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After the Kirin 980 chip, there were lots of rumors about a slightly improved 5G chip by the name Kirin 985. But what we got to see was the Kirin 990 5G, which is a generation ahead of the 980 chip. The Kirin 990 5G is the flagship processor on offer from Huawei’s chip manufacturing department. The noise about the Kirin 985 ever since died down. But recently, the company has unveiled another 5G processor called Kirin 985 5G. If we look at how the Kirin 820 5G and Kirin 990 5G are currently placed, the Kirin 985 will likely take a place between them. So, here we have discussed their comparison to determine the best chipset.
Kirin 985 vs Kirin 990 vs Kirin 820 Comparison
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The Kirin 985 5G processor comes with the new tri-cluster design formation of 1+3+4. We get a Cortex-A76 core clocked at 2.58 GHz, three more Cortex-A76 cores clocked slightly lower at 2.4 GHz, and finally, four low-performance Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.84 GHz. The Kirin 820 5G has a similar architecture but with lower clock speeds. The highest-performing Cortex-A76 core is clocked at 2.36 GHz, while the other three Cortex-A76 cores are clocked at 2.22 GHz. And then finally, we have the power-efficient low-performance Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.84 GHz.
The Kirin 990 5G is on a whole different level from both of them and being the flagship processor, it outperforms both of them. Instead of a 1+3+4 design, here in this processor, we see a 2+2+4 core design. The two highest-performing Cortex-A76 cores are clocked at 2.86 GHz, while the other two Cortex-A76 cores are clocked slightly lower at 2.36 GHz. Finally, for the rest of the four power-efficient cores, we see Cortex-A55 cores all clocked at 1.95 GHz.
| Processors | CPU Cores |
| Kirin 985 5G | 1x2.58 + 3x2.40 GHz A76 & 4x1.84 GHz A55 |
| Kirin 820 5G | 1x2.36 + 3x2.22 GHz A76 & 4x1.84GHz A55 |
| Kirin 990 5G | 2x2.86 + 2x2.36 GHz A76 & 4x1.95 GHz A55 |
Graphics processing unit (GPU)
Kirin 990 5G integrates a 16-core Mali-G76 MP16 GPU implementation at 700MHz (actually 600MHz, according to some reports). The Kirin 985 is integrated with an octa-core Mali-G77 GPU. Kirin 820 5G is bundled with Mali-G57 GPU, but the company has not revealed its clock speed nor the number of cores. They all arrive with Kirin Gaming+ 2.0 technology that provides a more efficient and enhanced smartphone gaming experience.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
The Kirin 985 5G also houses the same Da-Vinci NPU design, but instead of a single big core like in the case of Kirin 820 5G, the Kirin 985 features 2 big cores. This results in the Kirin 985 scoring a higher score than the Kirin 820 5G in the benchmark test. However, the two big Cores were still not enough to beat the MediaTek Dimensity 1000. The MediaTek Dimensity 1000 lies between the Kirin 985 and the flagship Kirin 990 5G. It will be interesting to see how the Dimensity 1000 performs in real-life scenarios though. As per the report, Oneplus Z will be one of the first devices to house this budget 5G chip. Talking about AI Scores, the Kirin 985 scored 50,926 points, whereas the mid-range 5G chip Kirin 820 and flagship Kirin 990 5G scored 41,838 points and 70,185 points, respectively.
| Processors | AI Accelerator | AI Score |
| Kirin 985 5G | NPU (2 cores, Da Vinci series) | 50,926 |
| Kirin 820 5G | NPU (Da Vinci series) | 41,838 |
| Kirin 990 5G | NPU (3 cores, Da Vinci series) | 70,185 |
Benchmark
Talking about the Antutu benchmark, the Kirin 985-powered Honor 30 has achieved a total Antutu score of 386045 points, which is just slightly higher than the Kirin 820-powered Honor 30s, which has been recorded an overall score of 375720 points.
Breaking down the overall score, the CPU of the Kirin 985 and Kirin 820 have scored 122531 points and 130080 points, respectively, while both SoC’s GPU have scored 131623 points and 116516 points, respectively.
The Huawei P40 Pro, which runs on Kirin 990 5G SoC, has a total Antutu score of 482457 points, including a CPU score of 153441 points and a GPU score of 173021 points. So, Kirin 990 5G is a clear winner with an impressive total score of 482457 points. Kirin 985 5G falls between the Kirin 820 5G and Kirin 990 5G chipset.
