Overall operating speed – testing in AnTuTu.
We have been told for a long time that the Galaxy S8 will be the first smartphone on the Snapdragon 835. And you can’t say that they lied, but the main chipset of the new flagship will not be Snapdragon, but Exynos 8895 - Samsung’s own development. It is the Exynos 8895 that will overclock the Galaxy S8 for the European market. The S8 with Snapdragon 835 will be sold mainly overseas.
Updated 03/30/2017. Five-Inches has published a review of the key characteristics of the Galaxy S8. Link to article Also published on the website is a report on the presentation, in which we talk about the main features of the smartphone:.
Key Features of Exynos 8895
The characteristics of the Samsung Exynos 8895 are noticeably different from the Snapdragon, but we’ll start with what they have in common - both chips are manufactured using the 10nm FinFET process. This alone guarantees that, in comparison with their predecessors, the performance of processors will increase and energy consumption will decrease.
The official information about Exynos 8895 states that compared to its predecessor (Exynos 8890), the chip's performance will increase by 27% and power consumption will be reduced by 40%.
Snapdragon 835 is also faster than its predecessor (Snapdragon 821), but by 20%. The reduction in energy consumption is slightly less than in Exynos - 25%. We get that regardless of the chipset, the Galaxy S8 will work faster. The battery will last longer and heat up less in heavy applications compared to the Galaxy S7.
Exynos 8895 architecture
At first glance, the architecture of the Exynos 9-series cores is radically different from the architecture of the Snapdragon 835, and the processors are similar only in the number of cores - there are 8 of them. In fact, everything is a little more complicated, and the differences between the processors are not so great.
Exynos 8895: 4 Exynos M2 cores + 4 Cortex A53 cores.
4 Exynos M2 cores are ARM Cortex A73 cores customized by Samsung. The cores are designed to solve complex problems that require peak processing power of the processor. They are overclocked to 2.5 GHz, but the Galaxy S8 will use two versions of Exynos M2: overclocked to 2.3 GHz or to 2.5 GHz. It is the Exynos M2 cores that will determine the speed of the S8 in games and demanding applications.
4 Cortex A53 cores - reference cores with low power consumption for solving simple tasks during normal smartphone use. They appeared in processors several years ago, but are still relevant for everyday tasks. Cortex A53 operates at 1.7 GHz.
In Snapdragon 835, all 8 cores are Qualcomm Kryo 280 CPU, but they are also divided into two clusters. The cores of the first cluster are built on the ARM Cortex A73 architecture customized by Qualcomm. The second cluster is represented by cores created based on the Cortex A53 reference architecture. As you can see, there is more in common between the E8895 and SD835 than it might seem at first glance.
The Snapdragon 835 also has the familiar division into powerful cores and low-power cores. The former support clock speeds up to 2.45 GHz. The cores, designed to reduce battery consumption, are limited to 1.9 GHz.
UPD. New publications on Five-Inches:
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2. conducted by Qualcomm.
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Graphics adapter
Exynos 8895 is paired with the new Mali-G71 graphics accelerator. The new adapter is 60% faster than its predecessor (Mali-T880 MP12, which is found in the Galaxy S7). Moreover, the Mali-G71 is also 20% more economical, which will have a positive impact on the battery life rating of the Galaxy S8.
According to Samsung, a powerful graphics system will allow you to enjoy all the delights of VR and AR in 4K resolution. There is also good news for home video lovers: in Ultra HD resolution you can record and watch videos at a frequency of 120 frames per second.
Comparison of Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835
Snapdragon 835 graphics accelerator Adreno 540. The new graphics are 25% faster than its predecessor - Adreno 530. With 4K video encoding, not everything is so smooth - on the Qualcomm website on the official page of the processor it is said that it supports video recording in 4K/30 fps format, and playback - 4K/60 fps. There is no mention of the ability to record and watch video at 120 frames per second.
Samsung Exynos 8895's breakthrough in 4K video encoding @ 120 fps is due to the improved Vision Processing Unit (VPU) . The VPU is used for video recording - it performs some of the heavy calculations and relieves the main processor.
Two versions of Exynos 8895: Exynos 8895V and Exynos 8895M
Let's return to the Exynos 8895. The processor will be available in two configurations - Exynos 8895M and Exynos 8895V. The differences are minimal; they only concern the clock speed of the fast cores of the Exynos M2 and the number of graphics adapter cores:
- Exynos 8895M. Clock frequency 4x 2.5 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz. Graphics adapter Mali-G71 MP20 (20 GPU cores).
- Exynos 8895V. Clock frequency 4x 2.3 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz. Graphics adapter Mali-G71 MP18 (18 GPU cores).
What modification will the Galaxy S8 receive? Will the Exynos 8895 configuration be different in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus? Not yet known. In principle, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which the power of the “younger” version of Exynos 8895V is not enough.
Exynos 8895: camera support
Exynos 8895 can work with a camera resolution of up to 28 MP or a dual module of up to 28 MP + 16 MP. All conceivable and inconceivable technical bells and whistles of the camera are, of course, also supported. As for recording video in 4K format, we have already said this - the Ultra HD x 120 frames per second format has been officially announced.
Comparison of Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835
Snapdragon 835 supports a camera up to 32 megapixels or a dual module with a resolution of up to 16 megapixels. Video recording in 4K format is possible, but at a frequency of 30 fps.
Wireless technologies
One of the advantages of Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835 over competitors is the LTE Cat.16/Cat.13 modem. If you don't know much about modem categories... LTE X16 is the latest generation modem: Cat.16 means a peak download speed of 1 gigabit per second. Cat.13 - distribution up to 150 Mbps.
RAM and interfaces
In this part, the characteristics of Samsung Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835 are identical. Both chips support the new UFS 2.1 interface - it speeds up reading/writing from internal memory and running applications. Other interfaces are eMMC 5.1 and SD 3.0.
LPDDR4x RAM clocked at 1866 MHz also provides performance gains while reducing power consumption.
Results
| Exynos 8895 | Snapdragon 835 | |
|---|---|---|
| Technical process | 10nm FinFET | 10nm FinFET |
| Number of Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Core type | 4x Exynos M2 + 4x Cortex-A53 | 8x Qualcomm Kryo 280 CPU |
| Frequency | 4x 2.5 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz | 4x 2.45 GHz + 4x 1.9 GHz |
| Graphics accelerator | Mali-G71 MP20 | Adreno 540 |
| Supported memory | LPDDR4x | LPDDR4x 2x 32-bit 1866 MHz |
| Modem | LTE X16. | LTE X16. Download speed up to 1 Gbit/sec Upload speed 150 Mbit/s |
| Memory interface | UFS 2.1, eMMC 5.1, SD 3.0 | UFS 2.1, eMMC 5.1, SD 3.0 |
| Camera support | up to 28 MP or dual module up to 28 MP + 16 MP | up to 32 MP or dual module up to 16 MP + 16 MP |
| Video recording | 4K UHD@120fps | 4K UHD@30fps |
| Playing video | 4K UHD@120fps | 4K UHD@60fps |
We have two powerful processors. There is a lot in common between them, but there are also plenty of differences. Anyway, Galaxy S8 will receive a top-end chipset and take first place in all benchmarks. Last year, Exynos 8890 was noticeably faster than Snapdragon 820. We'll soon find out what it will be like this time!
Smartphone testingGalaxyS8+ with processorsSnapdragon 835 andExynos 8895 in major benchmarks. In tests we will determine the best version of the smartphone.
Even before the announcement of the Galaxy S8+, it was clear that its performance would be quite high, since the entire Galaxy line could always boast of something special. And tests of the SD835 and SD821 processors conducted by Qualcomm confirmed that the 835th “dragon” shows results three times higher than those of its predecessor. Therefore, you can expect only excellent results from Galaxy.
Samsung is not lagging behind Qualcomm and also tested its version of the Galaxy S8+ on the Exynos 8895 processor. The manufacturers managed to bring the results of this device configuration to the top of the GeekBench benchmark. But the main intrigue is which version of the smartphone is better: Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895?
CPU test
As before, devices will be assessed based on CPU performance in the GeekBench 4 program. Testing is carried out in multitasking mode and in single-core mode.
More recently, the best Android smartphone in single-core mode of this benchmark was Huawei, built on the Kirin 960 chipset. Both versions of the Galaxy S8+ outperformed the former leader, but the version with the Exynos processor outperformed its “colleague” in points. And if we take Apple devices into account, the overall record holder remains the iPhone 7 Plus; it has not yet been surpassed.
In multitasking mode, Exynos 8895 was ahead of the Chinese flagship Huawei and Galaxy S8+ on Snapdragon 835. The “Dragon” took third place in the rating. The iPhone 7 Plus did not show any particular results here, failing to catch up with the compared smartphone models.
Graphics adapter performance
To check graphics, the GFX and BaseMark X benchmarks will help. They will determine the speed of the graphics chip. Last year, the Galaxy S7 with Snapdragon 820 processor and Adreno 530 graphics showed better performance and speed compared to the version equipped with Exynos 8890 processor and Mali-T880 adapter. At the same time, the results were better not only in terms of graphics, but also in overall performance. This year the situation has changed - the Galaxy S8+ on its native chip has “recovered” and is now ahead of the Qualcomm version.
The Mali-G71 MP20 outperformed the Adreno 540 in all tests conducted. Perhaps the large number of cores in Mali has an effect. How many cores the Adreno 540 has is unknown. Manufacturers do not disclose this information.
Overall operating speed - testing inAnTuTu
The last stage of comparing processors will be to evaluate their performance in the AnTuTu benchmark. Here the overall speed of the smartphone is assessed. The results are influenced by many factors - firmware, amount of RAM (its size and type), operating system version, amount of internal memory and other parameters.
The fact is that even with 4 GB of RAM, the Galaxy S8+ smartphone shows excellent results, both in the case of the Exynos 8895 and in the case of the Snapdragon 835. But Exynos still has a small lead - it turned out to be a little faster and took first place. position in AnTuTu. But another point is interesting.
Despite having 4GB of RAM, the Galaxy managed to score such high scores. It is unknown how much could be collected if the device had all 8 GB of memory. It is worth considering this point when comparing it, for example, with Xiaomi Mi 6 or other flagships. Devices with 6GB of RAM may be faster, but the Galaxy S8+ scores just as high with 4GB. This suggests that the manufacturers managed to achieve excellent optimization of the software part of the smartphone.
Also quite a significant difference between the configurations is that the Exynos 8895 supports video shooting in 4K format, as well as video playback at 120 frames per second. On the Snapdragon 835, the camera is limited to 4K video recording at 30fps, and 4K video playback at 30fps.
We all already know about the release of the new Snapdragon 835 processor, what to expect from this premium chipset. The Snapdragon 835 was recently tested in the most popular benchmarks and also compared to previous flagship chips.
Comparison of Snapdragon 835 with Snapdragon 821 and Exynos 8890
Of course, the results of comparing the Snapdragon 835 with the Snapdragon 821 and the Samsung Exynos 8890 processor are of the most interest to us, since they are the most ubiquitous chips in flagship Android smartphones. Test results were obtained from Google Pixel XL (Snapdragon 821) and Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos 8890).
We can make fairly accurate guesses regarding the increase in GPU performance on the 835 chip over the more well-known high-end processors of last year. You can even compare some of the preliminary benchmark results between the Samsung Exynos 8895 powering the new Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Keep in mind that the following results do not yet provide a realistic estimate.
GeekBench 4 (CPU test)
In the Geekbench 4 multi-core CPU test, the new 835 scored (6,461 points), a whopping ~58% increase in the multi-core performance of the Snapdragon 821 (4,089 points), and an increase over the Exynos 8890 (5,358 points) of ~20.58%.
In the single-core test, performance improvements were also noted, but were less impressive. The Snapdragon 835 scored (2,059 points), which is ~25.7% more than the Snapdragon 821 (1,638 points) and ~10.3% more than the Exynos 8890 (1,866 points).
Some time ago, the new Exynos 8895 chip scored 1.978 (single-core) and 6.375 (multi-core) in the preliminary Geekbench score. In this case, the powerful 835 is ~4% faster in the single-core test and ~1.35% faster in the multi-core test. Of course, in the Galaxy S8, after proper basic optimization procedures, the numbers might be a little better, but that's what we see now.
GFXBench (GPU test)
The GFXBench test, especially the GPU test, is very demanding, even for the most modern devices. The Snapdragon 835's score is (1.513 points), ~31.79% faster than the Snapdragon 821 (1.148 points) and ~67.36% faster than the Exynos 8890 (904 points). This is a somewhat unusual leap in GPU performance between Snapdragon and Samsung SoCs, which lack GPU power compared to Qualcomm.
The reason for this is that Samsung uses ARM Mali GPUs. Graphics power is essential if Samsung wants to match or outperform processors with Qualcomm's proprietary Adreno GPU.
When it comes to older, less challenging GFXBench benchmarks like Manhattan and T-Rex, the Snapdragon 835 still shows its power, wiping the floor with both of last year's processors. For the sake of brevity, we won't do individual performance increase calculations for each test, but here is a chart that speaks for itself. Snapdragon 835 with Adreno 540 is simply a beast!
AnTuTu (System Check)
AnTuTu is a challenging system test, with high six-digit scores. The new 835 achieved a score of 181.939, which is in line with the previous score of 181.434, dated December 7, 2016. Thus, the Qualcomm 835 scores ~32.5% more than the 821 (137.290) and ~34% more than the Exynos 8890 (135.691) .
With consistently positive results, you'd probably think Qualcomm should open a bottle of champagne and forget about all the losers. No! A few days ago, Galxy S8 with Exynos 8895 appeared in AnTuTu with a high score of 205.284 points. Samsung has a 12% greater performance advantage over Qualcomm's Gladiator.
Since these are AnTuTu scores, we are inclined to believe that Samsung uses (in production) the fastest RAM for storage, rather than the best processor with graphics processing. But for now we can only speculate.
Let's summarize
All things considered, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor is a very serious leap in performance and will be a very fast mobile processor in 2017. Typical smartphone use, smart artificial intelligence algorithms and 4K video processing are mere trifles for the new chipset.
In the popular benchmark GeekBench, Exynos 8895 vs Snapdragon 835 “fought”. Moreover, the comparison turned out to be quite “clean” due to the fact that the rest of the hardware in both cases is identical - Samsung Galaxy S8. So, according to the results of the first “fight,” the processor of the Korean corporation emerged victorious.
In the case of Exynos 8895, the international version of the Galaxy S8 Plus with model number SM-G955F was tested, which scored 1978 points in single-core mode and 6375 in multi-core mode. The latter figure can be considered a record among mobile processors at the moment.
In turn, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 was presented, presumably, by an American modification of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus SM-G955U. It received 1929 points in the single-core test and 6084 in the multi-core test.
The volume and type of RAM for the SM-G955F and SM-G955U are identical - 4 Gb LPDDR4x @ 1866 MHz, just like the operating system - Android 7.0 Nougat. So if you are wondering which Galaxy S8 to get - based on Exynos 8895 or Snapdragon 835 - feel free to take the first one if the seller gives you such a choice.
In fact, modifications based on the Qualcomm chipset will only be supplied to East Asian countries (China, including Hong Kong and Macau, Taiwan and Japan) and the United States. In all other markets, a version based on Samsung's own mobile processor will be sold.
As can be seen from the diagram above, Exynos 8895 is ahead not only of Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, but also of all its other competitors: HiSilicon Kirin 960 (Huawei Mate 9), Apple A10 (iPhone 7 Plus), last year's Exynos 8890 (Galaxy S7 Edge) and even more so Snapdragon 820/821.
In single-core computing, the Apple A10 takes a sharp lead due to better optimization of the architecture, but the Exynos 8895 still retains its leadership among processors for smartphones running Android. In general, in order to resist the “apples”, the Koreans need to completely rework the custom kernels again.
It should be noted that a modification of the Galaxy S8/S8 Plus with 6 Gb of RAM will be released especially for the Chinese market. It is likely that due to more RAM it will be able to show a better result in GeekBench.
The company's next-generation flagship processor. Although its name contains the number 8895, Seoul has distributed the chipset into the Exynos 9 series. The South Korean giant also announced that mass production of the freshly baked solution has already begun. The first smartphones with Exynos 8895 will probably be the Galaxy S8+.
Samsung's new processor is very similar to its Qualcomm rival. The Snapdragon 835 was announced last year, although like the Exynos 8895 it is manufactured using 10nm LPE FinFET technology. Both solutions are characterized by a 64-bit core architecture, of which there are as many as eight.
They can work with 4K screens, transmit data over 4G at speeds of up to 1 Gbps, and also support faster and wireless charging. Both Exynos and Snapdragon are optimized for 4K content for virtual reality glasses, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Here is a detailed comparison of the technical characteristics of Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835, which will help you see their differences:
| Exynos 8895 | Snapdragon 835 | |
| Technology | 10nm FinFET | 10nm FinFET |
| Number of Cores | Octa-core, 64-bit | Octa-core, 64-bit |
| Chipset | 4 x 2.5 GHz Exynos M2 + 4 x 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 | 4 x 2.45 GHz Kryo 280 + 4 x 1.9 GHz Kryo 280 |
| Graphic arts | ARM Mali-G71 MP20 | Adreno 540 |
| Screen resolution | 4K UHD (4096 x 2160) or WQUXGA (3840 x 2400) 60 fps | 4K UHD (4096 x 2160) 60fps |
| API support | OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0, OpenCL 2.0, DirectX 11, Renderscript | OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0, OpenCL 2.0, DirectX 12, Renderscript |
| RAM | LPDDR4X | 2 x 32-bit LPDDR4X 1866 MHz |
| Memory | eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1, & SD 3.0 | eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1, & SD 3.0 |
| Cameras | 28 MP, 28 MP +16 MP | 32 MP, 16 MP |
| Camera technologies | Dual-Pixel, PDAF | Hybrid AF, Optical zoom, Face detection, HDR |
| Video | 4K@120fps | 4K@30fps |
Playback | MFC, 4K at 120 fps; H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9 | 4K@60fps; H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9 |
| Sound | Unknown chipset, Probably with AptX support | Qualcomm Aqstic, Qualcomm aptX HD |
| Digital signal processing | VPU | Qualcomm Hexagon |
| Radio module | LTE Cat. 16 5CA 1 Gbit/s download; LTE Cat. 13 2CA 150 Mbit/s output | LTE Cat. 16 4CA 1 Gbps download; LTE Cat. 13 2CA 150 Mbit upload |
| WiFi | Dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n with MU-MIMO support | Wi-Fi ad, Dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n with MU-MIMO support |
| Bluetooth | ||
| Global positioning systems | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS |
| Safety | Samsung KNOX, Security Processing Unit | Qualcomm Secure MSM, Qualcomm Haven, Qualcomm Studio Access, Qualcomm SafeSwitch |
| Charger | Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge, Fast Wireless Charging (Qi & PMA) | Quick Charge 4.0 (USB PD), WiPower |
As you may have noticed, the Exynos 8895 can record 4K video at 120fps, while the Snapdragon 835 is limited to 4K video at 30fps. One way or another, according to preliminary findings, the Adreno 540 graphics accelerator from Qualcomm may be more productive than the Mali-G71 MP20 from Samsung. The Exynos processor's GPU cores are limited to DirectX 11 support, while its rival Snapdragon can work with the DirectX 12 API. However, they both support Vulkan 1.0, which is a more important aspect given the platform used.
There are also differences in wireless connectivity. The Snapdragon 835 integrates a Wi-Fi 802.11 ad (60 GHz) wireless module, which provides data transfer at a theoretical speed of 7 Gbps, but over short distances. The Exynos 8895 is limited to dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. In both cases, the user receives support for the Bluetooth 5.0 standard.
In general, the performance of these mobile processors will be similar, although in terms of graphics performance, Snapdragon is slightly ahead of the South Korean company's solution. The Exynos 8895 will boast of high frame rate video recording and gaming experience. Qualcomm offers more wireless connectivity options, which is why many major brands, including Samsung, choose its products. American models Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will certainly be equipped with processors from Qualcomm.
It’s difficult to say who the winner is yet, but this question will be answered when the first devices based on both chipsets appear. For many, it is obvious that Samsung is better at optimizing the Exynos variants of its smartphones than Snapdragon, so it will be more difficult than ever to determine the real winner.