Samsung has announced the Exynos 2100, the Galaxy S21 series processor

Samsung has officially announced its new Exynos 2100 chipset, the model that will be the basis of the Galaxy S21 series, at least in Europe, if not in other regions. The new mobile processor is built on the 5nm architecture and promises much improved performance compared to last year’s Exynos 990 generation, now using the new ARM Cortex-X1 core, the same one found on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888.

Exynos 2100 seems to be a major improvement on all levels

In fact, at the basic level, the similarities between Exynos 2100 and Snapdragon 888 are very high. We are dealing with the same 1 + 3 + 4 configuration, with a 2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 core for high performance in complex applications, three more Cortex-A78 cores to help it, while four Cortex-A55 cores will take over the basic functions of the phone.

Samsung promises a 30% performance improvement in multi-core applications, while an ARM Mali-G78 GPU will deliver 40% performance over the previous generation. The stated performance contribution puts the Exynos 2100 model on a performance step similar to Snapdragon 888, which will most likely be used on Samsung Galaxy S21 models in the USA.

We are also dealing with a new neural processor integrated in the processor, with three cores, which can perform 26 trillion operations per second, but which also ensures a consumption twice as low as the previous generation. This way, the Galaxy S21 will be able to run applications that use neural networks directly on the device, without requiring an internet connection for certain functions such as voice control or object recognition in photos or videos.

The phones that will use it will be able to integrate 200 megapixel cameras

The Exynos 2100 also integrates a new image processor (ISP), which is compatible with cameras up to 200 megapixels and can provide simultaneous connection to six photo sensors. Four of these sensors can be processed simultaneously, ensuring the possibility of performing multi-camera functions in the software.

Last but not least, Samsung has integrated a proprietary 5G modem into its new chipset. It is of course compatible with sub-6 GHz networks as well as mmWave, with speeds of up to 5.1 Gbps in sub-6GHz and 7.35 Gbps in mmWave. 4G networks could reach 3 Gbps with this modem.

Some features that this processor allows, but that we probably won’t see too soon on smartphones due to the lack of other compatible components, such as camera sensors, are the capabilities of recording at high resolutions at high framerates. We are talking about 4K at 120 frames per second or 8K at 60 frames per second. So far, phones that have offered 4K footage have been limited to 60 frames per second, while 8K phones only last year began to appear, with limitations of 15, 24 or 30 frames per second, depending on the model.

We will probably find out more about the practical capabilities of the Exynos 2100 on Thursday, January 14, when Samsung will officially announce the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones.