The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Performance Preview: Sizing Up Cortex-X2
by Dr. Ian Cutress on December 14, 2021 8:00 AM ESTConclusionary Remarks: Arm v9 for Android
When we move through significant revisions of Arm’s architecture, up to v8 and now v9, it’s important to note that the new features defined in the ISA do not always fundamentally improve performance – it’s up to the microarchitecture teams to build the cores to the ISA specifications, and the implementation teams to enable the core in silicon with frequency and power efficiency. Accomplishing that requires a good process node, design technology co-optimization, and then partners that can execute by building the best devices for that processor.
Qualcomm’s target with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is very clearly the 2022 Android Flagship smartphones. New cores, new graphics, enhanced machine learning capabilities, a step function in camera processing power, an integrated X65 modem, all built on Samsung’s 4nm process node technology. The flagship Android space is an area in which Qualcomm has been comfortable for a number of years, however the increased thermals of last generation’s Snapdragon S888 gave a number of analysts in the space a bit of a squeaky bum moment.
It’s hard to tell immediately in our small test if that still remains the case. Samsung’s 4nm node has improvements beyond the previous generation 5nm design, however Qualcomm’s presentational numbers were above and beyond those that Samsung provided, perhaps indicating that additional improvements both in architecture and implementation have led to those performance numbers.
Our testing shows +19% floating point performance on the X2 core, which is almost the +20% that Qualcomm quotes, but only +8% in integer, which is often the most quoted. We’re seeing power efficiency improvements for sure on the X2 core, with an overall efficiency improvement of 17%, but peak power has also increased, in part because some of our tests make use of the additional cache in the system. Our machine learning tests are +75% over the previous generation, although not the 4x numbers that Qualcomm states – we need to do more work here on power efficiency testing however. On the gaming side, our 'first run' numbers showcase some explosive gains in GPU throughput.
Although we’ve only done a few tests here, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the elephant in the room: MediaTek. In the last month MediaTek announced a return to the high-end with a flagship processor of its own, using the same 1+3+4 configuration with slightly higher frequencies, more cache, and built on TSMC’s N4 process. Implementation here will be the key metric I feel, so how MediaTek has been able to optimize for TSMC N4 vs Qualcomm on Samsung 4nm is going to be analyzed. I should point out here that a processor is more than just the CPU cores, as we’ll see Adreno vs Mali on graphics, the different machine learning approaches, but also how the two companies approach 5G and connectivity, which has been one of Qualcomm’s most prominent strengths to date.
We look forward to testing the Qualcomm S8g1 in more detail in the New Year, as well as how many of the main smartphone OEMs choose Qualcomm for their flagship devices.
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StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - link
We have reached a point where even a low-range phone is "good enough" for 90% of users out there... Usually the draw backs of those devices tend to be in the display (LCD) or camera sensors rather than how snappy the device is.Today I walked into a store to see what I could upgrade my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G to.. It's been 18 months and from a camera and display perspective, nothing was really worth dropping another $2,000 AUD on... Because I am not going to perceive any difference in device snappiness... Even though I keep it in power saving mode 24/7 for increased battery life anyway.
TheinsanegamerN - Friday, December 17, 2021 - link
Moto g power 2020, has a snapdragon 665, 1080p display, and stereo speakers alongside a huge battery for $229. With phones like that, I have no idea why people were buying $1400+ flagships.Of course now manufacturers are cheaping out, using 720p displays and mediatek chips to push you towards their $500-600 mid range ptions.
Bd0N - Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - link
Here’s where having a processor that’s more than “fast enough” matters. Software grows in complexity over time and Apple’s devices get updates for 6-8 years. What may seem like unnecessary performance now ensures that devices feel snappy throughout their lifetime. Your S865 would be struggling to support software that much younger than it. But of course you don’t get updates for that long and that’s why iPhones have a higher resell value.nucc1 - Thursday, December 16, 2021 - link
I can buy another mid range android every 24 months to keep up with software bloat and still come out ahead in dollar terms vs iPhone :)TheinsanegamerN - Friday, December 17, 2021 - link
Android phones dont need updates to continue getting new software. You can buy an android phone running android 6 and still play all the latest games and apps.Iphones, OTOH, are screwed once updates stop for 1-2 years. Effectively both brands have the same lifespan, the difference being iphones are cut off by apple instead of developers.
iphonebestgamephone - Friday, December 17, 2021 - link
Wrong. Both the citra 3ds emulator and aethersx2 ps2 emulator need android 8 and 7 respectively. Genshin impact and dead by daylight need 7. There's prolly a lot more.Reflex - Monday, December 20, 2021 - link
This is factually incorrect, Google is fairly aggressively cutting off support for older versions of Android for app developers, and they are right to do so for security reasons. What they have not done is meaningfully extended the support lifecycle for hardware, so you get the worst of both worlds: Short support lifecycle and hardware that is decreasingly useful due to the app library thinning with every app update.Nicon0s - Saturday, December 18, 2021 - link
"Here’s where having a processor that’s more than “fast enough” matters. Software grows in complexity over time and Apple’s devices get updates for 6-8 years. What may seem like unnecessary performance now ensures that devices feel snappy throughout their lifetime. Your S865 would be struggling to support software that much younger than it."I wound wager that "his 865" will do just as fine long term as the A13, the generational equivalent from Apple. The CPU is no the only relevant component for performance when looking at a phone. Other component like RAM, Storage and Wireless connection efficiency and performance are also very very important. The A13 isn't even faster in multi-core which is just becoming more and more important as times goes by and especially with Android which a more multi-core oriented system than iOS.
Kangal - Sunday, December 19, 2021 - link
That's true.However, an iPhone will still age better than any Android device. That's the perks of having vertical integration. You'll have more optimised hardware, more optimised software, and more optimised third-party support.
For instance:
iPhone 5S (A7) vs (QSD 800) Samsung Note 3
iPhone 6S+ (A9) vs (QSD 810) Sony Z5 Premium
iPhone 8+ (A11) vs (QSD 835) Google Pixel 2XL
iPhone 11 Max (A13) vs (QSD 855) ASUS RoG 2
And these are what I thought were strong competitors. For general use stuff, Apple wins. While it has some obvious drawbacks. And I can admit this as an Android user, credit where it's due.
Nicon0s - Saturday, December 25, 2021 - link
"You'll have more optimised hardware, more optimised software, and more optimised third-party support."I keep hearing this but it's not like hardware and software is only integrated and optimized on Apple devices.
"And these are what I thought were strong competitors."
I don't think those "were strong competitors", you just picked a few random phones and compared them.
Like I've said the CPU is not the only relevant component. The SD 865 has a stronger GPU in sustained performance and much better connection performance. Also most SD 865 phones have 8GB of RAM. So in the long run it won't fare worse than iphones with the A13 as it's not a less capable and less efficient SOC it only scores lower in CPU benchmarks.