Snapdragon 820 vs. Exynos 8 Octa 8890: these chips will power future Android phones

Within two days, the world saw the launch of two of the most powerful mobile processors made by Qualcomm and Samsung. The Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8 Octa 8890 are said to be the leading mobile chips for 2016, powering the most coveted and high-end Android smartphones.

On Tuesday, Qualcomm announced its cutting-edge mobile processor, the Snapdragon 820, with X12 LTE support. The company claims the chipset will provide ultimate performance in terms of connectivity, graphics, photography and power efficiency.

This was followed by Samsung unveiling the Exynos 8 Octa 8890 on Nov. 12. The chipset provides an integrated one-chip solution featuring the first premium custom CPU cores 64-bit ARMv8 architecture and LTE Rel.12 Cat.12/13 modem, says Samsung.

Current Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs) consist of the application processor cores, the GPU, Internet radios and location sensors. There are two benchmark scores to gauge the performance of a chipset in processing information within a CPU: a single core and multi-core. As reported by Android Headlines, most of the applications use one processor core. Thus, the single core benchmark is more significant than the multi-core benchmark that combines all processor cores.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820

With the Snapdragon 820 processor, Qualcomm upgraded the GPU to Adreno 530, which provides 40 percent better performance in computing capabilities and power usage. The chipset supports LTE Cat. 12 with download speeds of up to 600 Mbps as well as LTE Cat. 13 that will ensure upload speeds of up to 150 Mbps.

Moreover, the X12 LTE connectivity will provide 33 percent faster peak download speeds. The support for both 802.11ad and 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO will enable up to two to three times faster Wi-Fi connectivity. This will augment the phone’s mobile broadband access in crowded areas.

Furthermore, the company’s first custom-designed 64-bit quad-core Kryo CPU will guarantee power management across the entire processor, says Qualcomm. Smartphones using the latest chipset would ensure four times faster charging with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

Samsung Exynos 8 Octa 8890

The Exynos 8 Octa is the first powerful Samsung chip to mingle the processor with a modem to ensure high class mobile experience. Users can enjoy maximum download speed of up to 600 Mbps and utmost upload speed of up to 150 Mbps with carrier aggregation. This will help in seamlessly transferring high-resolution multimedia content on the move.

The one-chip solution will also help OEMs in optimal utilisation of space and go for flexible design options. Compared to its predecessor, the new chipset will come with “30 percent improvement in performance and 10 percent in power efficiency”.

Samsung aims to start mass production of the chip in late 2015. Experts speculate that one variant of the upcoming flagship Galaxy S7 may house this powerful chipset.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 is based on four cores arranged in an LITTLE configuration. In this regard, Exynos 8 Octa 8890 will outshine the Snapdragon 820 in multi-core benchmark. Both the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 use a “custom core” design to enhance performance of the mobile device.

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