant Hummingbird
Our dive into Samsung Exynos historical past begins with Samsung’s first Galaxy S smartphone, which launched in 2010, and was powered by an in-house chipset from the get-go. This wasn’t the debut of Exynos although, because the chipset was truly known as the Hummingbird. Man, I wouldn’t thoughts a return to dainty fowl names like sunbird and goldfinch.
Anyway, the 45nm Hummingbird was retroactively renamed the Exynos 3 Single, and it was a fairly succesful chipset for the time. Samsung’s in-house processor sported a 1GHz single-core Cortex-A8 CPU at a time when 1GHz cellular CPUs have been a rarity. In truth, the producer mentioned it was the trade’s first 1GHz processor on the time of its 2009 unveiling.
The Hummingbird chipset additionally delivered a PowerVR SGX540 GPU, help for 800 x 600 shows (not so spectacular when Apple was about to launch the 960 x 640 iPhone 4), and help for 1080p recording (beating the iPhone 4’s 720p output). Different options like LPDDR2 RAM and eMMC 4.3 help have been par for the course on the time.
It’s additionally attention-grabbing to notice that this was the one Samsung chipset to search out its means right into a Nexus or Pixel system, getting used within the Nexus S. Different Nexus and Pixel gadgets used Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon, except for 2011’s Samsung Galaxy Nexus (utilizing TI OMAP silicon).
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S, Google Nexus S
2011: The primary correct Exynos flagship SoC
The primary Samsung Exynos flagship chipset in historical past (i.e. and not using a retroactive title change) was truly the Exynos 4210 Twin, debuting inside 2011’s Galaxy S2. And it was a part of the primary wave of dual-core smartphone processors, delivering a 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU.
The SoC has a number of options in frequent with its predecessor although, such because the 45nm manufacturing course of, LPDDR2 RAM help, and 1080p/30fps video recording. We do nonetheless see help for larger decision shows (1,440 x 900) and eMMC 4.4 help. One unusual listed function is help for 5MP cameras, however the chip was truly inside telephones with 8MP rear cameras.
The Exynos 4210 Twin additionally discovered its means into the unique Galaxy Word again in 2011 (seen above), powering the super-sized telephone at a time when massive screens weren’t frequent in any respect. Moreover, this chipset powered Meizu’s first telephone (the Meizu MX). The Chinese language model would go on to make use of Exynos flagship SoCs in loads of its gadgets.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S2, Samsung Galaxy Word, Meizu MX
2012: The trade strikes to quad-core
2012’s greatest cellular silicon development was the shift to quad-core CPUs, and Samsung was part of this development by providing the Exynos 4412. The brand new chipset debuted contained in the Galaxy S3 but in addition appeared within the Galaxy Word 2 within the second half of the 12 months, albeit with a slight CPU clock pace enhance.
Talking of the CPU, we acquired a quad-core Cortex-A9 CPU which doubled the variety of cores seen within the earlier 12 months’s flagship SoC. It’s nonetheless primarily based on the identical Cortex-A9 CPU, however the quad-core association was welcomed attributable to Android and numerous third-party apps embracing multi-core help.
Cell avid gamers would’ve been barely disillusioned again in 2012, because the Exynos 4412 used the identical Mali-400MP4 GPU seen within the earlier 12 months’s Exynos processor. It additionally topped out with the identical fundamental eMMC help and 1080p/30fps recording functionality. In any other case, the Exynos 4412 supplied a 32nm design which was a strong enchancment on paper, in addition to a 1,440 x 900 show decision.
Oddly sufficient, this processor additionally discovered its means into two Lenovo telephones again within the day in addition to the first-generation Galaxy Word 8.0 pill.
Notable telephones: Lenovo K860/K860i, Samsung Galaxy Word 2, Samsung Galaxy S3
2013: You thought they’d cease at quad-core?
The smartphone trade shortly moved from single-core CPUs to dual-core after which quad-core processors in only a few years. However 2013 marked the primary time Samsung adopted an octa-core processor in its high-end telephones. The 28nm Exynos 5410 debuted contained in the Galaxy S4 and delivered what seemed like an enormous.LITTLE design. That meant a cluster of 4 high-powered Cortex-A15 CPU cores and a cluster of 4 light-weight Cortex-A7 cores. However there was a relatively vital difficulty with this SoC.
The Exynos 5410 had a significant limitation in that just one cluster could possibly be lively at a time. That meant you couldn’t have all eight CPU cores lively directly, nor may you could have only a Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A15 lively on the similar time. So that you both have the 4 Cortex-A7 cores operating or the 4 Cortex-A15 cores lively. It was a weird resolution and type of defeated the aim of going octa-core within the first place.
It wasn’t all unhealthy although, as we acquired a beefy PowerVR SGX544 MP3 GPU, show resolutions as much as 2,560 x 1,600, and LPDDR3 help. The chipset was fairly succesful within the digicam discipline too, providing 1080p/60fps video recording, and a rear digicam as much as 13MP.
The Exynos 5410 was a considerably controversial chipset, and it would not be the final time Exynos silicon courted controversy.
Fortunately, Samsung launched the Exynos 5420 in late 2013, and it supplied a extra wise tackle an octa-core design. The upgraded processor certainly allowed for each the little and massive cores to be lively directly. This chipset additionally swapped out the PowerVR GPU for a Mali T628 MP6 GPU, with Samsung claiming the Mali GPU was “enhanced” over the PowerVR half because of this. It was in any other case similar to the Exynos 5410.
One attention-grabbing tidbit right here is that the Snapdragon model of the Galaxy Word 3 supplied 4K/30fps recording, however the Exynos model topped out at 1080p/60fps. This example can be reversed in later years. The Exynos variant additionally reportedly lacked LTE help, topping out at 42.2Mbps HSPA+ as an alternative.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Word 3
2014: Exynos beats Qualcomm to 64-bit
2014 was an incredible 12 months for Samsung, because the agency launched what may arguably be considered one of its finest telephones ever within the Galaxy S5. However this telephone was completely powered by the Snapdragon 801. Luckily, Samsung launched the Galaxy Word 4 and Galaxy Word Edge later that 12 months, which certainly supplied Exynos silicon.
The 20nm Exynos 5433 was the flagship Samsung processor for 2014, and it truly beat Qualcomm to the 64-bit publish. Sure, the brand new chipset had an octa-core CPU that includes Arm’s first 64-bit CPU cores. Which means we acquired 4 Cortex-A57 cores for complicated duties and 4 Cortex-A53 cores for much less superior actions.
This chipset additionally supplied Arm’s Mali-T760 MP6 GPU, LPDDR3e RAM help, and the identical show decision because the earlier 12 months’s processor. Digital camera efficiency took a step up, because the Exynos 5433 supported a 3.7MP selfie digicam, a single 16MP rear digicam, and 4K video, in addition to 120fps video at 1080p. The latter function (or 240fps) is now a staple for a lot of Android smartphones.
The selfie digicam decision sounds extraordinarily low high quality, however the reality is that none of Samsung’s flagship telephones supported something near 5MP on the time. We’d have to attend a 12 months for extra complete help on this regard.
Samsung’s 2014 chipset additionally introduced LTE connectivity, delivering 300Mbps obtain speeds because of Cat 6 downlink help. This help helped slender a connectivity hole between the Qualcomm and Exynos variants.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy Word 4, Samsung Galaxy Word Edge
2015: One of the best flagship processor of the 12 months
Is that this the apex of Samsung’s Exynos program? Properly, it’s arduous to argue in any other case, because the 14nm Exynos 7420 could have been essentially the most succesful Android flagship processor of 2015. It wasn’t the primary 64-bit Android processor and even the primary 64-bit Exynos chipset, however it nonetheless made for an incredible little bit of silicon in comparison with Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Huawei’s choices on the time. We’d go as far as to say it was one of the best Samsung Exynos chipset in historical past on the time of its launch.
The Exynos 7420 maintained the identical octa-core CPU as its predecessor, that includes 4 Cortex-A57 cores and 4 Cortex-A53 cores. We additionally acquired the identical Mali-T760 GPU, albeit with two additional cores (MP8) for a graphical enhance. However the chipset launched a small, 14nm design, 4K show resolutions (4,096 x 2,160, 3,840 x 2,400), LPDDR4 RAM help, and help for UFS 2.0 storage.
Extra studying: When Samsung’s Exynos was one of the best flagship chipset for Android
Different notable specs embrace help for a 20MP single rear digicam, an 8MP selfie digicam, and 4K/30fps video recording with HEVC.
This processor completely powered the Galaxy S6 collection and the Galaxy Word 5. Stories on the time alleged that Samsung was delay the Snapdragon 810 attributable to heating considerations.
Notable telephones: Meizu Professional 5, Samsung Galaxy Word 5, Samsung Galaxy S6 collection
2016: Exynos will get customized CPUs
Samsung had been counting on Arm CPUs for all of its Exynos processors up till this level. However 2016’s Exynos 8890 marked a significant change, because it used Samsung’s first-generation Mongoose CPU. Extra particularly, we had 4 Mongoose M1 cores paired with 4 Arm Cortex-A53 cores.
This 14nm processor additionally touted a Mali-T880 MP12 GPU, 4K show resolutions, and LPDDR4 RAM help. We additionally acquired dual-camera help for the primary time, topping out at 12MP+12MP (or a single 24MP important digicam), in addition to a selfie digicam as much as 13MP.
The Exynos 8890 additionally introduced help for 4K/60fps recording, however sadly, Exynos-powered Galaxy S7 gadgets didn’t get this function. That is presumably as a result of the Snapdragon 835, which powered some Galaxy S7 variants, didn’t have help for 4K/60fps recording. So it stands to purpose that Samsung could have wished to take care of function parity.
Our personal Gary Sims benchmarked 2016’s flagship Android processors and located that the Exynos 8890 was an in depth second to the Kirin 960 when it comes to CPU efficiency however fell behind each the Snapdragon and Huawei chips when it got here to GPU efficiency. The likes of GSMArena additionally reported that the Exynos Galaxy S7 was extra power-efficient than the Snapdragon variant.
Notable telephones: Meizu Professional 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Word 7, Samsung Galaxy S7 collection
2017: The rise of heterogeneous compute
The Exynos 8895 was Samsung’s flagship processor for 2017, and the small quantity tweak belied a number of main adjustments. The corporate’s new processor was constructed on a 10nm course of, delivering notable house and energy financial savings on paper. It additionally used an octa-core CPU design that includes 4 Mongoose M2 cores and 4 Cortex-A53 cores, sticking with customized cores for the heavyweight CPU core.
Samsung additionally upped the ante within the GPU division, choosing Mali-G71 MP20 graphics. Rival model Huawei would use the identical GPU, however opted for eight shader cores as an alternative of 20, and this discrepancy confirmed in benchmark testing.
Different notable Exynos 8895 options included 4K show resolutions, Gigabit LTE connectivity, UFS 2.1 storage compatibility, and LPDDR4X RAM help. Samsung additionally debuted a so-called “imaginative and prescient processing unit” or VPU right here, answerable for pc imaginative and prescient duties similar to scene and object recognition. This may mark a primary main foray of types into machine studying silicon.
Extra studying: Every thing it’s essential learn about smartphone chipsets
The chipset was additionally packed to the gills on the digicam entrance, delivering a twin ISP design with one core getting used for heavyweight imaging duties and the opposite getting used for much less complicated actions. You additionally acquired 4K/120fps recording capabilities, as much as a single 28MP digicam or 16MP+16MP twin digicam help, and as much as a 28MP digicam for selfies.
The processor’s auxiliary options don’t cease right here, because it supplied devoted safety bits to deal with biometric authentication (e.g. fingerprint, iris), flash reminiscence safety, and different safety issues.
Very like final 12 months, we didn’t see 4K/60fps or 4K/120fps video recording formally come to telephones with this chipset. However we did see unofficial workarounds to allow the previous high quality possibility on Samsung’s gadgets.
Notable telephones: Meizu 15 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Word 8
2018: Evolution, not revolution
It felt like 2018’s Exynos 9810 was extra of an iterative improve over the Exynos 8895 than a game-changing revolution. However we positively noticed two notable upgrades within the CPU and GPU classes.
Within the case of the CPU, we noticed Samsung keep a two-cluster octa-core design however with all-new CPU cores. This time, we had 4 third-generation Mongoose CPU cores paired with 4 Cortex-A55 cores. And the A55 cores stay in Samsung’s Exynos flagship processors as of 2021.
Transferring to the graphical aspect of issues, the agency switched to Arm’s Mali-G72 MP18 GPU. Once more, Samsung opted to pack much more shader cores than rival model Huawei’s Kirin 970 SoC (Mali-G72 MP12).
In any other case, the chipset was nonetheless constructed on a 10nm course of, and nonetheless supported options like LPDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.1, 4K show resolutions, and 4K/120fps recording. We did nonetheless see a bump to 1.2Gbps mobile speeds through LTE and 16MP+16MP twin cameras (in addition to a 24MP single digicam).
This may even be the final flagship Exynos processor for use by small Chinese language model Meizu. We’ve seen Vivo embrace Exynos silicon for its Chinese language telephones lately, however that is restricted to mid-range silicon.
Notable telephones: Meizu 15 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Word 9, Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy Word 10 Lite
2019: A blueprint for future Samsung silicon
Samsung’s Exynos 9820 established a variety of developments that the agency continues to embrace in its chipsets immediately. For starters, we noticed a MediaTek-inspired transfer to a tri-cluster CPU, that includes two heavy-lifting Mongoose M4 CPU cores, two Cortex-A75 cores for medium-level duties, and 4 Cortex-A55 cores for light-weight actions.
The Korean producer additionally launched a neural processing unit (NPU) for the primary time, following in Huawei’s steps. In truth, Samsung would declare that the Exynos 9820’s NPU may accomplish machine studying duties as much as seven instances quicker than the earlier 12 months’s Exynos 9810.
Samsung additionally supplied a Mali-G76 MP12 GPU, touting a 40% enchancment over the Exynos 9810 or a 35% effectivity achieve. So what did the CPU and GPU enhancements imply for the battle in opposition to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon silicon?
Properly, our personal testing confirmed that the Exynos 9820 beat the Snapdragon 855 when it got here to single-core CPU efficiency, owing to these beefy customized CPU cores. However that was just about the only shiny spot for Samsung, because the Snapdragon silicon delivered higher graphical efficiency, much less warmth, and higher battery life.
The Exynos 982x collection lagged behind its Snapdragon counterpart in a number of methods, however it’s nonetheless set the template for future efforts.
Nonetheless, the Exynos 9820 had a lot extra to supply. We additionally acquired an 8nm design, improved {hardware} safety, 2Gbps mobile downlink speeds through 4G, help for UFS 3.0 storage and LPDDR4X RAM, and 4K show resolutions.
Maybe essentially the most spectacular function is 8K/30fps video recording, however not one of the Exynos-powered telephones launched this 12 months supplied this feature. Once more, we’re guessing Samsung strove for function parity right here, because the Snapdragon 855 chipset lacked this feature.
The Exynos 9820 additionally served up a hefty ISP able to supporting as much as 5 digicam sensors, a 22MP important digicam (and 22MP entrance) or two 16MP shooters, and 4K/120fps video as soon as once more. The 22MP help appears relatively arbitrary in mild of the help for 8K recording, which typically requires a 33MP+ sensor.
Samsung additionally launched an Exynos 9825 later in 2019, and it was used within the Galaxy Word 10 collection. Sadly, our personal Velocity Take a look at G outcomes confirmed that Samsung’s new chipset nonetheless lagged behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipset, notably when it got here to graphical efficiency.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S10 collection, Samsung Galaxy Word 10 collection
2020: The bottom level for Samsung Exynos
Maybe one of many greatest indicators that the Exynos 990 was a little bit of a failure for Samsung was that the chipset wasn’t truly used within the Korean Galaxy S20 collection telephones. In any case, Samsung has historically used Exynos energy for flagships in its residence market.
The Exynos 990 was a fairly good flagship SoC on paper, that includes a 7nm design and a tri-cluster CPU. The processor supplied two Mongoose M5 cores for heavyweight duties, two Cortex-A76 cores for medium-level duties, and 4 Cortex-A55 cores for the least demanding actions. This may be the final Exynos flagship processor with Samsung’s home-grown Mongoose CPU cores, as Samsung shuttered its customized CPU division in late 2019.
On the graphical entrance, the Exynos 990 packed Arm’s Mali-G77 MP11 GPU. So how did the CPU and GPU stack as much as the Snapdragon 865 chipset used within the US and Korean Galaxy telephones? Not very effectively.
Our testing confirmed that the Exynos 990-toting Galaxy S20 Plus lagged behind the Snapdragon variant in just about each CPU and GPU benchmark. At the very least 2019’s Exynos 9820 supplied higher single-core efficiency. You shouldn’t discover the CPU disparity because the distinction isn’t big, however it’s one other story with regards to GPU efficiency. No surprise massive adjustments are coming to Exynos GPUs.
The remainder of the chipset was suitably leading edge although, displaying that Samsung continues to be able to producing high-level options in different areas. We acquired a bundled 5G modem supporting mmWave and sub-6GHz requirements (topping out at 7.2Gbps) and help for UFS 3.0 storage and LPDDR5 RAM. There’s additionally a dual-core NPU and DSP delivering as much as 15 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of efficiency, according to the Snapdragon 865.
Samsung’s 2020 flagship processor additionally explicitly supported excessive refresh charges for the primary time, providing 120Hz refresh charges at QHD+ or 60Hz at 4K. The agency would put this help to good use with the Galaxy S20 collection and Word 20 Extremely, with the previous providing 120Hz at FHD+ whereas the latter supplied 120Hz at QHD+ decision.
The Exynos 990 was a fairly potent digicam platform on paper too, providing 108MP single digicam help, 24.5MP+24.5MP twin digicam help, as much as six digicam sensors, and the power to concurrently course of knowledge from three sensors. We additionally acquired 8K/30fps recording as soon as once more, and the corporate would put this help to good use with 2020’s flagships, utilizing it as a burst mode of types through the 8K Video Snap possibility.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S20 collection, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung Galaxy Word 20 collection
2021: Exynos 2100
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
You’d be forgiven for pondering that 2021 is a stopgap 12 months for Samsung’s Exynos division. In any case, the corporate introduced a partnership with graphics colossus AMD to ship a purpose-built GPU that’s anticipated in 2022’s flagships. It’s additionally the primary 12 months with out customized CPU cores, because it now depends solely on Arm know-how.
Luckily, the 5nm Exynos 2100 makes a robust argument for being the most effective Samsung Exynos chipsets in latest historical past. We’ve acquired a tri-cluster CPU that’s just about similar to the rival Snapdragon 888 SoC, that includes a robust Cortex-X1 CPU, three Cortex-A78 CPU cores, and 4 Cortex-A55 cores. Then there’s the Mali-G78 MP14 GPU, which doesn’t use almost as many shader cores because the Kirin 9000’s GPU (Mali-G78 MP24), however nonetheless guarantees a virtually 50% efficiency enhance over the earlier 12 months’s Exynos 990.
What does this imply when it comes to horsepower then? We in contrast the Exynos 2100-toting Galaxy S21 Extremely to the Snapdragon 888 variant, and it’s positively a a lot nearer race than the earlier 12 months. Extra particularly, we mentioned that CPU efficiency between the 2 variants was “neck-and-neck.” The Snapdragon variant nonetheless emerged victorious in GPU testing, however the hole was a lot smaller than final 12 months. Curiously sufficient, we additionally famous that the Exynos variant throttled a bit sooner however delivered higher endurance.
Associated: Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely Snapdragon vs Exynos: How massive is the efficiency hole?
Samsung’s 2021 chipset additionally options an built-in 5G modem for the primary time within the flagship Exynos vary. This could end in improved effectivity in comparison with processors with separate modems. However, you’re getting mmWave and sub-6GHz help right here, topping out at 7.35Gbps.
The brand new chipset additionally stepped issues up within the machine studying space, going from a dual-core NPU in 2020 to a triple-core design. Samsung says this permits AI efficiency within the area of 26 TOPS.
The remainder of the Exynos 2100 spec sheet is fairly top-tier for 2021, that includes LPDDR5 RAM help, help for UFS 3.1 storage, a 144Hz refresh fee at QHD+, 120Hz at 4K decision, and help for AV1 decoding. The latter ought to end in vital bandwidth financial savings when streaming video through companies supporting AV1.
Samsung’s chipset additionally delivers within the digicam class, that includes 200MP single digicam help, 32MP+32MP twin cameras, as much as six digicam sensors, and 8K/30fps video recording.
Notable telephones: Samsung Galaxy S21 collection
2022: What to anticipate subsequent?
Subsequent 12 months marks a brand new period of types within the historical past of Samsung Exynos chipsets, because the agency switches to AMD GPUs for its smartphone processor efforts. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su revealed that this primary GPU might be primarily based on the agency’s RDNA2 structure and can help ray tracing and variable fee shading. In pure English, meaning we’re anticipating a novel piece of silicon.
Dr. Su added that Samsung would share extra information on the brand new chipset “later this 12 months.” Moreover, Samsung beforehand confirmed to Android Authority that the Exynos 2100 successor would certainly have AMD graphics. So it appears like we should always count on a reveal in late 2021 and the primary business merchandise with this chipset in 2022.
Samsung has additionally gone all-in on Arm CPUs this 12 months, so it stands to purpose that the agency’s subsequent flagship chipset will proceed this development by providing one Cortex-X2 core, three Cortex-A710 cores, and 4 Cortex-A510 cores. We do surprise how Arm’s CPU cores will progress, particularly as Qualcomm will debut its first processor powered by Nuvia tech in 2022 (albeit on laptops). Will Arm have one thing comparable up its sleeve within the coming years?
Both means, 2022 is wanting like the beginning of a brand new period for Samsung Exynos processors. We’re not anticipating game-changing outcomes from the primary AMD-powered Exynos chipset, however it is going to lay down the muse for future efforts.
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