Exynos 990: Samsung's new mobile processor delivers 20 pct enhanced performance

The processor supports encoding and decoding of 8K UHD video at 30fps, 4K UHD video at 120fps, 120Hz refresh-rate display, UFS 3.0/UFS 2.1 storage, and LPDDR5 memory.

South Korean technology giant Samsung unveiled Thursday the Exynos 990 premium mobile processor and the ultra-fast next-generation 5G Exynos Modem 5123.

Based on 7-nanometer (nm) extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUV) processing technology, the latest processor integrates Cortex-A76 dual-core and the Cortex-A55 quad-core to deliver optimal performance and better power efficiency for long-lasting seamless mobile experiences.

The Exynos 990 processor features a dual-core neural processing unit (NPU) and improved digital signal processor (DSP) to deliver faster and efficient machine learning performance, thereby taking the smartphone's capabilities to the next level.

When combined with the Exynos Modem 5123, the mobile processor brings incredibly fast mobile broadband. According to Samsung, the modem delivers blazingly fast download speed of up to 7.35Gbps in mmWave and 5.1Gbps in the sub-6GHz setting with up to 8x carrier aggregation. It supports up to 3Gbps of downlink speed and up to 422Mbps of uplink speed in 4G LTE mode. It also supports E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) which combines LTE and 5G connectivity to maximize mobile downlink speed.

With the cutting-edge Mali G77 MP11 GPU, based on the new Valhall architecture, the processor delivers more fluid and immersive mixed-reality and gaming experiences while reducing the loading time and gaming lags. Furthermore, Exynos 990 supports LPDDR5 data rates of up to 5,500 Mbps for wider memory bandwidth than its predecessor Exynos 980 with LPDDR4x.

On the optics front, the new mobile processor supports up to six individual sensors with ultra-high resolution up to 108-megapixel and the advanced image signal processor (ISP) is capable to run three of them concurrently for pro-grade photography.

The processor supports encoding and decoding of 8K UHD video at 30fps, 4K UHD video at 120fps, 120Hz refresh-rate display, UFS 3.0/UFS 2.1 storage, and LPDDR5 memory.

Commenting on the technology announcements, Inyup Kang, president of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics said: "Samsung's Exynos 990 and Exynos Modem 5123 are perfectly adapted for high-volume 5G and AI applications, and are designed to help the world's most ambitious enterprises, large and small, achieve their goals of bringing new capabilities to their markets."

The Exynos 990 and Exynos Modem 5123 will likley go into mass production by the end of this year, Samsung said in a press release.

Last but not least, Samsung also announced the mass production of its third-generation 10nm-class 1z-nm DRAM that delivers the industry's highest performance, energy efficiency and capacity.