HiSilicon Kirin 950 vs HiSilicon Kirin 980

The HiSilicon Kirin 950 and Kirin 980 processors are both powerful and efficient options for mobile devices, but they have notable differences in their specifications.

Starting with the HiSilicon Kirin 950, it features a total of eight cores divided into two clusters. The first cluster consists of four Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz, while the second cluster has four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. This architecture offers a balance between performance and power efficiency. The Kirin 950 is built on a 16 nm lithography process and has 2000 million transistors. The processor's total power consumption, or thermal design power (TDP), is rated at 5 Watts. Additionally, the Kirin 950 uses the ARMv8-A instruction set.

On the other hand, the HiSilicon Kirin 980 brings some improvements over its predecessor. It also boasts eight cores with a similar architecture division. The processor includes two powerful Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.6 GHz, two additional Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 1.92 GHz, and four energy-efficient Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.8 GHz. This mix of cores aims to balance performance and power consumption in different scenarios. The Kirin 980 is manufactured on a more advanced 7 nm lithography process, allowing for greater transistor density. It incorporates a staggering 6900 million transistors, significantly more than the Kirin 950. The processor's TDP is slightly higher at 6 Watts. Furthermore, the Kirin 980 also includes the HiSilicon Dual NPU, which enhances artificial intelligence processing capabilities.

Overall, the HiSilicon Kirin 980 comes with notable improvements compared to the Kirin 950. With a more advanced manufacturing process, increased transistor count, and dual neural processing unit (NPU), it offers increased performance and greater efficiency. The Kirin 980's upgraded architecture and AI capabilities make it a desirable choice for users seeking high-end performance in their mobile devices.