After the long cycle of smartphone launches, it’s time for new silicon to hit the market. As Apple is done with iPhone launches, we have got a good understanding of the new A14 Bionic’s prowess. On the Android side of things, Qualcomm has just announced the new Snapdragon 888 processor which will be used on flagship Android devices in 2021. So with two long-standing arch-rivals, it’s time we compare the capability of both the processors. On that note, let’s go ahead and compare Snapdragon 888 vs A14 Bionic side by side.

Here, we have mentioned all the topics we have covered in this comparison between Snapdragon 888 vs A14 Bionic. You can click on the link below to easily move to the relevant section. In case, you are interested in our last year’s comparison between Snapdragon 865 vs A13 Bionic then go through our linked article.

  • Specs
  • CPU
  • GPU
  • ISP
  • AI and ML
  • Modem and Wireless Technologies

Compare Snapdragon 888 vs A14 Bionic

  • Specs

  • CPU

Starting with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, unlike the past several years, Qualcomm has done some significant changes in CPU architecture this year. It comes with an 8-core Kryo 680 CPU, developed on the 5nm process node, with the new ARM Cortex-X1 core under the hood. If you are unaware, ARM designed a new high-performing CPU core called Cortex-X1 to compete against Apple’s A-series chips. And Qualcomm is the first chipmaker to implement this design on their mobile SoC. The Cortex-X1 is named Prime core and it’s clocked at 2.84GHz.

Specs

CPU

Overall, Qualcomm says Snapdragon 888 has seen 25% faster CPU performance in year-over-year (YoY) growth and has not shared any numbers on the power draw of the new CPU, except that it’s “incredible”. It’s clear that the Kryo 680 CPU on Snapdragon 888 has not brought a groundbreaking change that many of us have been waiting for.

The main reason behind this performance jump is because Apple is consistently improving its power-efficient cores rather than just focussing on performant ones. The Icestorm cores are now 4 times faster and 3 times more power-efficient than Qualcomm’s aging A55 core. It’s not just about the clock speed as we have seen Snapdragon 865+ already reaching 3.1GHz last year and this time too, Snapdragon 888+ might have that peak frequency.

GPU

Coming to the GPU, it seems Snapdragon 888 has hit the ball out of the park. The Snapdragon 888 features the new Adreno 660 GPU which is said to be 35% faster than last year’s Snapdragon 865 processor. At the same time, it’s 20% more power-efficient over the last year’s processor. As a result, you can now have sustained gaming performance at a high refresh rate. The Snapdragongon 865 had brought support for 144Hz display panels, but it was unable to sustain high refresh-rate gaming for a longer time, as we saw while playing Fortnite and PUBG at 90FPS on OnePlus phones.

Talking about Apple’s custom-designed, four-core GPU, it has seen an improvement of 20% over the last year’s A13 Bionic, which sounds quite incremental. However, if you consider Geekbench scores then A14 (12571) surpasses the powerful A12Z (11665) and A13 Bionic (7308) with flying colors. As for the comparison with Snapdragon 888, the A14 Bionic GPU is still more than a generation ahead even though Qualcomm managed to bring 35% YoY growth.

ISP

As it’s evident from Qualcomm’s track record, ISP is one of the areas where it shines and shines bright. With Spectra 580 ISP in Snapdragon 888, it has taken a generational leap with 35% faster performance and triple ISP architecture. It can capture 2.7 gigapixels per second without breaking a sweat. Apart from that, the new Spectra 580 ISP can capture up to 200MP photos and three photos at the same time at 28MP each. Not to mention, it can capture 120 burst photos in just one second. It means that while moving you will be able to take a much better shot on your Android device.

AI and ML

AI and ML is another domain where Qualcomm has a huge lead over Apple. The Snapdragon 888 features the 6th-gen AI accelerator with Hexagon 780 DSP under the hood. It can process 26 TOPS (trillion operations per second) which is astounding, to say the least.

For your perspective, the 16-core neural engine on the A14 Bionic can only perform 11 TOPS and last year’s Snapdragon 865 was capable of performing 16 TOPS. Basically, Snapdragon 888 is at least two generations ahead of Apple’s A-series chips when it comes to AI and ML operations.

Modem and Wireless Technologies

Coming to Modem and other wireless technologies, Qualcomm is already the leader in this segment. In fact, with iPhone 12, Apple has turned to Qualcomm for wireless connectivity. The Snapdragon 888 features the new X60 modem which is 5G-ready and integrated right into the SoC itself. Unlike last year where the modem was discrete, this year Qualcomm has managed to house it with the rest of the SoC which should bring down cost and improve battery efficiency as well. As for the numbers, it supports download up to 7.5Gbps and upload up to 3Gbps.

The unique part about the X60 modem is that it now supports 5G carrier aggregation across FDD and TDD spectrums which was not available on last year’s X55 modem. Apart from that, you have got support for mmWave and sub-6GHz with MIMO; compatibility with NSA, SA, TDD, and FDD modes. Lastly, it brings support for the latest WiFi 6E (6GHz WiFi), Bluetooth 5.2, and NavIC support. Qualcomm’s X55 modem was found in iPhone 12 teardown / Source: iFixit

Snapdragon 888 vs A14 Bionic: Who Wins This Year?

As we went through the article, it’s more of the same as how the silicon war played out last year. There is an incremental update in CPU performance despite using the powerhouse Cortex-X1 on the Snapdragon 888. And even with a meaty 35% jump in Snapdragon 888’s GPU performance, it’s still behind Apple’s custom GPU. As for the ISP, AI, and Modem, Snapdragon clearly has an upper hand over the A-series chips.