Samsung’s next-generation midrange chipset is finally here - meet the Exynos 1080. It is officially the first platform by the Korean company built on the 5nm EUV FinFET technology and comes as a successor to the Exynos 980 with its integrated 5G modem.
Photos from the Exynos 1080 unveiling
Samsung has decided to go with an octa-core CPU with triple cluster design featuring four Cortex-A78 cores and four Cortex-A55 units. The most powerful Cortex-A78 core runs at 2.8GHz, while the other cluster of three Cortex-A78s reaches 2.6GHz. The A55 quartet is clocked at 2.0GHz. The GPU is Mali-G78 MP10.
The 5G integrated modem supports both Sub-6GHz and mmWave standards, and phones with Exynos 1080 chipset can also enjoy Cat.18 LTE downlink and uplink. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.2, all the Wi-Fi bands, and FM Radio.
For photos the Exynos 1080 supports up to 200MP single camera or dual 32MP + 32MP units and videos go up to 4K@60fps.
You get support for the latest LPDDR4x and LPDDR5 RAM standards as well as UFS 3.1 storage. It can be hooked to WQHD+ displays of up to 90Hz refresh rate, or Full HD+ panels at up to 144Hz refresh rate.
First phones with Exynos 1080 are expected to arrive in early 2021. During an event in China, a company representative revealed that it's actually vivo that will first adopt the platform as it did with the Exynos 980 last year.
Qualcomm just unveiled what could be the premium mid-range chipset to beat – the Snapdragon 780G is one the first chipsets in its class to be built on a 5nm node (following the Exynos 1080) and it’s basically a lite version of the 888 powerhouse.
The Kryo 670 CPU is described with a vague “40% performance uplift” without a point of reference. The 600-series cores should be derived from the latest Cortex-A78, while the 768G chipset used A76-based cores, which sounds to be on target for a 40% performance increase.
Interestingly, despite being fabbed at a leading node, the cores clock up to only 2.4 GHz. That matches the big cores in the 888, though the flagship chip also has a Cortex-X1 prime core at 2.84 GHz.
Moving on to the GPU, the Adreno 642 should slot between the Snapdragon 855 and 865 in terms of performance. It supports updatable drivers, HDR10 and the display adapter can drive 1080p+ displays at up to 144 Hz.
The Snapdragon 780G (SM7350-AB) supports LPDDR4 RAM at up to 2.1 GHz frequency and up to 16 GB capacity. While real life performance is hard to predict from paper specs, it’s clear that this chipset will find its way in some of the best camera phones to come.
It has a triple spectra 570 ISP, a parred down version of what is inside the 888. A triple ISP means that the image streams from three cameras can be processed simultaneously, something only possible on new flagship chipsets until now.
This ISP supports 10-bit color depth for photos and videos (Rec. 2020 color gamut) and can record in several popular HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. It can handle a single camera up to 84 MP with Zero Shutter Lag enabled or a single camera up to 192 MP otherwise.
The Hexagon 770 AI engine can offers an impressive 12 TOPS of performance. That’s double what the 768G could manage (5.4 TOPS) and close to what the 865/870 have to offer (15 TOPS). This will expand the limits of computational photography in the premium mid-range segment.
The Snapdragon 780G has excellent connectivity features to boot. The X53 5G modem offers peak download speeds of up to 3.3 Gbps. mmWave is strangely missing, however.
Still, the local connectivity is on par with Qualcomm’s top chip thanks to the FastConnect 6900 system. It is one of the few to support Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax on the 6 GHz band) with peak speeds that surpass even the 5G modem at 3.6 Gbps and (with “VR-class” low latency to boot). Bluetooth 5.2 is supported along with a smattering of Qualcomm’s advanced audio features (including a customizable “Golden Ears” filter).
On the wired side of things, the chip offers the usual USB 3.1 for data and Quick Charge 4+ for filling the battery.
The first phones to be powered by the Snapdragon 780G will be out in the next three months.
| Snapdragon 750G | Snapdragon 768G | Snapdragon 780G | Snapdragon 860 | Dimensity 1200 | Exynos 1080 | |
| Process | Samsung 8 nm | Samsung 7 nm EUV | Samsung 5 nm | 7 nm TSMC | TSMC 6 nm | Samsung 5 nm EUV |
| CPU (prime) | - | 1x Kryo 475 (A76) @ 2.8 GHz | 1x Kryo 670 (A78) @ 2.4 GHz | 1x Kryo 485 (A76) @ 2.96 GHz | 1x Cortex-A78 @ 3.0 GHz | 1x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8 GHz |
| CPU (big) | 2x Kryo 570 (A77) @ 2.2 GHz | 1x Kryo 475 (A76) @ 2.4 GHz | 3x Kryo 670 (A78) @ 2.2 GHz | 3x Kruo 845 (A76) @ 2.42 GHz | 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.7 GHz | 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.6 GHz |
| CPU (small) | 6x Kryo 570 (A55) @ 1.8 GHz | 6x Kryo 475 (A55) @ 1.8 GHz | 4x Kryo 670 (A55) @ 1.9 GHz | 4x Kryo 485 (A55) @ 1.8 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz | 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 619 | Adreno 620 | Adreno 642 | Adreno 640 | Mali-G77 MC9 | Mali-G78 MP10 |
| Display | 1080p+ @ 120 Hz | 1080p+ @ 120 Hz | 1080p+ @ 144 Hz | 4K @ 60 Hz, 1080p+ @ 90 Hz | 1080p+ @ 168 Hz | 1440p+ @ 90 Hz, 1080p+ @ 144 Hz |
| ISP | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ? | ? |
| NPU | 4.7 TOPS | 5.4 TOPS | 12 TOPS | 7 TOPS | ? | 5.7 TOPS |
| 5G modem (downlink) | X52, 3.7 Gbps | X52, 3.7 Gbps | X53, 3.3 Gbps | X50, 2 Gbps | 4.7 Gbps (sub-6) | 3.67 Gbps (mmWave), 5.1 Gbps (sub-6) |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6, 867 Mbps | Wi-Fi 6E, 3.6 Gbps | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6 |
Last week we saw the debut of iQOO’s Z3 with its 120Hz display, Snapdragon 768G chipset and 55W charging. According to Chinses tipster Arsenal we’re also in for a Pro model and it’s expected to debut with Qualcomm's new Snapdrgaon 780G chipset and a 144Hz IPS LCD.
iQOO Z3 Pro rumored specs
The new leak does not disclose any additional information about the Z3 Pro. We already know the Z3 sells for CNY 1,700 ($260) so we can safely assume the Pro model will go for around the CNY 2,000 mark. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments surrounding the iQOO Z3 Pro.
vivo's iQOO sub-brand announced the Z3 for the Chinese market at around the end of March, and it went on sale on April Fools Day (seriously). And now it looks like this phone is ready for a trip over to neighboring India.
Gagan Arora, director of iQOO India, shared a teaser on his Twitter account today, basically asking you to flip the Netflix N logo 90 degrees left or right. What do you get? A Z, of course. If that's not obvious, we don't know what is.
What's less clear cut is exactly when we should expect the Z3 to make its debut on the Indian market, but surely iQOO will keep teasing it and give us a launch date soon.
According to a rumor from yesterday, the iQOO Z3 will be under INR 25,000 and will launch by June 15. Not much waiting left to do then, if you're in India and have been craving this phone.
To recap, it comes with a 6.58-inch 120Hz 1080x2408 LCD touchscreen, the Snapdragon 768G SoC, 6/8GB of RAM, 128/256GB of expandable storage, a triple rear camera system (64 MP main + 8 MP ultrawide + 2 MP macro), a 16 MP selfie cam, and a 4,400 mAh battery with 55W charging. It runs Android 11.
Introduction
If you are into making TikTok videos or you know someone who is, you already know the importance of the selfie video format. In other words, an increasing number of people - especially young people - want phones which are better-geared towards capturing selfies and selfie video content. Preferably more affordable ones.
Bafflingly enough, though, few devices, even from the popular flagship bunch, have really offered much in terms of selfie camera improvements.
Enter the vivo V21 duo. Their call to fame is unquestionably the 44MP, f/2.0 selfie camera with autofocus and OIS. That's not something you see every day. Not by a long shot.
vivo V21 5G • vivo V21
It's intriguing to note that while we have the V21 5G for review today, it's literally identical to the vanilla vivo V21 down to the Dimensity 800U 5G chipset. We guess, they've merely removed the 5G antenna for the 4G-only model. A bit of an unorthodox approach, but we won't complain since the regular V21 gets all of the goodies of its 5G sibling.
vivo V21 / V21 5G specs at a glance:
- Body: 159.7x73.9x7.3mm, 176g; plastic back, plastic frame, glass front.
- Display: 6.44" AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 500 nits (typ), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
- Chipset: MediaTek MT6853 Dimensity 800U 5G (7 nm): Octa-core (2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC3.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
- OS/Software: Android 11, Funtouch 11.1.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120-degree, 16mm, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 44 MP, f/2.0, (wide), AF, OIS.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps (no OIS), 1080p@30/60fps; Front camera: 4K@30fps (no OIS), 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4000mAh; Fast charging 33W, 63% in 30 min (advertised).
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); selfie LEDs.
The mighty selfie camera aside, the V21 duo doesn't skimp on the rest of its specs sheet either. It is a surprisingly thin phone, measuring 159.7 x 73.9 x 7.3 mm and tipping the scale at 176 grams, while still housing a respectable 4,000 mAh battery.
The midrange MediaTek Dimensity 800U, found at their cores, is paired with 8GB of RAM. And front and center, there is the punchy and smooth 90Hz AMOLED panel, with HDR10+ support.
The camera setup on the back is not too shabby either, with a 64MP main snapper, 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro.
All things considered, what we have with the V21 on paper is a solid midranger. However, its MSRP of a bit over EUR 300 makes the 5G model we review here vulnerable to plenty of competition. And this competition often can deliver on some of the things vivo has left out, like ingress protection, a stereo speaker setup, 3.5mm jack and NFC, to name a few. What the V21 has, though, is a clear spotlight feature in its selfie camera setup. So, the real question becomes just how well it is executed in practice and whether it is good enough to draw a trendy crowd of social-network-savvy customers.
Unboxing
The V21 has a surprisingly rich retail package. Of course, this might not necessarily be the case on every market, but our unit had all of the essentials in the box and then some.
Starting with the charger, vivo has its own FlashCharge 2.0 tech. On the V21 and V21 5G, it can charge up to a maximum of 33W. It is rated for 5V@2A, 9V@2A or 11V@3A of output. There is also Super FlashCharge 2.0, as seen on the vivo X60 Pro+, which can go up to 55W.
As far as we managed to gather, both of these use a similar proprietary charging approach, which uses higher voltages, akin to Qualcomm's Quick Charge, instead of higher concurrent amperage, like VOOC and its derivatives. Information on the topic is a bit scarce, but this should mean that FlashCharge 2.0 can work at its full 33W or near them with a standard USB Type-A to Type-C cable, like the one included in the box. You just need to make sure that it's of decent quality. We are only explaining this, since it's sort of a plus in vivo's favor that you don't necessarily need to worry about always having the proprietary cable at hand.
Also, in the V21's box - a pair of vivo-branded white earbuds, with a microphone and in-line controls. Interestingly enough, these are not Type-C, but rather standard 3.5mm ones. You also get a tiny Type-C to 3.5mm dongle to attach them to the phone. Arguably, a more versatile setup, both for using the quite decent-sounding buds on a different device, as well as plugging other headphones into the V21.
Finally, you get a nice clear TPU case in the box, as well. It features a flap to seal the Type-C port on the phone - a valiant effort, though not a substitute for actual gaskets and a proper ingress protection rating.