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- Huawei Announces Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 5G: Dual SoC Approach, Integrated 5G Modem - AnandTech
- Revamped Galaxy Fold fixes past mistakes: What's new in Samsung's foldable phone - CNET
- Qualcomm roadmap for 2020 includes 5G SoCs for the Snapdragon 8, 7, and 6 Series - PhoneArena
| Huawei Announces Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 5G: Dual SoC Approach, Integrated 5G Modem - AnandTech Posted: 06 Sep 2019 03:00 AM PDT  For the last 3 years, Huawei has announced its next generation SoC at the IFA technology show here in Berlin. In every occasion, the company promotes its hardware, using the latest process technologies, the latest core designs, and its latest connectivity options. The flagship Kirin processor it announces ends up in every major Huawei and Honor smartphone for the next year, and the Kirin 990 family announced today is no different. With the Mate 30 launch happening on September 19th, Huawei lifted the lid on its new flagship chipset, with a couple of twists. Dual SoC Approach: Kirin 990 (4G) and Kirin 990 5GAs we move into the era of 5G, we have a bifurcated market. On one side we have regions that are not ready for 5G, and consumers there do not want to pay the extra $$ or power or potential compromises in a device in order to support 5G. Other regions are riding the 5G wave, and are on the leading edge, and so might pay the premium. Rather than offer a single solution to both markets, Huawei is for the first time splitting its strategy, with two versions of the Kirin 990.
These versions will officially be known as the Kirin 990 and the Kirin 990 5G. The (4G) I've put here is simply to add a differentiator to tell them apart. The two Kirin chipsets are, and a standard base level, pretty much the same. Same core configuration, same camera support, same memory, same storage. However, in a few key areas beyond the modem, there are differences, such as NPU performance and core frequencies. We'll go into these in a bit. But it is worth highlighting how the Kirin 990 5G version is a vision of the future. We bang on consistently about 5G, because that is where a lot of mobile infrastructure and investment is going. Back at Mobile World Congress in February, we covered every company that had announced its own discrete 5G modem – a chip that was added to a device in order to enable 5G. This typically meant that we had a standard processing chip with 4G, and then an extra 5G support chip on top. Ultimately to get the best performance, the 5G chip should be integrated on the same silicon, enabling better efficiency in 5G mode in exchange for die area and design complexity. True to form, Huawei (and its design arm, HiSilicon), are the first to do it for the smartphone market.
The Kirin 990 5G is a true unified design, supporting Sub-6 GHz 5G networks on both SA and NSA architectures. In order to keep the die size in check, Huawei is using TSMC's latest 7+ manufacturing process with EUV, which helps enable a smaller die size for the sorts of devices this chip will be going into. To date, neither Qualcomm, nor Samsung, (nor Apple), have a unified flagship chip design that is near commercialization. We do expect them to release the hardware as they generationally update, but as of today, Huawei is the first to announce it. So despite having a single smartphone SoC that can do 4G and 5G without additional hardware, Huawei still believed it prudent to produce a separate chip without 5G in it, especially as 5G adoption is still going on globally, and still a few years out for some markets in which Huawei competes. It also helps Huawei split some of its features, saving the best for the 5G hardware. As mentioned, one of the key elements to the Kirin 990 5G is its use of TSMC's 7FF+ with EUV, which enables the chip to have a small(er) die size. We are told the chip is over 100mm2, which is up from 74.13 mm2 on the Kirin 980 (TSMC 7nm) and 96.72 mm2 on the Kirin 970 (TSMC 10nm), possibly making it Huawei's largest smartphone SoC to date. This is compared to the Kirin 990 4G version, which is around ~90 mm2, but is built on the same 7nm process as the Kirin 980, making it a little bigger. Transistor counts for the two chips put the 990 5G at 10.3 billion, while the 990 4G is ~8 billion.
CPUThe core configuration on both SoCs is the same – two high frequency A76 cores, two medium frequency A76 cores, and four more efficient A55 cores. These are split into their own power and frequency domains, allowing better flexibility based on workload. However, the 990 5G and 990 4G will both have slightly different frequencies, based on the differences between the 7 and 7+ processes.
For caches, the all four A76 cores have 512 kB L2, while the A55 cores are 128 kB each. Technically Huawei calls the A76 cores as 'A76-based', because certain enhancements have been made to the core in the cache system to improve memory latency. Huawei wouldn't dictate anything more than saying that its 'SmartCache' implementation, that helps the GPU, also helps the CPU and NPU as well. We believe this is essentially a next level cache above the DynamiQ DSU, similar to Qualcomm and Samsung's implementations.
A side note here: we had expected Huawei to launch the new Kirin with Arm's latest A77 core, as it was announced earlier this year. Despite being a priority Arm partner member, the company's technical team explained to us two things: firstly, the core decisions were made almost two years ago for this chip, but aside from that, they were not seeing the expected frequency from the A77 on TSMC's 7nm processes. Huawei stated that even though A77 hits higher peak performance, the power efficiency of the A77 and A76 on 7nm is practically identical, however due to better experience with A76 on 7nm, they were able to push the frequencies of the core much higher. It was cited that other companies with announced A77 products were only achieving 2.2 GHz on similar process technologies at other fabs. It was stated that A77 will likely come on a future product, most likely when 5nm becomes more widely available. On the topic of LPDDR5 support, we were told that LPDDR5 is still an expensive technology, and Huawei is looking at it for future products. GraphicsFor the graphics, the Kirin 990 parts will both have a 16-core Mali-G76 implementation, up from a 10-core Mali-G76 in the Kirin 980. This is partly for the reason for the increased die size: Huawei believes that a lower voltage, lower frequency but wider GPU will offer a better chip overall.
The performance of the GPU has increased, as we move from a 10-core 750 MHz design to a 16-core 700 MHz design. NPUAside from implementing the 5G modem, the biggest change in the Kirin 990 is going to be the NPU, or Neural Processing Unit. As a company, we won't see Huawei promoting this change that much, because ultimately it will be transparent to the consumers, but for the technical side of things it's a big step. In the Kirin 970 and Kirin 980 hardware, Huawei sub-licenced a machine learning hardware design from Cambricon Technologies, which was spun out from a university research project in China. Huawei ultimately invested into the company, although the hardware license wasn't exclusive, but Huawei got access to the leading edge design and were afforded customization options. With the Kirin 990, that partnership with Cambricon disappears, and the company is implementing its internal Da Vinci architecture.
We covered the Da Vinci architecture at Hot Chips a couple of weeks ago, where the company lifted the lid on a number of technical details behind the design. Huawei has announced that this architecture will be found in everything from 300W add-in server cards all the way down to credit card sized embedded devices. The first smartphone chip from Huawei with a Da Vinci-based NPU was the Kirin 810, but now it comes to the flagship SoC for the 2019/2020 generation. What exactly does Da Vinci bring? Two elements, both of which are important when it comes to applying machine learning algorithms. First, the 'big' Da Vinci cores support both INT8 and FP16 quantization of networks. In the Kirin 980 with the Cambricon design, the dual NPU was split, with both cores supporting FP16, but only one supported INT8 for technical reasons. That restriction disappears, and all of the big Da Vinci cores supports both. Quantization support becomes important for offering faster and lower power solutions to ML inference problems.
The second change is the addition of a new 'Tiny Core' NPU. Both the 4G and 5G model will have one, and this is a smaller version of the Da Vinci architecture focused on power efficiency (Huawei cites 24x better efficiency) connected over the AXI bus. The performance of the Tiny Core is naturally lower, but it's a place where non-critical or low-polling ML can take place, such as wake-on-voice, or charging characteristics. It can even process individual photos, but isn't fast enough to pattern match on live video. For that, you need the big cores. One key feature about Da Vinci worth noting is that Huawei has stated that it has already optimized the software stack for 90% of the most popular computer-vision based neural networks on the market. One of the benefits of the Da Vinci design over the Cambricon design is that Da Vinci is fully NNAPI compliant, whereas the older version was a mix of applicable features. That's the NPU change, but there's also a difference between the 990 5G and 990 4G. One of the contributions to the die size difference, apart from the modem, the GPU, and the manufacturing process, is that the 990 5G has double the number of NPU cores. The 990 5G will have two 'big' NPU cores, supporting dual ML processes concurrently, along with a Tiny Core NPU. The 990 4G by comparison will only have one 'big' NPU core, plus the Tiny Core. This means we are likely to see certain features come to the Kirin 990 5G devices that might not be possible on Kirin 990 4G devices. It is going to be interesting to see how Huawei as a company manages that messaging, especially if it ends up offering its flagship device in both a 4G-only and a 5G flavor. The Balong ModemAside from being the first integrated smartphone 5G design, ultimately Huawei did not give many details about the new 5G modem, or any updates to the 4G design. It was cited that the Kirin 990 5G is the first full-band frequency modem that supports both NSA and SA architecurtes (Though the Exynos Modem 5100 technically holds this title).
They cited peak speeds with the modem will be up to 2.3 Gbps download and 1.25 Gbps upload, with additional ML-based beamforming technology that helps support faster speeds during high-speed travel. The design will also allow for connection to 5G and 4G simultaneously, for weak signal areas. We confirmed that the company is still using Tensilica DSPs, with the technical team stating that despite international concerns, the license for Tensilica is still valid. Huawei's Performance Claims on Kirin 990 5GAs was perhaps to be expected, Huawei was keen to showcase the performance of the bigger SoC against the current rivals in the market. The 4G model wasn't in a lot of the graphs we were shown.
Headline numbers were for a +9% increase in single threaded performance from Kirin 980 to Kirin 990 5G, mostly driven through the higher frequency. Multithreaded performance overall was listed as being up 10%. However, power efficiency was pushed up 35% on the middle A76 cores compared to last year, and Huawei expects most non-demanding performance related workloads to be run on these middle cores. (For completeness, Huawei states the high-performance cores are +12% more efficient over the previous generation, and the smaller cores are +15% more efficient.)
On the GPU side, we expect a performance increase, however Huawei stayed away from quoting numbers in a reasonable time frame for us to note them down in our briefing (in the keynote, they showed +6% GPU performance against the S855). We were able to get details on how the 'Smart Cache' improves performance: in this case the Kirin 990 (both versions) see a 15% reduction in GPU-to-DDR bandwidth, and a 12% reduction in DDR power consumption (because it gets used less in the same workload).
Headline performance is AI, although the numbers here are going to be split between the 990 4G with a 1+1 NPU core design, and the 990 5G with a 2+1 NPU core design. Huawei puts the performance of the Kirin 990 5G as 2.5x over the Kirin 980, and a similar amount over the Snapdragon S855 and Exynos 9825, as just under 2x compared to the Apple A12. Power efficiency is also improved by similar amounts. All this was comparing inference scores at both FP16 and INT8 quantization. These new chips are expected to be spread liberally across both Huawei and Honor flagships for the rest of 2019 and into 2020. Huawei has a press event in Munich on the 19th of September, where we are expecting the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro flagship phones to be announced – and likely a 5G model as well, which perhaps might be the Pro 5G only.
We have been told that the Kirin 990 4G chipset is ready and available. Due to other factors, likely related to market segmentation and strategy, the Kirin 990 5G devices might be a little later. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revamped Galaxy Fold fixes past mistakes: What's new in Samsung's foldable phone - CNET Posted: 06 Sep 2019 06:41 AM PDT  The new, improved Galaxy Fold. Tyler Lizenby/CNETThe Samsung Galaxy Fold is back and better than ever. After design flaws began causing reviewers' phone screens to break, Samsung postponed the Fold's release date and went back to the drawing board to fix the problem. Now, a new and improved Galaxy Fold will go on sale in September, starting in Korea and branching out throughout Asia and Europe before heading to the US. (Here's what we know about preordering the fixed Fold.) I got a chance to go hands-on with the redesigned model, which Samsung says will avoid incurring the kind of damage that caused some reviewers' screens to break. (CNET's review unit never broke, but the screen did sustain scratches.) Samsung's fixes correct the Galaxy Fold's early problems, but it also marks a shift in the phone maker's strategy for selling the device. The $1,980 Galaxy Fold was supposed to be a smash hit that secured Samsung's place as an innovator. Early adopters would clamor for it. It would become the ultimate symbol of status and luxury. But now these changes represent Samsung's mistakes, and the company seems less enthusiastic that it the Fold will sell. This new design looks mostly the same as before, with subtle changes that make it harder to damage the Galaxy Fold's delicate plastic screen. For example, Samsung has completely removed the question of whether the protective layer on top of the original design was an optional screen protector or an essential part of the display's integrity -- it was actually the latter, as some reviewers learned the hard way earlier this year. Unfolding the Fold also feels different. Smoother, perhaps. Sturdier. I always loved opening and closing the original design during my time with the phone: The sensation of resistance as you closed the screen and felt the magnetic sides snap shut. Now it feels more complete somehow. It's hard to say why exactly, with the original Galaxy Fold so far in the rearview mirror and just my memory for comparison. Before this week, the last time I held the Fold was in mid-April. Here's every way the Galaxy Fold has changed.  The magnetic closure snapping the screens together feels just as secure. Tyler Lizenby/CNETNo visible screen protectorIf you peel this off, it immediately makes the Fold's screen unusable. Now, this polymer layer extends beneath the plastic bezel. It's still there but you can't see it, and that's how it should be. Screen caps at the ends of the phoneNew T-shaped plastic "caps" plug up air gaps that existed before when you fold the phone's screen -- this is the slack that's created as part of the kinetic process. I tried jamming my fingernails around this part to see if I could create any openings, but wasn't able to. That's reassuring. Reinforced screenThe previous Galaxy Fold design had a layer of metal supporting a cushiony layer and then the top portion of the display. Samsung says this caused the screen crease that runs down the phone's center to look more prominent. Now it's reinforced the screen by adding a second layer of metal on top of that cushion. We'll see if that reduces the crease's appearance and also keeps damage by pressing too hard on the display at bay.  What screen protector? That layer is still there, but you no longer see it and that's good. Tyler Lizenby/CNETNo more Astro Blue or Martian Green colorsThe blue and green colors really took the Fold over the top, but Samsung told us that it'll only sell the Fold in silver and black now. It's a shame, but I'm not really surprised. Samsung might be preparing for fewer sales as a result of waning enthusiasm, and therefore keeping its production counts in check. No Galaxy Fold 5G in the USAnyone in Korea who buys the Galaxy Fold will get the 5G version by default, but the opposite is true in the US -- it's 4G only for that market. Samsung says that the 5G version will come to select countries, naturally at a higher cost than the 4G model if the two are sold side by side. That includes the UK, where the Galaxy Fold 5G will be available from EE from Sept. 18. Stay tuned for more photos and my hands-on video that shows you exactly what's new and different in this second coming of the Galaxy Fold. Meanwhile, read on about how Samsung's next foldable phone could be shaped like a square. Originally published earlier this week and updated with more background.  Watch this: Every way Samsung improved the Galaxy Fold 3:54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Qualcomm roadmap for 2020 includes 5G SoCs for the Snapdragon 8, 7, and 6 Series - PhoneArena Posted: 06 Sep 2019 05:37 AM PDT Qualcomm made several announcements today at IFA. First, the company introduced the world's first 5G chipset that incorporates a modem, RF transceiver, and RF Front-end. Called the Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System, the chipset uses a "system-level approach" that will help Qualcomm's customers achieve "high 5G performance" with more efficient use of power. The current version of the chipset is the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System, which employs the Snapdragon X55 5G modem. The latter supports both mmWave 5G and Sub-6GHz 5G networks. The component is being billed as a comprehensive modem to antenna 5G solution. The Snapdragon X55 5GModem-RF System is being shipped now to phone manufacturers and will be found in smartphones, 5G PCs, tablets, mobile hotspots, automotive and other commercial products starting late in 2019. "Years ago, we recognized that enabling 5G requires an evolved design strategy and that a component-focused approach is no longer sufficient to achieve the device or network performance that users and operators expect. We adopted a systems paradigm and invested early-on in developing the mobile industry's first comprehensive solution spanning from modem to RF front-end to antenna. This holistic systems approach allows for unique techniques and optimizations that drive high 5G performance and power-efficiency while maintaining ease of design for our customers."-Durga Malladi, senior vice president, and general manager, 4G/5G, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. The company says that it plans on expanding its offerings for the Snapdragon 8 Series, 7 Series and 6 Series in 2020. The chips will include the aforementioned Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System which as we've already pointed out, currently includes the Snapdragon X55 5G modem (with support for mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G networks), an RF transceiver and RF Front-end. The current flagship Snapdragon 8 Series (Snapdragon 855) is already powering 5G devices introduced globally this year. Information about the next-generation Series 8 5G Mobile Platform (the Snapdragon 865) will be announced later this year. Manufacturers like LG, Motorola and HMD Global (Nokia) are working on 5G devices powered by the Snapdragon 7 Series 5G SoCThe Snapdragon 7 Series 5G SoC is built using the 7nm process and includes 5G integration along with features normally found on "premium-tier" chips. These would include the latest Qualcomm AI Engine and certain features belonging to the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming platform. It also will support all regions and frequency bands. 12 manufacturers are working on 5G devices that will be equipped with the integrated Snapdragon 7 Series 5G mobile platform. Such companies include Oppo, realme, Redmi, Vivo, Motorola, HMD Global (Nokia licensee) and LG Electronics. Sampling of these chips started in the second quarter this year and Qualcomm has moved up the release to the fourth quarter of 2019. New devices running this SoC will be launched shortly afterward, and Qualcomm says that it will release more information about this component later this year.  The new Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 6 Series 5G Mobile Platform will make 5G more broadly available as manufacturers seek to offer 5G capable phones around the world. What this really means is that the Snapdragon 6 Series 5G chipsets are more affordable so manufacturers can use them to power less expensive 5G enabled phones in certain developing markets. "Qualcomm Technologies delivered the world's first and most advanced 5G mobile platform including the first comprehensive Modem-RF System to accelerate 5G commercialization in 2019. And we are uniquely positioned to accelerate 5G commercialization to scale globally with our OEM and operator customers with expanded mobile platform offerings across our Snapdragon 8 Series, 7 Series and 6 Series in 2020."-Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Lastly, Qualcomm also introduced today its QTM527 mmWave antenna module for the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System. This module will allow mobile carriers to offer fixed internet broadband services to homes and businesses using their existing 5G network.  5G networks being built in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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