Samsung showed its second 5G compatible chipset Exynos 990

A month and a half ago, Samsung introduced the first 5G-compatible chipset: the Exynos 980. So far, in order to integrate 5G into its Galaxy, the Korean company relies on Qualcomm and its couple Snapdragon 855 (chipset) / Snapdragon X50 (modem). The Exynos 980 still does not support animation of any mobile device, and its goal is to provide a home-made solution to provide this connectivity for the company's future smartphones. Unlike the Snapdragon 855, 5G modems are integrated into the SoC.

Two new 5G compatible components

Samsung this week launched a second 5G-compatible chipset. This is Exynos990. However, it is completely different from the Exynos 980. Not only does it have a different application kernel, but most importantly, it does not include a 5G modem. Its internal modem is compatible with LTE Class 24 (with 8 simultaneous carriers at rates up to 3 Gb / s). And it must be associated with an external 5G modem to extend its connection to the new mobile network.

Fortunately, in this area, Samsung has two: Exynos 5100 launched a year ago, and Exynos5123, which Samsung also released with Exynos 990 this week. It is engraved with 7 nanometer EUV. The new modem is compatible with both 5G frequency types (below 6 GHz and mm) and backwards compatible with all previous network eras (from 2G to 4G +).

Replace Exynos 9825

If you compare Exynos 990 with Exynos 980 and Exynos 9825 (Galaxy Note 10), you will find that the first one will replace the third, not the second one. For three reasons. First, the heart tissue is identical, with two custom-made heart-shaped Mangoose, two Cortex-A76 (replaces the core Cortex-A75) and four Cortex-55. The rhythm is not specified, but Samsung said performance has increased by 20%.

For the second reason, GPU Exynos 990 is in the same category as Exynos 9825 (and the Exynos 980 category is significantly behind). It is the Mali-G77 MP11 ARM, which replaces the Mali-G76 MP12 ARM. Samsung said the new GPU brings 20% performance improvement and 20% power reduction. It can support up to 108 megapixel photosensors (such as ISOCELL Bright HMX) and display at up to 120 Hz refresh rate.

Two chipsets. Two market segments.

The third reason: the delicious carving. Like the Exynos 9825, the Exynos 990 was indeed etched 7 nm due to extreme UV gravure printing. The Exynos 980 is "only" engraved with a 8 nm score. Therefore, there are three reasons why we think Exynos 990 is destined to serve Korean companies' high-end smartphones ("Galaxy S11" type), and Exynos 980 should be equipped with cheaper models, such as the hypothetical succession of Galaxy A90 5G. By. Since the chipset and modem will enter mass production by the end of this year, this question will be answered early next year.