The Snapdragon 855 Phone Roundup: Searching for the Best Implementations
by Andrei Frumusanu on September 5, 2019 8:30 AM ESTBattery Life
While not strictly related to the performance or the Snapdragon 855 chipset itself, it’s also interesting to see how the different devices end up in terms of their battery life. In this approach we can identify how efficient the non-SoC components of a device are.
The Galaxy S10+ continues to dominate here, most likely due to Samsung’s newer generation OLED panel that seemingly might be employing a newer and more efficient emitter generation compared to all other phones in the comparison. Another aspect of the Galaxy S10 that is different to the other devices in the comparison is that it’s using Broadcomm’s BCM4375 WiFi 6 (802.11ax) chipset rather than Qualcomm’s own WiFi 5 chipset for most of the rest of the devices.
Sony’s Xperia 1 suffers from its 4K panel screen and the fact the DDIC has to work a lot harder to drive it, whilst devices like the G8 and Mi9 suffer from either an inefficient screen or simply a smaller battery capacity. The OnePlus 7 Pro in 90Hz mode has to make a battery compromise, while the remaining the devices are doing quite well, but just aren’t as power optimised as the S10+.
PCMark shifts the results around a bit. In this case, the same factors as on the web test play a role, however the SoC power efficiency has a bigger impact here as the CPU is a lot more active. Devices as the OPPO Reno 10x take the lead because they’re also showcasing the worst performance in PCMark due to the more relaxed scheduler and DVFS setting.
Overall still, all Snapdragon 855 devices except for the Xperia 1 are doing well in this test.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
47 Comments
View All Comments
yeeeeman - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
Andrei, this is nice, but we could guesstimate how an 855+ will behave.We really want to see Exynos 9825 since that is harder to estimate.
Andrei Frumusanu - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
I don't have the 9825/Note10 yet, we'll have to buy one. Currently this won't happen till maybe October as it's going to be busy with other stuff the next few weeks.LarsBolender - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
But you are going to review the 9825, are you?rocketman122 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
all I care about is if the camera is great, and the op7 is garbage as has been all the others before it.FunBunny2 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
"all I care about is if the camera is great"and, how many phone companies make the cameras? it is, of course, just a matter of buying off-the-shelf from other vendors.
IUU - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
Lol! Couldn't care any less about the camera! But each to his own.cha0z_ - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
It would make an interesting read to see the benefits going from 8nm to 7nm, but from what is known - the benefits are super slim to even justify doing that in the first place for something different than "beta test" the 7nm for the next year SOC.There are more interesting things that comes like the A13 SOC and the next kirin.
FunBunny2 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
"all I care about is if the camera is great"and, how many phone companies make the cameras? it is, of course, just a matter of buying off-the-shelf from other vendors.
philehidiot - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
I look at these charts and I get angrier and angrier about Samsung forcing me into Exynos when the performance (and other subsystems) are really quite inferior. It's marketed as one product but it's two very different phones. I compare this to motorbikes as that's my thing. A 1000cc Fireblade is NOT the same bike as a 650CC version. They are similar in looks and similar in purpose but they handle and perform differently and are worth different amounts because of this. I, personally, would be absolutely fine with a 650cc version as it would suit my riding better. I would NOT be fine with someone selling me a "Fireblade" and not specifying in the advert what model it is and trying to sell me a 650cc as if it was the same value as a 1000cc. Both models are marketed as different bikes with one called the CBR1000RR and the other the CBR650R. Just because they look similar and share many similar components does not mean they are the same machine when the core elements are different. Both have excessive performance for the road - more than you'll ever be able to apply and so arguing that the phones are both satisfactory for the market is missing the point.Samsung need to recognise they can not go selling an inferior phone under the same name as another model and using the same marketing as if they both have the same value. And if you're ever wondering, just ask yourself this - if you could have either a Snapdragon or an Exynos model and they'd both work the same on the networks you use, etc.... would you really choose the slower one for the same money? No, you'd go for the faster one with the better DSP, better imaging, better sound quality, etc.
My other concern is that, whilst these are both adequate now, I might want my phone to last longer than the usual 2-3 years. What if I want 5? Mine is an S8 and it's already showing signs of slowing down as software requirements increase. So if you start off with a faster phone, logically it will likely make a difference towards the latter end of its life. So I buy an inferior phone which also has a shorter useful life and I'm expected to value it the same as the other model?
Samsung, please tell your marketing department to kindly piss off. The bunch of raging arse parsnips.
s.yu - Sunday, September 8, 2019 - link
I don't get your point, they're not for the same money, not even in the same range as twice I bought an SK variant Samsung for ~30% less than Mainland China's.They also have different code names. Note 10+ for example, directly from GSMA: Versions: SM-N975F (Europe); SM-N975F/DS (Global); SM-N975U (USA); SM-N975U1 (USA unlocked); SM-N975W (Canada); SM-N9750/DS (LATAM, Brazil, China); SM-N975N (South Korea)