Which ARM processor is better: Snapdragon, MediaTek, Unisoc, Exynos?

MediaTek Helio G37 is the most budget processor that is still widely found in smartphones and tablets. Sometimes in information utilities CPU-Z and AIDA64 are designated by the old name Helio P25. Contains eight identical energy-efficient cores of the ARM Cortex-A53 architecture and an integrated PowerVR GE8320 graphics card. In the gaming benchmark, AnTuTu gives only 100 thousand points. However, if you are not a gamer, then the performance will be sufficient for social networks and watching videos. Alternatives: Unisoc SC9863A, Unisoc Tiger T310, Samsung Exynos 850, JLQ JR510.

Unisoc Tiger T606 is only a slightly more expensive, but already significantly accelerated chip from the company that used to be called Spreadtrum. Also eight-core, but the cores are divided into two groups: powerful Cortex-A75 and energy-efficient A55. The Mali-G57 MC1 video card with one cluster of graphics microcores in AnTuTu shows 200 thousand points. At least at low settings, popular multiplayer 3D shooters will run: WoT Blitz, PUBG, Free Fire and Call of Duty Mobile. There is an older version of Tiger T616 with a frequency increased from 1.6 to 2 GHz.

Unisoc was previously known as Spreadtrum.

MediaTek Helio G88 is a processor sufficient for most current games, with the exception of only a few of the most resource-intensive ones, such as Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. It also has Cortex-A75 cores, and a Mali-G52 MC2 video card. That is, with weaker clusters, but in the amount of two, which gives approximately a one and a half times advantage over the aforementioned Mali-G57 MC1. The AnTuTu result is 300 thousand points. The disadvantage of the Helio G88 is the rough 12 nm process technology, due to which throttling is activated under prolonged load, that is, an emergency frequency reset. Alternatives: Unisoc Tiger T700.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 is a direct price competitor to the previous Helio G88, but functionally they are very different. The emphasis is on minimal heating and long operating time without recharging. As a result, the processor received a progressive 6-nanometer process technology, but a rather old Cortex-A73 architecture. The Adreno 610 video card can handle all the popular codecs, but in the AnTuTu gaming test it produces only 250 thousand points, which is less than the Helio G88. But not the slightest throttling even after half an hour of gaming. While the older Snapdragon 685, overclocked from 2.4 to 2.8 GHz, sometimes suffers from throttling.

MediaTek Helio G99 is the most powerful 4G processor.

MediaTek Helio G99 is nothing more than a Helio G96 chip upgraded from 12 to 6 nanometers. It already had a fairly fast Cortex-A76 architecture and a Mali G57 MC2 video card. And now throttling has disappeared and 400 points in AnTuTu is no longer just a beautiful number. Even launches Genshin with Honkai at a comfortable frame rate. Currently, Helio G99 is the fastest processor with support for 4G mobile networks. The older version of the G99 Ultimate is trained to work with 200-megapixel cameras. There is also a complete analogue of the MediaTek Dimensity 6100 already with 5G.

Samsung Exynos 1330 is the most energy-efficient processor among relatively inexpensive ones, made using a 5-nanometer process technology. In addition, the cores are built on high-performance Cortex-A78 architecture. The video card is also modern - Mali-G68 MC2, codenamed Valhall 2nd Gen. All this together results in 450 thousand AnTuTu points and, as a bonus, support for 5G networks. It's a pity that Samsung only uses Exynos chips in its own Galaxy smartphones. But earlier Exynos were used in Motorola and Meizu. Alternatives: Snapdragon 480, Unisoc T820.

MediaTek Dimensity 7050 with UltraSave 5G modem.

Dimensity 7050 is a representative of the 5G line of MediaTek processors, superior to the older 4G model Helio G99 in both cores and graphics card. Cortex-A78 vs A76, Mali-G68 vs G57, which is still the first generation Valhall. Moreover, there are as many as four clusters of graphics microkernels, which made it possible to achieve an AnTuTu score of 500 thousand points. This is gaming potential with a reserve for years. Or for now, if a particular game supports an increased screen refresh rate of 120 Hz. It is also worth noting the high-speed MediaTek UltraSave 5G modem, which consumes the battery moderately. Alternatives: Snapdragon 695.

Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 with NPU module for AI acceleration.

Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 - if other processors have an ARM big.LITTLE design with a 2+6 core configuration (two powerful and six energy-efficient), then this one is 4+4. Simply put, powerful cores are not a quarter, but half of the total number. The Cortex-A78 architecture and Adreno 710 graphics card result in 600 thousand AnTuTu points. The chip features a Qualcomm X62 reactive 5G modem, a Hexagon media encoder, a Spectra photo enhancer, and an NPU neural module for accelerating artificial intelligence. All this together is produced using the latest 4 nanometer technological process. Alternatives: Google Tensor G2.

Comparison of processors in the AnTuTu benchmark.

Dimensity 9200 and Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 are the flagship processors of MediaTek and Qualcomm, respectively. Both are manufactured using a 4nm process technology. They stand out for their 1+3+4 core configuration, with one super-powerful Cortex-X3 or X4 with a sky-high frequency of 3.3 GHz. Mali-G715 MP11 and Adreno 750 video cards show record 1.5 and 2 million AnTuTu points. For the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphones, these processors are clearly redundant; a more logical area of their application are tablets, laptops and transformers with the Windows for ARM operating system.

+10 photo

UMIDIGI G5 Mecha 128 GB / 8 GB 

+20 photo

+7 video

Tecno Spark 20 Pro 256 GB / 8 GB 

+19 photo

+11 video

Realme 12 Pro Plus 512 GB / 12 GB