Best 5G Mobile Processors of 2021 that Offer Flagship Level Performance

As the world of communications is slowly moving towards 5G technology, Smartphone chipset manufacturers are following with some premium flagship-level 5G processors. We have several manufacturers like Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung, Hisilicon, and MediaTek, and every one of them has something to offer in terms of 5G-enabled processors. There are processors in the mid-range segment, too, with decent performance and 5G connectivity. The 5G is not limited to only the flagship processors. However, in this article, we will only take a look at the best processors right now in the market with 5G connectivity.

Here is the list of the best 5G mobile processors of 2021

• Apple A14 Bionic
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
• Samsung Exynos 2100
• HiSilicon Kirin 9000
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
• MediaTek Dimensity 1200

Apple A14 Bionic:

Apple A14 Bionic is the 5g processor we see in the current line of iPhones, the iPhone 12 series. It also powers the Apple iPad Air 4th generation, making it the best all-around tablet in that price category. Apple does not reveal much in terms of clock speed or hardware configurations. It only gives out numbers about their processors. The A14 Bionic chip is the first chipset globally built on the new 5nm manufacturing process, making it easily the most power-efficient processor. The A14 chipset comes with six CPU cores and four GPU cores. We know nothing about the clock speed, but Apple claims big improvements in battery efficiency compared to the previous-gen processor, along with slight gains in CPU and GPU performance. The stats reveal a 30% improvement in battery efficiency, a 15% improvement in terms of performance, and an 8.3% improvement in terms of GPU performance.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is the latest flagship processor from Qualcomm. It adapts the new 5nm manufacturing processor and improves its efficiency over the last-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 by 25%. It also houses the new Cortex-X1 core(clocked at 2.84 GHz), which can execute 33% more instructions per clock compared to the A78. Then, we have three Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four A55 cores running at 1.8 GHz. The Snapdragon 888 achieves a 25% gain in terms of performance, too. Coming to the GPU, we see the Adreno 660, which delivers 35% faster rendering performance with increased powered efficiency of 20%.

Samsung Exynos 2100:

The Exynos 2100 is Samsung’s first processor with an integrated 5G chip. This processor is built on Samsung’s 5nm EUV manufacturing processing, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Regarding cores, the Exynos 2100 houses 1 Coretex-X1 core clocked at 2.9 GHz. Besides that, we have three high-performance Cortex-A78 cores and four power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores. Samsung claims 20% improvements in terms of power efficiency and 30% in terms of multi-core performance of the Exynos 2100 over the previous generation’s flagship Exynos chipset. The GPU in the Exynos 2100 is the new Mali-G78, which has 14 cores. Samsung claims a 40% boost in GPU performance.

HiSilicon Kirin 9000:

HiSilicon Kirin 9000 is also built on a 5nm manufacturing processor, and it also comes with an integrated 5G chip. This processor powers the latest Huawei Mate 40 series smartphones. It is an octa-core processor with one Cortex-A77 core clocked at 3.13 GHz, three Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.54 GHz, and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.05. We don’t see the latest ARM Cortex-A78 core that is present in the flagship processors of other manufacturers. Then, we have the Mali-G78 for graphical tasks, and this GPU comes with a total of 24 cores. The company claimed 50% better GPU performance than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 870:

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 is an improved Snapdragon 865+. It is built on TSMC’s older 7nm manufacturing process, and it houses eight cores with a 1+3+4 configuration. We have a prime Cortex-A77 core clocked at 3.2 GHz, three Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. Then we have the Adreno 650 GPU, which we saw in the Snapdragon 865+, too. We don’t know whether the GPU in the 870 received a clock boost over the 670 MHz found in the 865+. Unlike the top Snapdragon 888, there is no onboard 5G modem here. We get 5G connectivity via an external Snapdragon X55 with sub-6 and mmWave support paired with the CPU.

MediaTek Dimensity 1200:

The MediaTek Dimensity 1200 is the flagship processor from MediaTek that uses the new Cortex-A78 core. This processor is built on a 6nm manufacturing processor, an improvement over last year’s 7nm manufacturing process used with the Dimensity 1000+. The Dimensity 1200 has an octa-core setup with one Cortex-A78 core clocked at 3.0GHz, three Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.6GHz, and four power-efficient A55 cores running at 2.0GHz. The company claims a 22% boost in terms of CPU performance and 25% gains in terms of power efficiency. The Dimensity 1200 uses the same Mali-G77(9 cores) we saw on the previous generation dimensity processors.

If you are looking for mid-range 5G phones, then you can consider the below mid-range 5G chipsets: