When you choose a smartphone or tablet, you are sure to study its hardware specifications. Reading the descriptions of the processor, it is not immediately possible to understand what this or that designation implies. However, there is a certain performance rating of mobile smartphone processors, on the basis of which you can purchase a fast device. What do these terms mean and what do you need to pay attention to?
What is a processor?
The processor acts as a transmitter. That is, a request is sent to him that you want your smartphone to comply. Early mobile phones were mostly similar to traditional landlines. Smartphones, however, are laptop computers that have telephone facilities built into the system. Under this amazing touch screen is a full-fledged computer, responsible for the operation of your applications, giving you instructions (how to act in certain situations), GPS coordinates, as well as communication with others. The processor is the brain of any operation.
What is a core?
This is an element located in the main processor that reads and executes instructions. The release of such devices began with single-core processors, but modern developers have created more powerful devices by including more cores in one device. This led to the advent of dual-core gadgets. Soon, quad-core processors (based on four cores) appeared, and today you can find hexa- (six) and octa- (eight) nuclear smartphones and tablets on sale.
What are the benefits of multiple cores?
The more cores, the faster they can process the commands that you give your phone. This means that several of these components will share the load among themselves and will perform any work very quickly. You can upload high-quality photos or high-definition videos, and then browse your collection without pause. Animations and videos play smoothly, without stuttering. Games do not freeze. Of course, there are exceptions, but, as a rule, the more cores, the better the performance.
Will an octa-core smartphone be twice as fast as a quad-core smartphone?
It's impossible. An octa-core processor is faster than a quad-core processor only when it processes an application that uses its capabilities, or in multitasking. For example, one core can handle requests in a web browser, while the other can be in standby mode. The challenge comes, and it gets to work. As a result, your work in a web browser and your phone call will go without a hitch, but not necessarily twice as fast.
What other factors may be involved?
Several cores - this is only one of the components of a smart device (you can imagine them as a specific part of the car engine). In addition, the graphics processor, random access memory for short-term storage, antennas for Wi-Fi and GPS, and much more are responsible for the operation of this component. All of them work together as a whole, and all should be considered when you buy a smartphone or tablet.
What should you remember about processors?
When buying a smartphone or tablet, it is advisable to first study the rating of mobile processors. Which chip is better - such a device will be more powerful. This will give you an idea of what a particular device is capable of, and what is the speed of its operation.
In order to make a rating of mobile processors for smartphones, it is necessary to conduct a series of tests on devices with each of them and fix general criteria for evaluating work efficiency, as well as make graphic manipulations. Some experts conducted such studies, and the results were quite predictable. So, the comparative table of processors for smartphones in descending order is presented below.
| Rating | Processor model for mobile phone |
| one | Qualcomm 820 |
| 2 | Apple a9 |
| 3 | Samsung Exynos 8890 |
| four | Kirin 950 |
| 5 | Samsung Exynos 7420 |
| 6 | Qualcomm 810 |
| 7 | Qualcomm 652 |
| 8 | Apple a8 |
| 9 | Qualcomm 650 |
| 10 | Qualcomm 808 |
In addition to overall performance, experts also tested GPUs on devices released in 2016. The rating of GPUs for smartphones was also compiled taking into account the performance of the graphics subsystem. The ranking for the GPU is slightly different from the general list.
Processors for smartphones: rating
Based on studies of graphical properties, a rating can be represented as follows:
- Qualcomm 820.
- Apple A9.
- Samsung Exynos 8890.
- Qualcomm 810.
- Samsung Exynos 7420.
- Apple A8.
- Qualcomm 805.
- Kirin 950.
- Qualcomm 808.
- Qualcomm 652.
As you can see, the same components are included in the top 3 in both lists. Thus, the best processors for smartphones, whose rating is presented in the article, coincide in all respects: both in terms of graphics performance and the results of general tests.
Therefore, it is important to get an idea of which devices are running these processors. So, you can find in the following Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 devices:
- Sony Xperia X Performance.
- Samsung Galaxy S7.
- Xiaomi Mi5.
- Letv V MAX Pro.
- LG G5.
Depending on the place of purchase, Galaxy S7 may be equipped with Samsung Exynos 8890 instead of the above component, which still wins significantly among competitors. It is also worth noting that the computing power of all devices is very high today. For this reason, when you purchase a modern smartphone, you will not notice a significant drop in performance, even if it is not too powerful. Even Chinese processors for smartphones, the rating of which will look very different, will suit you quickly. Only if you care about the smallest specifications or plan to install and use highly specialized capacious applications, these results can help you make a decision when buying a device.
Choosing a Mobile Phone
Recently, many smartphone manufacturers have released their new products, which undoubtedly make the user feel a certain perplexity when choosing. In connection with the release of new devices, processors for smartphones are changing, the rating of which is quite difficult to update. For example, last year, the Apple A9 took first place in all comparative lists, and then Hisilicon Kirin 950 replaced it. Today, Qualcomm, Apple and Samsung are fighting for primacy with varying success.
Performance Evaluation
As the chip performance rating has already shown, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor took first place and showed much greater power than the Apple A9. In addition, the Samsung Exynos 8890 also has good results, and its performance is already close to the A9.
The recently launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 and 650 also feature high functionality and power. Qualcomm 652 is already close in its parameters to the 810 in performance. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 has already surpassed the 808, which leads the market for mid-range smartphones. Since MediaTek MT 6797 phones are not currently available, and only models released in previous years can be found on the market, the rating of MTK processors for smartphones is no longer relevant.
GPU Performance Ranking
In recent years, smartphones have been increasingly focusing on GPU performance, as it is closely related to playing games and working with images on a mobile phone, and this has a direct impact on the actual user experience. Currently, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (Adreno530) are distinguished by high performance in this regard. The Samsung Exynos 8890 (Mali-T880 MP12) is almost equal to the Apple A9 in power, as already noted. As for Hisilicon Kirin 950 (Mali-T880 MP4), which is well known to everyone, its GPU performance is not good enough, and the test results are similar to Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (Adreno418) and Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (Adreno510).
In fact, the performance of the graphics chip is also directly related to the screen resolution of your smartphone. Currently, the main resolution is 1080P, and 2K has become a trend in the development of high-end smartphones. However, without the support of a powerful GPU, even such a high resolution will continue to lead to degradation of the device.
Of course, the factors that determine the performance of a mobile phone are much larger than the CPU and GPU values. However, it is necessary to fully realize that nothing but the powerful performance of the chips is the basis of an uninterruptedly working device. Without support for high performance, any user experience will be "empty." This can be described with an old proverb: "You cannot make something out of nothing."
The above information concerning processors for smartphones, the rating of which is presented above, cannot be considered as a permanent rule. Today, new devices with increasingly more powerful technical specifications are regularly released.
From these data, today you can find out that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 takes a leading role in terms of performance. Although Apple has not released new processors, the overall performance of the Apple A9 is still strong. If we consider Samsung's Exynos 8890, its parameters are approximately equal to the A9 in total.
Devices running on the Apple A9 are the iPhone 6S and iPhone SE, which are considered one of the most rated and fashionable devices.
Exynos Samsung 8890 holds a strong third place in this ranking and is inferior to competitors quite a bit. He managed to overtake many devices made from other components. Currently, of the devices manufactured with this chip, you can find only the Samsung Galaxy S7.
The Kirin 950 processor also has very good performance over time. Moreover, he previously led the ratings of components due to his excellent characteristics. However, this performance rating was constantly decreasing, as more advanced devices began to appear on the market. Devices running on this processor are Huawei P9, Huawei Mate 8, Huawei P9 Max.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 offers pretty good overall specs. It was highly appreciated at the time and to this day acts as one of the most used elements in various devices. Smartphones equipped with it are successfully sold in many countries of the world today, including HTC One M9, Lumia 950 XL, Nexus 6P, OnePlus 2.
Exynos 7420 at one time was greatly underestimated, despite the fact that its parameters differ in decent power. Despite the low ratings, phones with it are popular, especially the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Meizu Pro 5.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 and 650 are processors used in mid-range smartphones. Despite the low positions in the ranking, they are actively used in the manufacture of gadgets. To date, there is no question of discontinuing smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy A9, Sony Xperia X and Xiaomi Redmi.