Note 20's Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G vs Exynos 990 and A13 specs, breaking the 3GHz barrier
The Galaxy Note 20 chipset may be different from the processor scheme that is in the Galaxy S20 family. With Snapdragon 865+ 5G models all but confirmed for the US carrier models, the Exynos 990 processor of the global S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra may also be upgraded.
The US models are expected to ship with the so-called Snapdragon 865+ inside, while the Exynos 992 upgrade in the international version is rumored to land with the new 5nm production node, the same that Apple will use for its A14 processor in the iPhone 12 series.
The Exynos versions have been marred be slightly shorter battery life and higher chipset temperatures compared to the Snapdragon 865 models we get in the US. The upgrade, together with the eventual new HOP display tech, will probably take care of the static 120Hz refresh rate issues that are taking a big toll on the S20 series battery, especially for the Exynos Note 20 models.
Snapdragon 865 vs Exynos 990 benchmark scores
| Galaxy S20 Ultra Snapdragon 865 (SM-G986U) | Galaxy S20 Ultra Exynos 990 (SM-G986B) | |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 5 single/multicore | 923/3291 | 952/2886 |
| AnTuTu | 568000 | 515098 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 on-screen (graphics) | 88fps | 76fps |
Also, Samsung recently announced that it is entering mass production of new 512GB eUFS 3.1 memory for "flagship phones". The 512GB version of the S20 Ultra 5G still comes with the eUFS 3.0 standard which, albeit the current fastest, won't hold a candle to what Samsung is about to produce. Phones with the new eUFS 3.1 will only take about 1.5 minutes to move 100GB of data whereas UFS 3.0-based phones require more than four minutes, for instance.
Besides the 512GB packs, Samsung will also start producing the ultrafast eUFS 3.1 storage memory in 256GB and even 128GB capacities, which comes as tangential confirmation that Note 20 Ultra will indeed ship with 128GB of basic storage, like the S20 series. Just way faster when it comes to read and write speeds.
Marrying this fast eUFS 3.1 storage memory to the sped-up Snapdragon 865+ and Exynos 992 processors should make the Note 20 series the fastest, most powerful Android phones around, that's why we are comparing the specs and features of the new chipsets to the current flagship crop.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ 5G vs Snapdragon 865 vs Exynos 990 and Apple A13 processors
| Snapdragon 865 | Snapdragon 865+ | Exynos 990 | Apple A13 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production process | TSMC 7nm N7P | TSMC 7nm N7P | 7nm EUV | TSMC 7nm N7P |
| Processor cores | 1x Kryo 585 (custom A77) @2.84GHz 3x Kryo 585 @2.42GHz 4x @1.8GHz | 1x Kryo 585 (custom A77) @3.1GHz 3x Kryo 585 @2.42GHz 4x @1.8GHz | 2x Exynos M5@2.73GHz 2x Cortex A76@2.5GHz 4x Cortex A55@2GHz | 2x Lightning @2.66GHz 4x Thunder @1.7GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 650 at 587MHz | Adreno 650 at 645MHz | Mali-G77 MP11 | Apple custom quad-core |
| Modem | X55 5G modem (add-on) up to 7.5 Gbps over 5G, and 3 Gbps download speeds on LTE | X55 5G modem (add-on) | Exynos 5123 (Category 24) Downloads up to 7.3Gbps (mmWave), 5.1Gbps (sub-6GHz), or 3Gbps (4G LTE), 8xCA Uploads: up to 422 Mbps | Intel XMM7660 (Category 19) Downloads: up to 1.6Gbps, 7xCA Uploads: up to 225Mbps |
| AI co-processor | Yes, Hexagon 698 | Yes, Hexagon 698 | Yes, dual-core NPU | Yes, octa-core Neural Engine |
| Video encode | 8K HDR at 30fps 4K HDR at 120fps | 8K HDR at 30fps 4K HDR at 120fps | 8K HDR at 30fps 4K HDR at 120fps | 4K HDR at 60fps |
| Features support | QHD+ @144Hz or 4K@60Hz display refresh up to 200MP single or 2x64MP dual camera up to 16 GB DDR5 Qualcomm FastConnect 6800: Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-fi 6 | QHD+ @144Hz or 4K@60Hz display refresh up to 200MP single or 2x64MP dual camera up to 16GB DDR5 Qualcomm FastConnect 6900: Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-fi 6E | UFS 3.0 storage support for up to 2.9GB/s speeds Single-camera up to 108MP up to 16 GB DDR5 120Hz display refresh rate | Computational photography Machine learning capable of 1 trillion operations per second |
As you can see, there are three main areas where the Sanpdragon 865+ outshines the 865 - peak processing and graphics speed (the first mobile chip to break the 3GHz barrier), even more global 5G multiband connectivity, and the newest Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-fi 6E standards support.
What is Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-fi 6E?
The Wi-Fi 6E in Snapdragon 865+ means that the Note 20 will be capable of operating on the 6 GHz band. It would work like the current WiFi 6 on 5 GHz but with way more channels that won't interfere or overlap. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi 6E can have "14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels,"reducing congestion and interference.
New Bluetooth 5.2 vs Bluetooth 5.1 features:
- Higher quality, lower-power audio codec.
- Independent true wireless earbuds synchronicity, and broadcasting audio streams to multiple listeners in different languages.
- Multiple apps can interact with a Bluetooth Low Energy device simultaneously, reducing latency and interference.
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