The Snapdragon 690 Mobile Platform has been announced as the first Snapdragon 600-series 5G chipset. The processor should appear in affordable 5G phones later this year; a category that is currently dominated by MediaTek with its Dimensity 800 5G processor. If you want to know which processor is more powerful, you are on the right page.
Node size
The Snapdragon 690 is built on Samsung’s 8nm LPP process while the Dimensity 800 is built on TSMC’s FinFET 7nm process. A smaller node size translates to better efficiency, so MediaTek has got this round.
CPU
The two chipsets are octa-core processors but with different core arrangement. The Snapdragon 690 uses a 2+6 core arrangement while the Dimensity 800 uses a 4+4 core arrangement. Below are their CPU configurations:
- Snapdragon 690 = 2x Kryo 560 cores (Cortex-A77) clocked at 2.0GHz + 6x Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.7GHz
- Dimensity 800 = 4x Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.0GHz + 4x Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz.
So which chipset has better CPU performance? The Cortex-A77 cores in the Snapdragon 690 are definitely more powerful than the Cortex-A76 cores in the Dimensity 800. However, there are just two of them whereas the Dimensity 800 has four Cortex-A76 cores. The higher number of performance cores, albeit less-powerful ones, should result in better performance for the Dimensity 800 over the Snapdragon 690. The Cortex-A55 cores are also clocked higher on the Dimensity 800. MediaTek wins this round too.
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GPU
The Snapdragon 690 has an Adreno 619L GPU inside it while the Dimensity 800 has a Mali-G57 GPU. Which GPU is more powerful? First, there is no benchmark result for the Snapdragon 690 5G but we can infer its GPU performance from that of close siblings.
Based on the naming, the Adreno 619L should be more powerful than the Adreno 618 GPU inside the Snapdragon 720G. But that may not entirely be the case.
Qualcomm is known to use a higher nomenclature for some GPUs that are not practically more powerful than those with a lower number, though they may have some additional features.
When we compared the GPU of the Snapdragon 720G against that of the Snapdragon 690, the only difference seems to be the Adreno 619L having support for DX12 while the Adreno 618 doesn’t. Based on this, we believe the Adreno 619L should offer similar GPU performance to the Adreno 618.
Comparing the AnTutu results of the Huawei Enjoy Z 5G which is powered by the Dimensity 800 and that of the Realme 6 Pro powered by the Snapdragon 720G (Adreno 618), the Mali-G57 is a much more powerful GPU. Even if the Adreno 619L scores higher than the Adreno 618, the chances of it catching up to the Mali-G57 are really slim.
Other features
The two chipsets support Bluetooth 5.1 but only the Snapdragon 690 supports Wi-Fi 6. The two SoCs also support FHD+ displays with a refresh rate up to 120Hz but the Snapdragon 690 also adds support for QHD+ displays at 60Hz.
Conclusion
The Dimensity 800 is definitely the more powerful processor when it comes to CPU and GPU performance. We expect more phones powered by the chipset will continue to launch but it may lose some of its share of the budget 5G smartphone market to Qualcomm. With the arrival of the Snapdragon 690, it should be the chipset of choice for manufacturers that will be launching their products outside China.
Some manufacturers that have said they will launch Snapdragon 690 phones are HMD Global, LG, Motorola, Sharp, and TCL. For Dimensity 800 phones, we expect more from brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei/Honor, OPPO, and ZTE to continue using the chipsets. If you want to grab a Dimensity 800 phone, your options include Huawei’s Enjoy Z 5G, OPPO A92s, and the ZTE Axon 11 SE 5G.
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