MediaTek unveiled its best midrange chipset ever at MWC 2018: the Helio P60. It is a SoC which we will see in smartphones focused on the quality-price ratio, and this means that it will rival the Snapdragon 6xx series by Qualcomm. To be accurate, considering that it is actually the best SoC by MediaTek launched in 2018, it will rival the Snapdragon 660, which is the best mid-end chipset by Qualcomm. Indeed, the first benchmarks have already shown similar results. But, you know, benchmarks are not everything order to evaluate the performance of a smartphone. So, let’s see which are the differences between MediaTek Helio P60 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, at least on the paper.
MediaTek Helio P60 vs Snapdragon 660
| MediaTek Helio P60 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 4x ARM Cortex A53, Clock frequency: up to 2 GHz – 2x Cortex A73, Clock frequency: up to 2 GHz – 12 nm, 64 bit | 8x Kryo 260, Clock frequency: Up to 2.2 GHz, 14 nm, 64 bit |
| GPU | Mali G72 MP3 | Adreno 512 |
| Camera | Up to 20 + 16 MP dual camera Up to 32 MP single camera |
Up to 24 MP single camera Up to 16 MP dual camera Optical zoom |
| Video features | HDR recording in real timene | Up to 4K Ultra HD at 30 fps (video recording) Up to 4K Ultra HD (video playback) |
| Display | Up to Full HD+ 20:9 | Up to Full HD WQXGA 2560 x 1200 pixels |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11ac Bluetooth 4.2 Cellular Modem: LTE Cat.7 Download, Cat.13 2CA Upload |
Wi-Fi 2×2 802.11ac with MU-MIMO. Max speed: 867 Mbps Bluetooth 5.0 NFC Cellular Modem: Snapdragon X12 LTE, up to 600 Mbps, upload speed up to 150 Mbps |
| Memory | Up to 8 GB, dual-channel LPDDR4X at 1800 MHz eMMC 5.1 / UFS 2.1 internal storage |
Dual-channel PDDR4 at 1866 MHz |
| Location | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS |
| Battery Charging | Fast battery charging | Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 |
MediaTek Helio P60 has been built with a 12 nm production process, that is better than the 14 nm production process of the Snapdragon 660. This should make the new MediaTek SoC more power-efficient and provide a very low energy consumption. On the other hand, Snapdragon 660 has a higher clock frequency and an Adreno 512 GPU which I define better than the Mali G72 MP3 found on its opponent. So, the Snapdragon 660 may have better performance both in daily use and gaming. The Snapdragon 660 has a slightly better modem as well (Cat. 13 vs Cat. 7 DL), and the battery charging is faster thanks to the Quick Charge 4.0.
But the MediaTek Helio P60 has an advanced dedicated module for AI, which can perform deep-learning facial detection, scene recognition, AR and MR acceleration, and more smart tasks: it is called NeuroPilot. At last, MediaTek Helio P60 should be included in smartphones with a more affordable price than the one with Snapdragon 660.
MediaTek Helio P60 is the most innovative midrange SoC, but despite Geekbench showing almost the same results, Snapdragon 660 should remain the best in terms of performance.
Which one would you choose?
MediaTek Helio P60 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660: PRO and CONS
MediaTek Helio P60
PRO
- Better production process
- AI
- More affordable price
- Low energy consumption
CONS
- Potentially worse performances
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
PRO
- Potentially better performances
- Better GPU
- More suitable for modding
- Power-efficient
CONS
- No AI
