Have you ever looked at your smartphone’s spec sheet and wondered what each component meant? Keeping ourselves familiar with the jargon helps us know what to look out for, especially when choosing a new smartphone.
A little bit of research and know-how can go a long way towards choosing a smartphone with the right processor that can handle what we need from it. And to make the most of your smartphone at home, why not subscribe to a fiber-fast home WiFi connection?
Systems-on-chips
At the core of any computing device is a processor, which functions as its “brains.” Similar to a full-blown computer, smartphones are equipped with various elements to perform tasks. However, these devices don’t usually have a generous amount of real estate to fit in all of the things they need.
This is where the SoC, or System-on-Chip, comes in. The SoC consists of an array of parts such as the modem, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), and digital signal processor, to name a few, all rolled into a single versatile chip. The SoC on your device is not only responsible for running its OS or relaying touch-screen functions; it can also encode or decode video, connect to various wireless signals, and carry out graphics-related actions.
The Apple A16 Bionic, which is featured on the iPhone 15, is one type of SoC. Another is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is used on various high-end Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra; and the Dimensity 8000 series processor from MediaTek which you’ll typically see on “flagship killers,” or the most advanced products in a line of phones.
Core
A core is an engine located inside your smartphone’s CPU that can process and execute tasks one at a time. It ensures that any instructions are executed swiftly and correctly.
Modern smartphones usually have between 4 to 12 cores depending on the model. And they don’t always run at identical speeds. If certain tasks are particularly demanding–say, mobile gaming or video editing–multiple cores work simultaneously to ensure that your tasks are carried out seamlessly. Likewise, simpler tasks are relegated to slower processors to reduce heat and prolong battery life.
GPU
The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is one of the many components that are embedded in our smartphone’s SoC. As its name implies, it is responsible for anything and everything graphics-related. This includes UI animation, 2D/3D gameplay, and image processing.
So far there are only three big names in the smartphone GPU scene: Qualcomm (Adreno), ARM (Mali and Immortalis), and Imagination Technologies (PowerVR). Apple does not use any of these GPUs on their devices but instead uses a processing unit called Apple GPU.
Clock speed
This refers to the speed at which a core can carry out instructions and is measured in cycles per second and expressed in GHz (gigahertz). The higher the clock speed, the faster the core.
Clock speed is not the be-all and end-all of measuring a processor’s performance, but it’s a good indicator of what it is capable of.
Processor cache
A processor cache is a temporary storage component either embedded in the microprocessor (L1 and L2 cache) or near the processor cores (L3 cache). Because of the proximity, the processor can retrieve data from the cache at a much faster rate as opposed to getting it from the RAM. This, in turn, makes our phone more power-efficient and responsive.
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With additional reporting from Karess Rubrico