At this moment, a mobile processor is only 0.5 centimeters away from your palm.
Although you cannot see it, after a quarter of an incense stick burns, you will understand that it is the most complex chip in the world that knows you best.
Because you have read this article “Exploring Mobile Processors”.
Although I have written countless articles introducing chips, I believe this one is the most challenging.
01
The current domestic chip industry is thriving, with various startups emerging one after another.
For example, the DPU track, GPU track, AI track, CPU track, all have companies involved.
However, no startup dares to challenge mobile processor chips. Even large mobile manufacturers start by making small chips.
In 2019, the global mobile shipment was 1.4 billion units, which means there are 1.4 billion mobile processors behind it.
This is a business worth over a hundred billion RMB.
On one hand, there is a huge shipment volume, and on the other hand, there are very few players.
This is the distorted reality.
The existing mobile SoC manufacturers include:
Apple’s A series, Samsung’s Exynos series, Huawei’s Kirin, Qualcomm Snapdragon, MediaTek, and Unisoc.
Where are the others?
The reason is simple: the difficulty of mobile processor chips is extremely high, enough to block the wave of chip startups.
Some who understand might say that mobile processors are just a bunch of IPs combined together.
Is assembling a chip that impressive?
Mobile processor chips are not just processors; they can also be called mobile SoC chips, where SoC means System On Chip.
The term SoC more accurately describes the functions of mobile processor chips. It is a SYSTEM that includes CPU, GPU, DSP, ISP, 4G/5G modem, NPU, WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS, display systems, and more.
Even this, Hua Shao cannot finish in one breath.
Why is this system so complex? It also requires discussing the development of mobile processors.
02
If Apple is the king of the smartphone era, then Nokia is the king of the feature phone era.
The most famous manufacturer of mobile SoC chips in the feature phone era is TI (Texas Instruments).
TI is a well-established chip design manufacturer.
When you mention TI, you definitely won’t feel sleepy.
Because this company is closely related to integrated circuit chips; its own history is a history of integrated circuits.
In 1954, TI produced the world’s first transistor, and in 1958, TI invented the world’s first integrated circuit. In 1982, TI released the world’s first digital signal processor DSP.
So, who among the engineers and manufacturers doing digital signal processing in China hasn’t used TI chips?
If you haven’t used them, you can’t claim to have done digital signal processing.
Later, TI released the OMAP series mobile processors, which were classic application processors.
This processor first proposed the concept of heterogeneity, which is DSP + ARM processor.
This processor structure immediately won the favor of mobile manufacturers because it could handle various wireless communication digital signal processing tasks, ensuring call quality. After all, the most important function of mobile phones in the feature phone era was to make calls.
Focusing on core demands, who can match TI’s DSP capabilities?
At the end of 2004, when Nokia launched its first Series60 platform phone – 6630, it used TI’s masterpiece – OMAP1710.
OMAP1710 included the ARM926 processor model, with a maximum operating frequency of up to 220MHz. At the same time, the level 1 cache of ARM926 had been upgraded to 32KB, reaching twice that of the previous generation processor, and still supporting JAVA hardware acceleration. Therefore, TI claimed that OMAP1710 had a 40% performance improvement over the previous generation processor.
OMAP1710 adopted low-voltage technology, and the smaller process size also meant a decrease in operating voltage, with a standby power consumption of only 10mAh, making it an energy-saving expert.
With Nokia’s product line continuously expanding, how many Nokia phones used OMAP 1710?
Countless stars in the sky, it is also hard to count the Nokia phones that used OMAP1710, such as 6630, 6680, 6681, E50, E60, E61, E62, E65, E70, N70, N71, N72, N73, N80, N90, N91, and N92, etc.
A SoC running so many product lines and holding up for so long is unimaginable for smartphone SoCs.
Of course, TI also continuously launched updated generations of SoC processors.
TI empowered Nokia, and Nokia also made TI the king of feature phone chips.
The king of feature phone chips, TI, occupied more than 60% of the mobile processor market share, which is something that today’s Qualcomm cannot even touch.
Good call quality and long standby time, with excellent capabilities, TI became the man behind Nokia.
03
Seeing TI’s smooth sailing in the mobile field, other manufacturers also wanted to grab a piece of the pie.
Who are these manufacturers?
This list is quite long, and they are all big-name manufacturers: Intel, Freescale, Marvel, Qualcomm, etc.
Intel’s xscale series appeared very early. The PXA210 is the culmination of this series.
PXA210 is a chip based on the ARM instruction set, internally called strongARM.
Intel using the ARM instruction set, who would have thought?
Intel entered the mobile field early and had strong performance, likely the strongest mobile processor of that era.
But to make a call or send a message, who needs such a powerful processor?
Ah, coming early is not as good as coming at the right time.
Born at the wrong time.
In the end, it was still an old friend, Bill Gates, who came to help.
To open up the mobile market together, Microsoft also launched a mobile system, WINCE.
It was PXA210 + WINCE, trying to replicate the glory of PC X86 + WINDOWS.
This is a Dopod smartphone product from 2006, a combination of Intel PXA + WINCE.
To be honest, it didn’t create much of a stir; it only became popular in some small channels for a while.
Files on the computer, like WORD, MP3, MP4, could be opened directly on the phone, and audio and video playback were not a problem, but it did not stir up a buying frenzy at the time.
Intel and Microsoft both saw the early signs of the future smartphone.
The smartphone era is a time when heroes come to rescue chip manufacturers.
Intel and Microsoft guessed the beginning but did not guess the end.
Because another person guessed it, and that person is called Steve Jobs.
Although Intel’s products were leading in performance, there was not much performance anxiety during the feature phone era.
Intel still followed the PC business model, high and mighty, not grounded.
In 2005, the global mobile application processor market totaled $839 million, with Texas Instruments occupying 69%, Qualcomm 17%, and Intel only 7%.
Because the mobile field was far less profitable than Intel’s PC and server sides, Intel sold the PXA mobile business to MARVEL and exited the field.
Intel, who was high and mighty, left, and more grounded chip companies came in.
In 2005, a company that originally developed optical drive chips completed the development of GSM samples. At the same time, to sell chips, they integrated mobile application processors and GSM processors together, providing MTK chip solutions and a complete set of SDK.
This company is MediaTek, and its founder, Cai Mingjie, is also known as the “father of counterfeit phones”.
Before the Android system, every manufacturer had to develop a mobile interface, which was somewhat difficult for small manufacturers.
MediaTek launched a one-stop mobile solution, pre-integrating mobile chips and software platforms, which greatly lowered the threshold for manufacturers to produce mobile phones, making it as easy as opening a restaurant.
In 2007, China canceled mobile phone licenses, and countless small mobile manufacturers suddenly emerged in Shenzhen.
Is it the times that create heroes, or do heroes create the times?
From MediaTek and counterfeit phones, they both caught the historical trend and created their own era.
Manufacturers in Huaqiangbei relied on MediaTek’s solutions to kill their way, making a fortune.
At the peak of counterfeit phones, annual sales reached 100 million units.
MTK chips made Huaqiangbei successful and also made MediaTek successful.
Heroes and times achieve each other. Although counterfeit phones have faded away, the legends surrounding them have never stopped.
04
In 2007, Steve Jobs released the first generation iPhone, its 3.5-inch all-touch screen, metal body, and iPhone OS truly opened the door to the smartphone era.
This iPhone 3G used Samsung’s SoC processor, S5L8900.
S5L8900 was manufactured using a 90nm process, with a frequency ranging from 412-620MHz, and it used ARM11 internally.
The most important thing was that it integrated a GPU, PowerVR MBX-lite.
The GPU became a standard configuration in the smartphone era and had more importance than the CPU. Imagination’s PowerVR is the leader in embedded GPUs.
Intel’s PXA series was also authorized to use the PowerVR MBX GPU.
Qualcomm acquired ATI’s mobile GPU division Imageon and renamed it Adreno. At that time, it was still in the exploratory stage and did not gain traction, even falling behind ARM’s Mali.
Using Samsung’s processor, Apple created the first iPhone.
And Apple also ignited the fire for Samsung to produce processors.
Seizing the moment, Samsung launched the Exynos series, becoming one of the most important players in smartphone SoCs.
When the world saw the Apple phone, other manufacturers began to feel anxious about how to counter the Apple phone and iOS.
WINCE did not create any waves; this system was too similar to WINDOWS in both concept and operation.
It was difficult to make significant use of.
Android emerged as a result.
In fact, Android was not developed by Google at first; it was developed by the Android company founded by Andy Rubin.
Andy Rubin is also known as the father of Android.
Andy Rubin is a legendary technical figure but not an excellent manager. As the development neared completion, the company was financially strained and had to rely on loans to survive.
This was not Andy Rubin’s first entrepreneurial venture. In 2002, Andy Rubin and his friends founded a company called “Danger” that invented an internet-enabled smartphone called Sidekick.
In early 2002, Rubin gave a lecture to Silicon Valley engineers at Stanford University, during which he talked about the development process of Sidekick.
Among his audience were two people who were deeply attracted to the new internet-enabled gadget after class. Yes, who doesn’t like to go online?
These two people were Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
With this background, the Android company needed money, and in August 2005, Android was acquired by Google, which was one of Google’s most successful acquisitions.
In 2007, Android quickly launched its first version and created the Open Handset Alliance.
Android served global mobile manufacturers in an open-source manner, but at that time, no hardware phone company supported it.
By coincidence, HTC appeared.
HTC initially started as a smartphone OEM, and its boss is Wang Xuehong. In 2008, it acquired Dopod, but in reality, Dopod and HTC are one family.
One was an OEM, and the other a self-owned brand, both playing with PXA + WINCE.
Having played with WINCE, HTC saw Android as an old friend and a dream lover that must be realized.
So, let’s say goodbye to WINCE.
HTC’s CEO, Zhou Yongming, had previously negotiated with Rubin’s original company Danger about OEM manufacturing for Sidekick phones, so he was an old acquaintance of Rubin.
Not as good as new, but better than old.
Andy Rubin thought of Zhou Yongming, and Rubin promised Zhou Yongming to cooperate with HTC. HTC also sent people to have nearly 50 engineers work directly at Google’s headquarters.
Eventually, the world’s first Android phone was born.
This Android phone brought HTC a brief glory in the Android era and ignited the smartphone era’s SoC kings.
In 2008, HTC launched the world’s first Android phone, T-Mobile G1, becoming the first Android challenger against Apple’s iOS.
This phone used Qualcomm’s MSM720 processor.
Originally, this Qualcomm processor was not specifically developed for Android.
It was initially used in WINCE.
HTC, familiar with this chip, was the first to make an Android phone using Qualcomm chips.
Qualcomm MSM7201A adopted a dual-core solution (using ARM11 + ARM9 dual-core architecture), with an internal 3D graphics processing module and a 3G communication module. At the same time, the image module had high-resolution image and video playback capabilities, and streaming media performance was also excellent.
Having walked through communication, Qualcomm finally figured out how to make smart SoCs.
Big and small cores, GPUs, and integrated communication modules. This approach has been used to this day, creating a generation of Snapdragon.
Subsequent manufacturers developing Android smartphones coincidentally chose Qualcomm when selecting mobile SoCs.
With Qualcomm’s communication expertise, especially since they hold the patents for CDMA, integrating communication processors was no longer a problem.
In contrast, the original leader TI had two disadvantages:
On one hand: TI processors could not cover all network standards, leading manufacturers using OMAP chipsets to purchase additional baseband chips, which increased production costs and power consumption, resulting in a significant market share decline.
On the other hand: Mobile processors update and iterate very quickly. TI’s self-manufacturing was very similar to Intel’s; if they design and manufacture themselves, they would have high process technology demands, which TI’s processes could not meet for the unrestrained demands of mobile processors.
Unable to handle baseband, unable to keep up with the pace.
Entering the smartphone era, TI’s share continued to decline.
In 2012, TI decided to abandon the OMAP series processors and will focus its investments on broader markets, including automotive production and industrial equipment.
TI and Nokia, brothers in misfortune, remained loyal to each other.
They disappeared together in the smartphone era.
And this also established Qualcomm’s position as the first leader in the Android field.
HTC made Qualcomm successful but did not achieve its own success.
In 2017, HTC’s mobile business had already been on its last legs, and Google announced it would spend $1.1 billion to acquire HTC’s mobile business.
Besides patents, one important reason was that HTC launched the first Android phone. Moreover, HTC had sent 50 people to work together on development, and those passionate years of fighting were not in vain.
Ten years ago, I didn’t know you, and you didn’t belong to me, but we achieved great things together.
Ten years later, Android has risen majestically, while HTC has declined; we were together but will part forever.
05
After the launch of the first generation iPhone, it was like opening the door to the future of smartphones.
Apple quickly began to realize the biggest difference between smartphone SoCs and previous generations: smartphones have an insatiable demand for performance.
Smartphones are not only pocket-sized computers but also game consoles and cameras, the ultimate entertainment device.
If entertainment frequently stutters at critical moments, the human companion of the phone will have a poor experience.
A poor experience will lead to infidelity.
Better phones deserve better processors, so Apple began to develop its own processors.
Apple had no chip development foundation, but that was not a problem.
In 2008, Apple acquired P.A.Semi, a chip manufacturer focused on embedded devices.
This was a rather ordinary acquisition.
But it brought in a great figure, Jim Keller. Jim Keller was the technical head at P.A.Semi at the time, and the acquisition resulted in him joining Apple.
He is the Jim Keller known as the father of AMD’s ZEN. At that time, he was just an excellent chip designer, not yet the world-renowned chip master Jim Keller.
Jim Keller thus became an employee of Apple. During his time at Apple, Jim Keller led the design of the A4 and A5 mobile processors, used in iPhone 4/4s, iPad/iPad 2, etc., opening the path for Apple’s self-developed mobile processors.
Jim Keller recalled in an interview that the self-developed processors made Steve Jobs very satisfied.
In addition, while at Apple, Jim Keller began designing the big-core architecture in the mobile SoC project.
When a more powerful processor is needed, there are two ways to achieve it: one is to make the basic structure larger, simply put, a big core. The second is to adjust the functions and create a bunch of small cores. The former is clearly more difficult and effective because not all programs can be parallelized across multiple cores, leading to certain designs where “one core has difficulty, and seven cores watch”.
Apple’s SoC processors have always provided users with a stronger performance experience with fewer cores.
Since then, Apple’s SoC has always been the performance ceiling for mobile SoC chips.
It has always been chased but never surpassed.
However, Apple’s SoC processors have never integrated communication processors, which has been criticized.
Apple’s phones have always used Intel’s baseband, thus being criticized for poor signal quality.
But to be fair, poor signal quality is not due to the separation of the mobile SoC and communication baseband; it is more likely due to the design of the baseband chip itself being somewhat inferior.
Compared to Qualcomm, which is rooted in communication, Intel’s reserves are somewhat weaker.
In 2019, Apple acquired Intel’s baseband business, completing the last piece of the puzzle.
However, the iPhone 12 still used Qualcomm’s baseband.
The puzzle has been completed, but it will take some time to fit it all together.
Life rarely goes as planned.
Even Apple has regrets.
06
As a complete machine manufacturer, Apple’s self-developed chip has set a good precedent.
More manufacturers have followed this path.
Huawei has arrived.
In 2011, Yu Chengdong was appointed chairman of Huawei’s terminal business, starting Huawei’s journey into the high-end mobile phone market.
Self-developed processors are just one aspect.
In 2012, Huawei released the K3V2, claiming to be the world’s smallest quad-core ARM A9 architecture processor. It integrated a GPU and used 40nm process technology. This chip received great attention from Huawei’s mobile department and was directly used in flagship products like Huawei P6 and Huawei Mate1, which were highly anticipated.
However, due to its excessive heat generation and poor GPU compatibility, this chip was criticized by many netizens.
Using self-designed chips, Huawei had to use them in their own phones, only to be rejected by users.
After several iterations, by the time of the Kirin 9 series, they had gradually improved.
On September 2, 2017, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, Huawei released the AI chip Kirin 970. On October 16 of the same year, the first phone equipped with Kirin 970, the Huawei Mate 10, was officially released in Munich, Germany.
Kirin 970 was not Huawei’s most powerful chip, but it marked Huawei’s entry into the smart era of mobile SoCs.
Starting with Kirin 970, Huawei was the first to integrate a component that had never been seen before in mobile SoC chips: the NPU.
Today, integrating AI acceleration components in mobile devices has become a consensus, but at that time, very few could recognize its significance.
The first to use Cambricon’s IP, Huawei gradually shifted to the Da Vinci architecture.
Days later, Apple also released the A11 Bionic with NPU.
Heroes see alike; the “artificial intelligence” era of smartphone SoCs has begun.
The NPU (Neural Processing Unit) of Huawei’s Kirin 970, the IPU (Image Processing Unit) built into Google Pixel 2, and Apple’s A11 Bionic are all dedicated hardware solutions to achieve the aforementioned functional features.
In addition to multi-core CPUs, multi-core GPUs, DSP, ISP, baseband, display, security, etc., mobile chip processors now also include NPU.
Mobile photography has entered the era of “computational photography”, providing users with a better shooting experience, but it requires more frequent AI computations.
In 2020, Huawei HiSilicon was banned by the US from producing chips at TSMC in Taiwan, marking the end of the Kirin 9000 series.
Huawei’s SoC was the first to introduce NPU, leading smartphones into the true “artificial intelligence” era.
AI in mobile phones is still developing, but Huawei’s processors can no longer produce new ones.
Where the face goes, the peach blossom still smiles in the spring breeze.
Huawei people always say: the bird that cannot be burned is the phoenix.
Looking forward to the phoenix’s rebirth.
07
To this day.
Mobile SoC chips have reached 5nm.
They face three major problems: complex design, increased costs, and difficulty controlling power consumption.
The earliest mobile SoCs were CPUs, but now they have far exceeded the concept of CPUs.
Many manufacturers keep adding components.
TI added DSP.
Qualcomm and MediaTek integrated communication processors (CP).
Samsung, Qualcomm, and Intel each added GPUs.
Huawei and Apple brought in NPU.
Multiple ISPs have been introduced, supporting 2, 3, or 4 CMOS cameras.
CPUs have also evolved from single-core to dual-core, big and small cores, and now 8 cores.
ARM architecture has evolved from A8, A9 to A78, A79, and now X1; from dual-issue in ARM A8 to quad-issue in A78, and now five-issue in X1.
GPUs have evolved from ARM’s MALI, Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU, and Apple’s long-used Imagination’s PowerVR.
These subsystems, including CPU, GPU, imaging, AI, storage, wireless, security, etc., are usually isolated in chip introductions or manuals.
However, the most critical aspect of an SoC is the interconnection of IPs and data flow. This is generally achieved through buses and various DMA modules. Various IP subsystems are connected through buses, while general or custom DMA modules facilitate data flow exchange. This constitutes the entire complex SoC system.
This requires excellent integration capabilities and also leads to increased costs.
These cost increases come from both increased area and, after 7nm, the cost of individual transistors actually increases.
One-time investments, IP costs, and mask costs are all rising.
Everything is increasing in price, while global mobile sales are decreasing.
A mobile SoC approaches 80-90 square mm2, calculated at 7nm or 5nm. Such a large chip, if compared to AI chips, is expected to consume dozens of watts. However, mobile SoC chips consume only a few watts, and the standby power consumption is even lower.
How to control the power consumption of mobile SoCs is the core issue, mainly through clock control, power shutdown, voltage regulation, and even dynamic voltage frequency adjustment.
The following figure is a typical power performance analysis chart, with green representing small cores, blue representing medium cores, and red representing large cores. The horizontal axis represents performance improvement, while the vertical axis represents power consumption increase.
By using the qualified power consumption table, we can have some basis for running different cores under different loads. Turning off other cores can provide some basis.
Engineers know that under low loads, they should run on small cores, and as the load increases, switch to medium cores, and under higher loads, they can only run on large cores in single-thread mode. However, determining which core to run under which load is a matter of economy, and this chart can help with that.
As single-thread performance improves, there is also an increase in performance; how to ensure performance increases while running at reasonable power consumption is closely related to chip firmware adjustments and tests. This is also part of the optimization capabilities of each manufacturer.
Currently, several 5nm processors have received feedback from users that their power consumption is relatively high, being called “fire dragons”.
Looking ahead, as integration increases under low process technology, more and more power consumption issues may arise.
The user experience of “smooth and silky” brings performance anxiety and battery anxiety.
Performance issues are gradually being solved, but battery issues have become more prominent.
The demand not to become a “fire dragon” still exists.
08
Mobile SoCs lead the development of mobile phones.
Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, Huawei, MediaTek, etc., every year when they release chips, it is a showdown of top talents in the chip design industry.
In a showdown of experts, three elements are essential: speed, courage, and intelligence.
In a showdown of experts, speed is crucial; on average, a new chip with hundreds of billions of transistors is iterated every 12 months.
If a chip misses the timing, a phone misses a generation.
Courage is also essential; 7nm and 5nm processes are driven by the demand for mobile SoCs.
Complex integration must also meet the harsh requirements of low power consumption; low process technology is an inevitable yet unknown choice, a pathfinder in the unknown territory of chip process technology.
Intelligence is also critical; multi-channel ISPs and integrated NPUs redefine mobile SoC products.
How to maintain uniqueness while gaining user recognition in performance, power consumption, and experience becomes a chip that understands users best.
The mobile processor, as the brain of the phone, is constantly evolving, becoming humanity’s closest assistant.
However, the humans addicted to their phones are constantly regressing, becoming increasingly dependent on their devices.
This is an interesting yet ironic reality.
Author/Source: Wai Rui Laoge
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