Race for faster, high performance System on Chip (SoC) for 5G, mobile computing, Smartphones, and IoT

A system on a chip or system on chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit (also known as a “chip”) that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system on a single circuit die. Similar to how a microcontroller integrates a microprocessor with peripheral circuits and memory, an SoC can be seen as integrating a microcontroller with even more advanced peripherals like graphics processing unit (GPU), Wi-Fi module, modems or one or more coprocessors– all on a single substrate.   It may also contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio frequency signal processing functions, depending on the application. SoCs connect to other components too, such as cameras, a display, RAM, flash storage, and much more.

 

As they are integrated on a single electronic substrate, SoCs consume much less power and take up much less area than multi-chip designs with equivalent functionality. Finally, SoCs are much cheaper to design and utilize when compared to multi-chip systems. They are fabricated using a metal-oxide-semiconductor process that is cheaper at volume, and the reduced assembly costs and cabling drives cost down further still. Because of this, SoCs are very common in the mobile computing such as tablets, smartphones, smartwatches , netbooks, edge computing markets and the Internet of Things.

 

SoCs are characterised using manufacturing processes, a number in nanometers (nm), which is measurement of the internal wiring of the SoC. The chips and transistors, which form the brains of our smartphones and devices, have been shrinking each year and current flagship SoCs are as tiny as 7 nanometers or 7 billionths of a meter. That’s how small the overall frame of the chipset has become. In the microelectronics space, Intel was once the champion. Apple, Google, Facebook and others are designing their own chips because they have recognised this is a vital opportunity. “The basic microelectronic architecture is going to be key,” said Vincentelli. And so, the race is on for the company that can build the machinery that can do these essential AI computations the best and the fastest.

 

In the smartphone space, Qualcomm, Samsung Semiconductor, Huawei’s HiSilicon, and MediaTek are the four biggest names in the business.   Qualcomm is largest provider of smartphone SoCs, shipping chips for the majority of flagship, mid-tier, and even low-end smartphone releases each year. Qualcomm’s SoCs fall under the Snapdragon branding. Premium chips boasting the company’s best technology come under the Snapdragon 800 series banner, such as the latest Snapdragon 868. Mid and super-mid tier products are branded with Snapdragon 600 and 700 series names respectively. Such as the Snapdragon 765 which sports 5G connectivity. Entry level products are named under the 400 series.

 

Motorola could soon launch its next flagship device with Snapdragon 888 SoC. As per reports, Chen Jing, general manager of Lenovo, had teased the launch of the smartphone on Twitter’s Chinese counterpart Weibo. In his post, Chen revealed that the smartphone would arrive with a set of interesting features. However, no details about its specifications and launch date were confirmed by the company.

 

Samsung’s Exynos SoCs operate on a similar premium, mid, and entry tier scale. These were previously listed as the Exynos 9900, 9800, and 9600 series, with Exynos 7000 series products propping up the budget end of the portfolio. However, Samsung’s latest high-end chip is the Exynos 990, while the Exynos 980 is a 5G mid-tier chipset. Fittingly, Samsung has previously confirmed that they’ll be (back to) using Arm’s cores in future designs, particularly the the Cortex-X1, Arm’s big effort to double-down on overall CPU performance. So it’s pretty much guaranteed that Cortex-X1 will show up in Samsung’s next-gen SoC – especially if they want to compete with Qualcomm’s X1-equipped next-gen Snapdragon.

 

The Kirin 990 is Huawei’s latest flagship chip, which comes in 4G and 5G variants. The Kirin 600 series is much like the Snapdragon 600 range, offering mid-tier specifications for more affordable smartphones. The Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies showcased its  Kirin 990 chipset as the first all-in-one 5G system on a chip, describing it as superior to alternatives from Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Samsung (005930.KS) that, it says, graft 5G modems on to 4G chips. Finally, MediaTek’s Helio range spans affordable P series products up to the gaming focused G series, and latest flagship Dimensity 1000 with 5G.

 

The race for faster chips is getting hotter. Apple’s recently released M1 chip computers,  based on TSMC’s 5nm technology node process. Tesla only recently announced an expansion to its partnership with Samsung to develop 5nm chips for its FSD technology. Intel currently uses 10nm and 14nm chips, though the company typically has greater transistor density than its competitors, meaning it’s not a like-for-like comparison.

 

In May 2019 , Samsung has announced a breakthrough  in chip manufacturing that will help foundries pursue miniaturization to 3nm. And the Korean giant has a head start as it is two to three years ahead of Intel and around 12 months of TSMC, said Handel Jones, chief executive of consulting firm International Business Strategies.

 

In May 2021, IBM announced a “breakthrough in semiconductor design and process” today, with the world’s first 2-nanometer (nm) chip using nanosheet technology. The chip is expected to achieve 45 percent higher performance than today’s most advanced 7nm node chips, IBM explained in a press statement.