HIGHLIGHTS: SAMSUNG LAUNCHES EXYNOS 2100 WITH AN INTEGRATED 5G MODEM AND BUILT ON 5NM PROCESSING TECH
- The event was hosted just two days before the annual Galaxy Unpacked 2021 on 14 January where the Galaxy S21 series is scheduled to be launched.
- The Exynos 2100 is Samsung’s first flagship chipset with an integrated 5G modem and it’s to be built on the 5nm EUV.
- It’s the first Exynos chipset to get its very own launch event.
- The Exynos 990 chipset is slightly behind the Snapdragon 865 in terms of CPU performance. But Exynos 2100 is a step ahead of Snapdragon 888.
- The processor adopts ARM’s new powerful Cortex-X1 core and runs it at up to 2.9 GHz. Joining it are three high-performance A78 cores, plus four power-efficient A55 cores. Samsung claims that this CPU is 30% faster in multi-core tasks compared to the Exynos 990.
Read more about Samsung Exynos 1080
The Exynos 2100 5nm processor is built on the 5nm EUV process node. The new chip has an octa-core chipset with a 1+3+4 core arrangement. There is a prime Cortex-X1 core clocked at 2.9GHz, three high-performance Cortex-A78 cores, and four Cortex-A55 power-efficient core. Samsung says that the new CPU brings a 30% increase in multi-core performance and a 19% increase in single-core performance over the previous generation Exynos 990.
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Part of that advantage comes from the more advanced EUV process, which can enhance performance by 10% (at the same power level) or lower power consumption by 20%. Samsung has implemented a multi-IP governor to optimize the power usage of the CPU, the GPU, and the other elements of the chipset.
This year both the Exynos 2100 and Snapdragon 888 are built on Samsung’s 5nm EUV foundries. This means neither chipset has a process-related advantage and is manufactured by Samsung.
The GPU uses the new Mali-G78 design with 14 cores. Samsung claims a 40% performance boost. The tri-core Neural Processing Unit uses a new architecture and reaches 26 Trillion operations per second ( Qualcomm also claims TOPS for its Snapdragon). The new design doubles the power efficiency compared to previous generations.
The new Image Signal Processor (ISP) on the Exynos 2100 supports cameras with sensors up to 200 MP (and those are on the way). It can be connected to six individual sensors and process data from four of them simultaneously (the Snapdragon only manages three streams).
The Multi-camera and Frame Processor (MCFP) can fuse image data from multiple cameras for better quality zoom and ultra-wide shots. The NPU is also used, it analyzes the scene, detects faces and objects so that it can pick the optimal settings.
The Exynos 2100 also brings support for 4K recording at 120 FPS and 8K playback at 60 FPS. It is also the first chipset with an AV1 decoder for 8K video.
Here’s how it compares against its predecessor Exynos 990, the Snapdragon 888, and a few others:
| Exynos 990 | Exynos 1080 | Exynos 2100 | Snapdragon 888 | Kirin 9000 | |
| Process | Samsung 7nm EUV | Samsung 5nm EUV | Samsung 5nm EUV | Snapdragon X60 | TSMC 5 nm EUV |
| CPU (prime) | 2x M5 @ 2.73 GHz | 1x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8 GHz | 1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.9 GHz | 1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84 GHz | 1x Cortex-A77 @ 3.13 GHz |
| CPU(High power) | 2x Cortex-A76 @ 2.5 GHz | 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.6 GHz | 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8 GHz | 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42 GHz | 3x Cortex-A77 @ 2.54 GHz |
| CPU(Power efficient) | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.2 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.05 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-G77 MP11 | Mali-G78 MP10 | Mali-G78 MP14 | Adreno 660 | Mali-G78 MP24 |
| NPU | 15 TOPS | 5.7 TOPS | 26 TOPS | 26 TOPS | – |
| ISP (simultaneous cameras) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | – |
| 5G modem | 7.35 Gbps (mmWave), 5.1 Gbps (sub-6) | 3.67 Gbps (mmWave), 5.1 Gbps (sub-6) | 7.35 Gbps (mmWave), 5.1 Gbps (sub-6) | 7.5 Gbps (mmWave), sub-6 | 6.5 Gbps (mmWave), 4.6 Gbps (sub-6) |
The 5G modem supports for both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums and boasts downlink speeds of up to 5.1Gbps for the former and up to 7.3Gbps for mmWave networks.
While Samsung didn’t say which smartphone the chipset will appear in, we know it is the Galaxy S21 series that is launching on Thursday, January 14. However, Samsung said that the chipset is already in mass production.
