HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs HiSilicon Kirin 980

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The HiSilicon Kirin 970 and the HiSilicon Kirin 980 are two processors that offer high performance and power efficiency. Let's compare their specifications to see how they differ.

Starting with the HiSilicon Kirin 970, it features an architecture of 4x 2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 cores and 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 cores. With a total of 8 cores, this processor is capable of handling multiple tasks efficiently. The instruction set used is ARMv8-A, which ensures compatibility with modern applications. The 10 nm lithography and 5500 million transistors contribute to its power efficiency, ensuring a lower TDP of 9 Watts. Additionally, the HiSilicon Kirin 970 includes the HiSilicon NPU (Neural Processing Unit), enabling faster and more efficient neural processing tasks.

Moving on to the HiSilicon Kirin 980, it takes a step forward in terms of performance and power efficiency. Its architecture consists of 2x 2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 cores, 2x 1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 cores, and 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 cores. The addition of the Cortex-A76 cores results in improved single-core performance. Similar to the Kirin 970, it also has 8 cores and uses the ARMv8-A instruction set. However, the Kirin 980 takes advantage of a smaller lithography of 7 nm and boasts 6900 million transistors, making it more power-efficient and capable of delivering superior performance. With a lower TDP of 6 Watts, it ensures reduced heat output and power consumption. The HiSilicon Kirin 980 also features the HiSilicon Dual NPU, which further enhances its AI capabilities.

In summary, the HiSilicon Kirin 980 offers notable advancements over its predecessor, the Kirin 970. With improved CPU cores, a smaller lithography, and a larger number of transistors, it delivers enhanced performance and power efficiency. The addition of the Dual NPU further strengthens its AI capabilities. Overall, the Kirin 980 is a more advanced processor that would be a better choice for users seeking top-notch performance and efficiency.

CPU cores and architecture

Architecture 4x 2.4 GHz – Cortex-A73
4x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A53
2x 2.6 GHz – Cortex-A76
2x 1.92 GHz – Cortex-A76
4x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A55
Number of cores 8 8
Instruction Set ARMv8-A ARMv8-A
Lithography 10 nm 7 nm
Number of transistors 5500 million 6900 million
TDP 9 Watt 6 Watt
Neural Processing HiSilicon NPU HiSilicon Dual NPU

Memory (RAM)

Max amount up to 8 GB up to 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR4 LPDDR4X
Memory frequency 1866 MHz 2133 MHz
Memory-bus 4x16 bit 4x16 bit

Storage

Storage specification UFS 2.1 UFS 2.1

Graphics

GPU name Mali-G72 MP12 Mali-G76 MP10
GPU Architecture Bifrost Bifrost
GPU frequency 750 MHz 720 MHz
Execution units 12 10
Shaders 192 160
DirectX 12 12
OpenCL API 2.0 2.1
OpenGL API ES 3.2
Vulkan API 1.0 1.2

Camera, Video, Display

Max screen resolution 2340x1080 3120x1440
Max camera resolution 1x 48MP, 2x 20MP 1x 48MP, 2x 32MP
Max Video Capture 4K@30fps 4K@30fps
Video codec support H.264 (AVC)
H.265 (HEVC)
VP8
VP9
AV1
H.264 (AVC)
H.265 (HEVC)
VP8
VP9

Wireless

4G network Yes Yes
5G network Yes Yes
Peak Download Speed 1.2 Gbps 1.4 Gbps
Peak Upload Speed 0.15 Gbps 0.2 Gbps
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 4.2 5.0
Satellite navigation BeiDou
GPS
Galileo
GLONASS
BeiDou
GPS
Galileo
GLONASS

Supplemental Information

Launch Date 2017 September 2018 Quarter 4
Partnumber Hi3670
Vertical Segment Mobiles Mobiles
Positioning Flagship Flagship

AnTuTu 10

Total Score
Kirin 970
318577
Kirin 980
484026

GeekBench 6 Single-Core

Score
Kirin 970
389
Kirin 980
698

GeekBench 6 Multi-Core

Score
Kirin 970
1502
Kirin 980
2482