Kirin or Snapdragon - which smartphone processor is better in 2022?

It cannot be said that Kirin 710 was one of the first chipsets that Huawei began to bundle with its own smartphones. However, it is not fresh either. Its announcement took place in 2018. By that time, the production of chips at 12-nanometer technical process It was mastered a long time ago, so this model turned out to be very cheap. It consists of eight cores, half of which operate at a frequency of 2200 MHz, and the rest at 1700 MHz. The Snapdragon 460 can be called a competitor of the chip. It was introduced at the beginning of 2020. It was designed specifically for installation in budget smartphones. To create it, the 11 nm process technology was used. The chip consists of eight cores. They are made according to different architectures, but the operating frequency turned out to be the same - 1800 MHz.

As graphics accelerator Kirin 710 received Mali-G51 MP4. The language will not turn out to be especially powerful. However, he greatly outperforms the Adreno 610, which is endowed with a competitor. A smartphone based on the HiSilicon chip can be safely used to run games. If you activate the average graphics settings, then you can expect a stable 60 frames / s. And World of Tanks Blitz even on ultra-settings produces 52 fps. If you run this game on a device with a Snapdragon 460 on board, then even on medium settings you will see an average of 42 fps. And this is not at the highest resolution of the display!

Concerning random access memory, the Kirin 710 is capable of recognizing up to 6 GB. More is not needed, because manufacturers of budget smartphones are not able to be generous even for such a volume. However, one cannot but admit that, theoretically, Snapdragon is ready to beat a competitor by recognizing 8 GB. A small victory is also achieved by him on the front of the supported cameras. Yes, both processors are ready to write video with a resolution of no more than Full HD and a frequency of 60 frames / s. But Kirin 710 only understands data from a 40-megapixel camera, while Snapdragon 460 is ready to accept a 48-megapixel image.

The Kirin 710 has one major problem. A smartphone based on this processor is not able to please high-speed communication. No, in terms of the operation of the LTE modem, it will be all right. But if you want to use Wi-Fi, then the speed of receiving and transmitting data will be quite low. However, does a budget smartphone need a high one? Qualcomm did not think about this issue. Even its cheapest chip is ready to please with support for Wi-Fi 802.11ax. And it also has a built-in Bluetooth 5.1 module, which will especially appeal to owners of high-quality wireless headphones. The Chinese competitor is limited to Bluetooth 4.2.

If we talk about the prevalence of these chipsets, then the Kirin 710 is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Interestingly, it was used not only by Huawei, but also by many other Chinese smartphone manufacturers. For example, Xiaomi Redmi Note 10, which is still in demand, and Vivo V20 SE were created on its basis. The budget chip from Qualcomm is found in smartphones a little more often. In particular, they have Vivo Y20, OnePlus Nord N100 and Nokia G10.

If you are going to play at least occasionally on your smartphone, then it is better to take a device based on Kirin 710. However, it is becoming more and more difficult to find it every day. Unfortunately, the Qualcomm product loses to its competitor. At least when it comes to its power. Some superiority is observed only in terms of the wireless standards it supports.

These chips can not be called fresh either. HiSilicon presented its development in September 2017. And the following spring, a competitor from Qualcomm was born. And it immediately becomes clear that the Snapdragon 730 will please the buyer with energy efficiency. The fact is that this chip is made on an 8-nanometer technical process, while the Chinese made their choice in favor of 10 nm.

If we talk about performance, then some gain is observed on the side of Snapdragon. But the victory is brought to him by no means by computing cores, but by graphics accelerator. Adreno 618 is used here as it.With it, you can easily run the "Tanks" already mentioned by us, which will run on ultra-graphics settings with a frequency of up to 60 frames / s. Another example is the more demanding mobile Call of Duty, which produces 36 fps on the same settings. If you play on a smartphone with Kirin 970 on board, you will find a frame rate of 5-10 frames / s less. Or you may need to lower your graphics settings.

Both chips support RAM type LPDDR4X. And both of them are ready to recognize up to 8 GB. The optimal volume, which is larger in budget smartphones, is not built in. Concerning cameras, the Snapdragon 730 surprises with the ability to recognize a 192-megapixel module. Also, the chip can record video with a resolution of 4K and a frequency of 60 frames / s. Thumbs up! This possibility is realized, among other things, due to the presence of support for high-speed permanent memory UFS 3.0. Alas, the Chinese competitor is limited to the second version of the standard. Because of this, 4K video shooting will be half as fast.

In terms of communications The chips are not particularly problematic. Yes, the HiSilicon product is limited to Wi-Fi 802.11ac. But show us the owner of a budget device, which does not have enough speeds supported by this network! Only Bluetooth 4.2 can upset, perhaps. If you have acquired a high-quality wireless headset or speaker, then you want the fifth version of the standard. This is what the Snapdragon 730 can boast of. We also note that none of the processors supports 5G. They also have enough LTE networks. In laboratory conditions, even from them, chips are ready to squeeze out speeds at the level of 1 Gb / s.

So, Kirin vs Snapdragon, budget segment. Who is declared the winner? It all depends on whether you will use your smartphone for games. The fact is that the Qualcomm product allows you to achieve a higher frame rate. But the interface of the operating system and most applications handles the Kirin 970 a little better. At the same time, the competitor is a little better sharpened for playing and shooting videos. Such is the puzzle.

Both of these chips were introduced in 2019. It is possible that these models could completely lose their relevance. However, the shortage of semiconductors has done its job, these processors are still in demand. And how else, if they are created on a 7-nanometer technical processthat strikes a great balance between energy efficiency and price?

Kirin 810 consists of six Cortex-A55 cores with an operating frequency of 1900 MHz and two more powerful Cortex-A76 at 2270 MHz. The Snapdragon 765 has a slightly more complex device. This chip has six Cortex-A55 cores at 1800 MHz, one core at 2200 MHz and another at 2300 MHz. As a result, it can be hoped that any application can perfectly adapt to the headroom provided.

This is not to say that any of the chips is the best choice for a gamer. The fact is that the Adreno 620, if it surpasses the Mali-G52 MP6, is quite insignificant. As a result, at medium settings charts smartphones based on these processors will hit a maximum of 60Hz display. If you switch to ultra-settings, then in Call of Duty Mobile you can expect 40-44 fps. In PUBG Mobile, the situation is even worse: at high graphics settings, the game produces about 30 frames / s. In a word, if you like to play, then you should take a device with a more powerful and expensive chipset.

Both chips support RAM type LPDDR4X. However, the maximum capacity is different - Kirin recognizes 8 GB, while the competitor - up to 12 GB. The difference is also observed in the supported cells. Alas, the Chinese processor in this regard is very bad. It is ready to record video in Full HD resolution at 60 frames / s, but no more. Snapdragon is capable of shooting 4K video, if only the camera itself could do it. But the frequency will be limited to 30 fps.

Communication options both chips are very similar. The difference is observed only in the LTE modem. In the case of Kirin, it belongs to the 12th category (the maximum you can achieve is 600 Mbps), while Snapdragon boasts the 18th category (download speed is twice as high).Also, both processors allow the smartphone to work in a Wi-Fi 802.11ax network and connect a wireless headset via Bluetooth 5.0.

If we talk about the prevalence of these two chips, it is now much easier to find a device based on Kirin 810. The vast majority of mid-budget Huawei smartphones are equipped with it. For example, Huawei P40 Lite and Honor 9X Pro are good choices.

This is the case when it is quite difficult to determine the winner. Both chips do a good job of running games (but not perfect). If Snapdragon wins, it is mainly due to support for better cameras and the ability to download data from the Internet at a higher speed.

These two competitors were introduced in 2019. They are made using 7nm technical process. At the same time, both chips have a very complex architecture. In both cases, one or two cores have an increased operating frequency. The rest are used by the operating system and light applications - their low frequency does not allow the battery to consume its charge too quickly.

The best smartphones based on these chipsets give similar results in benchmarks. No wonder, because HiSilicon and Qualcomm did their best. Both companies have implemented a very powerful graphics accelerator. As a result, the game World of Tanks Blitz averages about 98 fps! At least if the display has Full HD + resolution and is capable of displaying a picture with such a frequency. On ultra-settings, mobile Call of Duty will also run in both cases, but you should expect no more than 55 fps from it. The above figures are correct for the Snapdragon 860. Alas, the Kirin 990 loses 10-15 fps in this regard, depending on the game.

Both chips work with RAM type LPDDR4X. However, the Chinese processor recognizes 12 GB at best, while the American one is sharpened for 16 GB. This does not play a special role, since the maximum amount of RAM so far has only one smartphone, and even that one is based on an Apple chip.

If speak about cells, then both processors do not cause any complaints. Especially released by Qualcomm. The fact is that he is ready to write 4K video at 120 frames / s. The ceiling for Kirin is also video in 4K resolution, but at half the frequency. And this despite the fact that Huawei products are usually bought precisely because of the cameras. However, it introduces an even more advanced chip into its top-end smartphones, which will be discussed below.

Concerning connections, there is an interesting situation here.Kirin 990 is available in several modifications. The first supports 4G networks as much as possible, while the second received a 5G modem at its disposal. Snapdragon 860 in any case will be able to work in networks of the fifth generation. If we talk about LTE, then both manufacturers declared one of the highest categories, as a result of which, purely theoretically, it is possible to achieve a download speed of 2 Gb / s. The chips also support Wi-Fi 802.11ax and the fifth version of the "blue tooth".

In terms of prevalence, both processors are approximately equal. Adjusted for the fact that the Kirin 990 was mainly received by devices sold under the Huawei and Honor brands. The American chip can be found under the case, for example, Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro. This is a very productive smartphone, sold for adequate money.

Kirin vs Snapdragon, close to the top segment. Here, too, the best choice would be to buy a smartphone based on an American chip. In games, it will give out a good ten frames per second more. You can also expect a more stable camera performance, especially if it has a high resolution. Two chips are equal only in terms of energy efficiency.

Unfortunately, US sanctions prevent HiSilicon from developing ARM processors at the same pace. Its latest chipset was released in October 2020. In this regard, it is logical to compare it with the Snapdragon 888 - not the most recent solution, otherwise the winner will be clear much in advance. Both manufacturers used 5nm technical process. He made the chips even more energy efficient. There is no doubt that the rate of battery consumption from now on will depend on the regularity of turning on the display and its manufacturing technology, and not on the operation of the processor.

In terms of performance, the Qualcomm product wins slightly. However, the difference is microscopic. Although on paper, one of the cores of the Kirin 9000 looks more impressive, because it is capable of running at a clock frequency of 3130 MHz. Apparently, it plays a role graphics accelerator. The fact is that the Mali-G78 MP24 is not an extremely powerful solution. In this regard, the Adreno 660 looks much more interesting. This GPU allows you to run games on a high-resolution screen. If the parameter is the usual Full HD +, then in "Tanks" on ultra-graphics settings you can count on 112 frames / s. The maximum can be squeezed out of the mobile Call of Duty. There it is 60 fps, the network shooter is locked on them. PUBG Mobile achieves 83 fps.Close to 60 fps, a very beautiful Genshin Impact is also selected. As for the Kirin 9000, in some games it gives almost identical results, and in some - slightly lower. In a word, there is a difference, but not everyone will notice it.

Modern top ARM processors are designed to work with RAM type LPDDR5. The models we have chosen are no exception to the rule. The amount of recognized memory is different, but it does not play any role. It is hard to imagine that any smartphone manufacturer will implement 24 GB in the coming years.

Both chips are capable of working with permanent memory such as UFS 3.1. Nothing else was expected, because they support cameras very high resolution, the data from which must be saved incredibly quickly. Unfortunately, even the top Kirin 9000 is not ready to shoot video in 8K resolution. But on the other hand, almost all devices based on Snapdragon 888 should be able to do this. And if you reduce the resolution to 4K, then you can increase the frequency up to 120 frames / s!

It is easy to guess that it has become incredibly difficult to meet a device with Kirin 9000 now. This is because US sanctions have forced Huawei out of many markets. Its flagship Mate 40 Pro scores over 700,000 points in AnTuTu Benchmark. But what's the point if this device can only be found in a few stores, and after the purchase you have to face the lack of Google services? As for the competitor's products, they are used in a huge number of flagships. For example, Asus ROG Phone 5, Realme GT 5G, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi Black Shark 4 Pro and many others received such a chip. By the way, in the same AnTuTu benchmark, they score over 800 thousand points!

In the competition of top processors, Qualcomm products win again. And we were talking about last year's solution, the power of which is no longer a record! A smartphone based on such a chip in any case will suit you in all respects. Even if you are going to use it exclusively for gaming.

Apparently, you already already understood who to give your preference to. Alas, Kirin loses to almost every competitor. Some are less, some are more. It is possible that by 2021 the situation could change. But sanctions from the US government have greatly slowed down the design of new chips on the ARM architecture. And now we do not know when HiSilicon will return to its previous course, and whether Qualcomm will break away from its competitor too much in such a period of time.