The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Performance Preview: Sizing Up Cortex-X2
by Dr. Ian Cutress on December 14, 2021 8:00 AM ESTMachine Learning: MLPerf and AI Benchmark 4
Even as a new benchmark in the space, MLPerf has been made available that runs representative workloads on devices and takes advantage of both common ML frameworks such as NNAPI as well as the respective chip libraries for each vendor. Using this benchmark on retail phones to date, Qualcomm has had the lead in almost all the tests, but given that the company is promoting a 4x increase in AI performance, it will be interesting to see if that comes across all of MLPerf’s testing scenarios.
It should be noted that Apple’s CoreML is currently not supported, hence the lack of Apple numbers here.
Across the board in these first four tests Qualcomm is making a sizable lead, going above and beyond what the S888 can do. Here we’re seeing up to a 2.2x result, making an average +75% gain. It’s not quite the 4x that Qualcomm promoted in its materials, but there’s a sizable gap with the other high-end silicon we’ve tested to date.
The only non-lead is with the language processing, where Google’s Tensor SoC is almost 2x what the S8g1 scores. This test is based on a mobileBERT model, and either for software or architecture reasons, it fits a lot better into the Google chip than any other. As smartphones increase their ML capabilities, we might see some vendors optimizing for specific workloads over others, like Google has, or offering different accelerator blocks for different models. The ML space is also fast paced, so perhaps optimizing for one type of model might not be a great strategy long-term. We will see.
In AI Benchmark 4, running in pure NNAPI mode, the Qualcomm S8g1 takes a comfortable lead. Andrei noted in previous reviews with this test that the power consumed during this test can be quite high, up to 14 W, and this is where some chips might be able to pull ahead an efficiency advantage. Unfortunately we didn’t record power at the same time as the test, but it would be good to monitor this in the future.
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Kangal - Sunday, December 19, 2021 - link
The best method used to be to:- buy Used
- buy ex-Flagship
- buy with good Custom Rom support
Now?
Flagship phones followed Apple's pricing, so used market is also less scarce and priced higher. Custom Rom community has also whimpered from its glory days (also lots of permanently locked bootloaders). And you can't replicate this tactic as often as previous (eg yearly or 18 months, is now 2+ years).
So getting an Android device either through Big Sales (eg Black Friday), and going for a lower ranked option (eg OnePlus 7t instead of 7t Pro) has become the go-to tactic. Just grab something that gives you as much value UPFRONT and hope you will get monthly security updates. Obtaining root or Custom ROMs is now considered bonus, mainly that most phones' firmware are Stock-ish and good enough. And keep that device as long as possible, until the upgrade to the next one is worthwhile (ie Display, Processor, Battery, Cameras, etc etc).
Reflex - Monday, December 20, 2021 - link
The issue though is that security updates are only every 2-3 years. Very weak in this day and age.Meteor2 - Friday, December 17, 2021 - link
Tbf, my mobile phones tend not to last past 2-3 years 😬. Screen might get damaged, more often battery degrades too far for my liking. It's a tough life for a li-ion in a phone, regularly 40+ C in summertime and almost always being rapid charged.Reflex - Friday, December 17, 2021 - link
I mean if that's your situation then yeah, support lifecycle means a lot less. My comments are really only for people who are not on the upgrade/replace bandwagon every 2 years. For those who need a new one (either cause they like the latest and greatest or because their phone is in rough situations routinely) this point I'm making does not apply.Nicon0s - Saturday, December 18, 2021 - link
"But that Android phone you mention comes with between 2-3 years of support before you are on your own"You are trying to make it sound that after new Android versions stop coming the phones becomes obsolete. That is very far from the truth.
Security risks are mitigated in a variety of ways on Android phones so he will still get security oriented updates through Project Mainline and Google Services long after the phones stops receiving OS updates.
"Meanwhile the iPhone 6S, released six years ago, just got iOS 15"
Which is runs quite poorly. iOS 14 run better on the 6s.
"A six year old phone will have a more functional lifespan than your brand new Xiaomi."
No it won't from a practical stand point.
"Apple is dirt cheap comparatively with 3-5x the support lifecycle for only 1.25x more money (using your comparison)."
And it's full of important hardware compromises.
Reflex - Monday, December 20, 2021 - link
Unclear what you mean here, I mean yes newer OS's tend to run a bit more sluggishly on old hardware, but that's where the superior Apple ARM implementation comes in: The same age android phone is not only out of support on any level but also runs terribly compared to the Apple device. Also, say you decided to stay back on iOS14 for a small perf gain, that *also* has another 3 years of support, meaning all you did was lose 1 total year to stay on your preferred OS.Meanwhile that Android device stopped getting major OS versions and security updates half a decade ago.
Nicon0s - Saturday, December 25, 2021 - link
"Unclear what you mean here, I mean yes newer OS's tend to run a bit more sluggishly on old hardware, but that's where the superior Apple ARM implementation comes in:"No it doesn't come in. I have a 2016 SE, iOS 15 performs worse than iOS 14 which performed worse than iOS 13. Not to mention the visual and feature differences are small.
"The same age android phone is not only out of support on any level but also runs terribly compared to the Apple device."
Such a discussion is irrelevant. People are not buying old phones in the present, people buy present phones in the present and Android phones have evolved enormously hardware wise in the last few years.
"Also, say you decided to stay back on iOS14 for a small perf gain, that *also* has another 3 years of support, meaning all you did was lose 1 total year to stay on your preferred OS."
On a phone like the 6s "a small perf gain" is the difference between the phone feeling fine and feeling sluggish and the phone feels sluggish with iOS 15 which I don't think anybody would be happy about.
"Meanwhile that Android device stopped getting major OS versions and security updates half a decade ago."
Again not relevant. I recently bough a 52s. How do you reckon my situation software wise is? Did I make the wrong decision?
Surfacround - Tuesday, December 21, 2021 - link
your spec is is wrong. it is a 48mp camera… https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_11x-10775.phpwhat else is wrong in your spec list?
tuxRoller - Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - link
Iphones have support for a long time, but the experience isn't a particularly great one, and it's not as if old iphones receive all the same software feature updates as the newer phones.That aside, Apple is obviously doing the best in this area.
Reflex - Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - link
Yes, and that's my point. I am not a huge fan of the UI although it's been improving. I'd like a simpler dev unlock procedure. I would like to have a few more things where I can set a preference.But I also have no interest in replacing my phone every 2-3 years anymore. And I cannot in good conscience give an Android device to a non-tech savvy user or senior given that they simply won't understand support lifecycle and will end up with a device that is easily compromised. Much better picking up a used iPhone off Swappa for such users.
I really hate that MS dropped out of this market, they met all the same criteria (security, support, ease of use) but had a better UI and more customization.