The Flagship market has been hotly contested for a long time now since the dawn of the smartphone era and Samsung has always been up there with the heavyweights. Samsung has been pitting out flagship after flagship year after year with their S and Note series the favourite of many smartphone users.

Samsung has a tradition of producing two variants of their flagships with one powered by their own in house Exynos SoC and the other by a Snapdragon Flagship. Samsung prices both phones equally and this has led to users who perceive the Exynos variant to be inferior to feel shortchanged.

This is not just a Samsung issue. It is generally believed that other flagships from other companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, One Plus, Meizu etc. are all superior to the Exynos variant of the Samsung flagship. So we are going to compare Exynos 990 vs Snapdragon 865 to see if the SD 865 is truly better.
This is flagship grade so expect to see some mad specs here.


Microarchitecture (CPU cores)
The Exynos 990 is an octacore SoC with a Dynamiq arrangement of 2+2+4. There are 2 M5 (A77) Lion cores clocked at 2.73GHz, 2 A76 cores clocked at 2.5GHz and 4 A55 cores with a speed of 2.0GHz. The SD865 is also an octacore with a Dynamiq arrangement of 1+3+4. The SD865 has 1 Kryo 585 Prime (A77) core running at 2.84GHz, 3 Kryo 585 Gold (A77) cores clocked at 2.4GHz and 4 Kryo 585 Silver (A55) cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
For heavy tasks, the SD865 with its faster Kryo 585 custom Prime and Gold cores will leave the Exynos 990 behind. For lighter tasks though, the Exynos could do slightly better at lighter tasks. First point goes to SD865.


Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)
They are both on ARMv8.2-A so this is a tie.


Size
They are both built on a 7nm process so this is also a tie although, SD865 could be said to be marginally cooler and more efficient.


GPU
The Exynos 990 ships with ARM’s Mali G77 MP11 while the SD865 comes with Adreno 650. This is a no contest. The Adreno 615 is better than the Mali G77 and the fact that Qualcomm encourages developers and modders to create software exclusively for their hardware gives them a very unfair advantage.


RAM
Both SoCs also ship with LPDDR5 RAMs but Exynos 990’s RAM module is clocked at 5.5GHz which is blazing fast when compared the SD865 whose RAM is clocked at 2750MHz. Points goes to Exynos 990.


Storage
The Exynos 990 supports UFS 3.0 which is very impressive but the SD865 supports UFS 3.1 which is better.
Point to SD865.


Maximum display resolution
The Exynos 990 supports a better maximum resolution of 4096 x 2160p when compared to the 3840 x 2160p that the SD865 supports.


ISP
Exynos 990 uses an unnamed Exynos ISP while the SD865 comes with the flagship grade Spectra 480.The Exynos 990 supports a maximum camera resolution of 108MP while the SD865 supports resolutions of up 200MP (which is crazy). The Exynos 990 can record 8K video at 30fps and 4K video at 120fps. The SD865 can match it by recording 8K video at 30fps but can only record 4K video at 60fps. Both SoCs play back 8K video at 30fps.
This seems to be a tie for me but I would to hear your opinions in the comments.


Modems and connectivity
The Exynos 990 has onboard an Exynos 5123 modem which has uplink speeds of 422Mbps and downlink speeds of 3000Mbps. The SD865 uses Qualcomm’s X55 modem with uplink speeds of 316Mbps and downlink speeds of 2000Mbps.
Both SoCs have WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.
Point goes to Exynos 990.


Benchmarks
On GeekBench, the Exynos 990 has scores of 939 (single core) and 2774 (multi core). The SD865 stays ahead with scores of 944 (single core) and 3502 (multi core).
When GPU scores are thrown into the mix on Antutu, the gap between both SoCS is widened further to 598159 (SD720G) and 531671 (Exynos 990).
SD720G is the clear winner in terms of performance.


Age
Both SoCs were released last year with the SD720G being announced in December and the Exynos 990 showing up two months earlier in October.


Final say
It was close and Exynos 990 sure gave SD865 a run for its money but at the end, users do have a right to feel aggrieved as SD865 is the better CPU especially in terms of performance.

Source: https://inquisitiveuniverse.com/2020/11/23/exynos-990-vs-snapdragon-865/

You can also find me IG, Facebook and Telegram.

Just search for inquisitiveuniverse, especially on Telegram. I spend a lot of time there and our discussions are highly interactive

Buying an Exynos variant of a Samsung phone is like buying a "lite" version of that phone when compared to it's snapdragon variant.

They both pack the same specs but performance wise, the Snapdragon is always a little bit ahead. But all these is about to change, in the next few years, Samsung will partner with AMD to build it's graphic cores, and we all know that AMD is capable of. And since Samsung will build Qualcomm's Snapdragon 875 chipset, I think the difference in performance when compared to the next Exynos chip will be negligible


Nice comparison by the way


Peace

exynos 990 might look good on paper but slough a bit in real life

khingTony:
Buying an Exynos variant of a Samsung phone is like buying a "lite" version of that phone when compared to it's snapdragon variant.

They both pack the same specs but performance wise, the Snapdragon is always a little bit ahead. But I this all these is about to change, in the next few years, Samsung will partner with AMD to build it's graphic cores, and we all know that AMD is capable of. And since Samsung will build Qualcomm's Snapdragon 875 chipset, I think the difference in performance when compared to the next Exynos chip will be negligible


Nice comparison by the way


Peace

Well said

sunshineV:
exynos 990 might look good on paper but slough a bit in real life

Of course

Snapdragon and MTK is just the real deal.

Nice one ☺️

Jacku:
Snapdragon and MTK is just the real deal.

MTK

If I'm to rate processors using their flagships, mediatek will be at the bottom. MediaTek is good in the Midrange market, but when it comes to The highest end market it is an outcast


here is how I'll rate flagship processors


Apple A series
Snapdragon 800 series
Hi-silicon 9.... series
Exynos .... series
MediaTek Dimensity.... series

khingTony:


MTK

If I'm to rate processors using their flagships, mediatek will be at the bottom. MediaTek is good in the Midrange market, but when it comes to The highest end market it is an outcast


here is how I'll rate flagship processors


Apple A series
Snapdragon 800 series
Hi-silicon 9.... series
Exynos .... series
MediaTek Dimensity.... series

I've never heard of MTK using there chip on flagships. But like you said, they are superb on midrange devices.

khingTony:


MTK

If I'm to rate processors using their flagships, mediatek will be at the bottom. MediaTek is good in the Midrange market, but when it comes to The highest end market it is an outcast


here is how I'll rate flagship processors


Apple A series
Snapdragon 800 series
Hi-silicon 9.... series
Exynos .... series
MediaTek Dimensity.... series

Apple

Qualcomm Snapdragon

Mediatek

Exynos

Hi Silicon

khingTony:


MTK

If I'm to rate processors using their flagships, mediatek will be at the bottom. MediaTek is good in the Midrange market, but when it comes to The highest end market it is an outcast


here is how I'll rate flagship processors


Apple A series
Snapdragon 800 series
Hi-silicon 9.... series
Exynos .... series
MediaTek Dimensity.... series

he is riding mtk's d!ck bcus he is a transsion marketer

atheistandproud:


Apple

Qualcomm Snapdragon

Mediatek

Exynos

Hi Silicon

On which basis did you make this assertion?

MediaTek's best offering is the Dimensity 1000+ which is outclassed by the Exynos 990 despite the fact that it was announced 7 months later

The dimensity 1000+ does not support 8k video recording and playback, it doesn't support 1440p screen resolution, it doesn't support UFS 3.0 storage, and LPDDR5 RAM, the Exynos beats it in most, if not all benchmark tests, amongst others the only advantage it has over the Exynos 990 is a better instruction set.


And also comparing it to hisilicon Kirin, Kirin 9000 is built on a 5nm process, has clock a clock speed of up to 3.1 GHz compared to the 2.6 GHz on the dimensity 1000+, supports LPDDR5, UFS3.1, has better AnTuTu and Geek bench scores, amongst others


So, how is MediaTek better

sunshineV:
he is riding mtk's d!ck bcus he is a transsion marketer

atheistandproud:

Apple
Qualcomm Snapdragon
Mediatek
Exynos
Hi Silicon

exynos should come back with a bang

khingTony:

On which basis did you make this assertion?

MediaTek's best offering is the Dimensity 1000+ which is outclassed by the Exynos 990 despite the fact that it was announced 7 months later

The dimensity 1000+ does not support 8k video recording and playback, it doesn't support 1440p screen resolution, it doesn't support UFS 3.0 storage, and LPDDR5 RAM, the Exynos beats it in most, if not all benchmark tests, amongst others the only advantage it has over the Exynos 990 is a better instruction set.


And also comparing it to hisilicon Kirin, Kirin 9000 is built on a 5nm process, has clock a clock speed of up to 3.1 GHz compared to the 2.6 GHz on the dimensity 1000+, supports LPDDR5, UFS3.1, has better AnTuTu and Geek bench scores, amongst others


So, how is MediaTek better

Exynos has closed down their custom core division and are going to be using IP cores from ARM. How their arrangement with Nvidia may turn out is still up for discussion.

Mediatek has a straightforward agenda and has been pursuing it so far and their comeback overall had been a success despite their obvious shortcomings.

I ranked Mediatek over Exynos because Exynos are undergoing a transition period currently. Forget all the marketing hogwash. Judge with what is on the ground.

Huawei on the other hand are in free fall. Kirin 9000 is using A77 while everyone else has moved on to A78 and X1 cores. They're overclocking their A77 which will cause it to heat. Forget 5nm, all processors heat up to an extent and that overclocking 3.1GHz for A77 is too much in my humble opinion. Chip could wear out and slow down in less than 2 years. That Mali G78 is also another ring boiler.

Kirin would be forgotten as soon as Snapdragon, Exynos and Mediatek reply with their own flagships for 2021. Kirin should not be considered sef when comparing high performance flagships. USA hit them hard. They're going to use 45nm and 32nm Fab processes next year.

I don't use one SoC to judge. That's too simple minded.

sunshineV:
exynos should come back with a bang

I'm hoping they do. Competition is good for the consumers.

Unlike many people, I don't have a favorite SoC, if Apple try, I go praise them. If SD mess up I go yab them. They're not paying me na.

What can I do without google play services on my phone
Atheistandproud

Zimri:
What can I do without google play services on my phone
Atheistandproud

I don't quite understand the question.

atheistandproud:


I don't quite understand the question.

I'm bent on getting a Huawei phone. So I'm asking questions to know my chances of living "a good android life" I'm scared of non-google apps that use google frameworks.

Zimri:


I'm bent on getting a Huawei phone. So I'm asking questions to know my chances of living "a good android life" I'm scared of non-google apps that use google frameworks.

Don't buy what you can't use!

Sd 888 has just been unveil

Xpress24:
Sd 888 has just been unveil

Two days ago actually.

Still making research on it..

Zimri:


I'm bent on getting a Huawei phone. So I'm asking questions to know my chances of living "a good android life" I'm scared of non-google apps that use google frameworks.

Well you can sideload Google apps on the phone, that is if Google would allow. It should be having some hiccups from time to time but should work okay.

The downside is that your phone would lack that Google security certificate and this would cause many apps to treat you as a malware. Financial transactions online would be rejected by banking and other financially affiliated apps. Netflix may deny you access to their services as well.

These are the only ones I'm currently aware of.

atheistandproud:


Well you can sideload Google apps on the phone, that is if Google would allow. It should be having some hiccups from time to time but should work okay.

The downside is that your phone would lack that Google security certificate and this would cause many apps to treat you as a malware. Financial transactions online would be rejected by banking and other financially affiliated apps. Netflix may deny you access to their services as well.

These are the only ones I'm currently aware of.

Thanks. I have to make a wise decision.

Zimri:


I'm bent on getting a Huawei phone. So I'm asking questions to know my chances of living "a good android life" I'm scared of non-google apps that use google frameworks.

Get a Huawei Y9s or P30 pro and thank me later.

The P30pro is a flagship while the Y9s is a mid-ranger and both have Google play.

sunshineV:
he is riding mtk's d!ck bcus he is a transsion marketer

see who's talking . Guy, Transsion de do giveaway o, you sure say you no go rush go join the competition?