Smartphones 2015: new technologies according to MediaTek
Each company - the developer of chipsets for mobile devices has its own brand of technologies that distinguish their products from the competition. This is quite logical: all the developers have access to the same ARM computing cores and graphics accelerators; if you do not invest resources in creating your own technical chips, then all the market players would have practically the same chipsets. Both in terms of power consumption and performance.
In this article, I will talk about the chips implemented in top chipsets from Taiwanese MediaTek - MT6595 ( review on Geektimes ) and all the newer eight-core solutions. But of course, we will put MT6595 at the forefront: on the basis of this chipset, there are already several smartphones. For example, Meizu MX4, Lenovo Vibe X2, Zopo ZP999, Alcatel One Touch D820 and so on. MediaTek MT6595 will be relevant throughout the whole of 2015, and on its basis several more devices of the middle and upper price level will probably be released. Plus, from day to day, the 64-bit eight-core MT6795 ( Habré announcement ) and other newest developments by the Taiwanese chip maker will pick up the baton.
In MediaTek MT6595, the company's engineers decided to implement the most complex version of ARM technology big.LITTLE , in which both clusters with four cores each - ARM Cortex-A17 (up to 2.2 GHz) and ARM Cortex-A7 (up to 1.7 GHz) - can be used simultaneously. There is nothing super singular in this - this possibility is also realized in the ARM technology big.LITTLE itself. But the kernel management system, implemented in MT6595 and called CorePilot , was developed in MediaTek. It allows you to achieve the most optimal balance of power, power consumption and heat dissipation, depending on the specific tasks facing the smartphone.
')
Using CorePilot to perform various types of tasks, individual assessment and selection takes place not only of bundles of different types of cores, but also their frequencies. For example, for a particular game, all ARM Cortex-A7 cores will operate at a frequency of 1 GHz, and ARM Cortex-A17 will work at 1.8 GHz. As a result, on the one hand, there will be enough performance for a high and stable frame rate, and on the other hand, the smartphone will not overheat and waste battery power too quickly. Compared to less flexible chipsets based on ARM big.LITTLE technology, MediaTek MT6595 power consumption is reduced by almost 20% while productivity increases by the same 20%. By the way, it was in MediaTek that, in principle, the first to invent and implement an “intelligent control” of the processor for the dynamic distribution of the load of cores.
In practice, the results of this approach can be seen in the latest flagship smartphones - the already mentioned above Meizu MX4 and Lenovo Vibe X2. With a mixed load, both devices are able to work from one battery charge more than one day. Moreover, MediaTek helps manufacturers to choose a chipset depending on other components used in the smartphone. For example, a thin Lenovo Vibe X2 with a not very capacious 2300 mAh battery uses a modification of the MediaTek MT6595M, which, in comparison with the MT6595, gives an increase in autonomy of 10-15%. Still, in the AnTuTu benchmark, the model gains a solid 45,000 points.
On the contrary, the creators of Meizu MX4 did not strive to minimize the thickness of the device and chose a 3100 mAh battery, placing the most productive version of the chipset in the case - in fact, MT6595 without any letters "M" in the title. MT6595 allowed MX4 to score from 48000 to 51000 points in AnTuTu and become the most powerful smartphone in the world in 2014 .
Under the optimization of power consumption, the “sharpened” and built-in MT6595 4G ​​modem (Cat. 4, up to 150 Mbps). MediaTek MT6595 has become the world's first eight-core chipset with an integrated LTE modem. Many other chip makers prefer modems as a separate chip, which in fact can be “screwed” to any chipset. However, for such universality you have to pay with autonomy, the total power consumption of the device increases by at least 10-15%.
The current rivalry between manufacturers of smartphones in the field of screens, obviously, comes to a standstill. Manufacturers not only did not stop measuring PPI , but even began to increase the display resolution. However, there is little point in this. The resolution of the human eye already at a distance of 25 cm from the screen will be 0.073 mm. Thus, the distinguishable limit of PPI will be set at 350 dpi. At the same time, for example, in 5-inch FullHD-smartphones the pixel density per inch has a decent margin of 441 units. A further increase in resolution to 2k and higher becomes a purely marketing advantage, for which you have to pay with the same autonomy and increased load on the chipset.
It would seem, on what features of the screens can the processor developer - the same MediaTek - concentrate in order to really improve the picture? The company paid attention to such an important parameter as the frequency of updates. With the participation of Japan Display, one of the world's largest suppliers of mobile screens, MediaTek experts implemented support for the frequency of scanning displays at 120 Hz. This allows you to achieve a smoother image in any situation, starting with scrolling through desktops and ending with watching movies and games. At the moment, in almost all smartphones and tablets, the frequency does not exceed 60 Hz.
By the way, MediaMTek MT6595 from the previous top-of-the-line eight-core MT6592 was inherited by the technology, also associated with the frame frequency, ClearMotion. This technology increases the clarity of video playback, increasing the frequency of commercials from the usual 24-30 frames per second to 60 frames per second.
A small but important contribution to reducing the energy consumption of gadget screens is made by the intelligent backlight control system MiraVision , also developed in MediaTek. Usually, even in the most expensive smartphones, the brightness of the display is adjusted only on the basis of the light sensor readings. Therefore, sometimes with the maximum brightness, the image in the sun may “go blind” or, on the contrary, be too bright in the dark. When using MiraVision, the light sensor works in tandem with the chipset, the latter analyzes the color gamut of the current image and selects the best brightness, taking into account not only the ambient light, but also the brightness and color gamut of the picture itself. So the image on the screen adapts to all conditions as much as possible.
The latest iPhone 6 can record at 240 frames per second - just like an action camera GoPro Hero4 Black. However, MediaTek MT6595 smartphones can support the Super-Slow Motion option - recording with an even more outstanding rate of 480 frames per second! In other words, we get a clear image and smooth playback, even when playing a video with a slowdown 16 times.
The next feature concerns the photo and especially will appeal to girls who are willing to spend 15-20 minutes before uploading their photos to the Internet, just to cover acne, red eyes and other trifles. In the end, even the Instagram magic filters are not omnipotent, so it is often impossible to do without the help of a computer. Unless you have a MediaTek MT6595 smartphone with Face Beautifier technology.
Tone and color correction, the formation of slender facial features, smooth skin - these and many other "plastic" tasks are performed in real time. Moreover, in the settings you can select the degree of processing. The result is instantly displayed on the smartphone screen to select the best angle and evaluate a potential photo before touching the virtual shutter button. For example, this is how the function works in Meizu MX4, which is already on sale. Face Beautifier makes skin slimmer, eliminates stubble and some skin blemishes.
Unfortunately, in the bulk of smartphones, the quality of front camera shooting leaves much to be desired, which sometimes makes people take a selfie with the back module. And this, you see, is extremely inconvenient. After all, you can not even look at the screen and understand how successful the picture will be. The Picture-In-Picture feature combined the ability to get a fairly clear foreground with the front camera and an excellent background using the main peephole. Even if you wanted to make such a collage manually, you would have to use Photoshop and spend at least 15 minutes. MediaTek MT6595 saves your time and “on the fly” performs processing, combining the image from two cameras into one picture.
In 2015, we will surely see a lot of smartphones based on the new MediaTek MT6595 processor. The cost of such smartphones is unlikely to exceed 15-20 thousand rubles (prices taking into account the exchange rate at the time of the article). At the same time, the new models will practically not be inferior in technical characteristics and performance to much more expensive competitors for 30-35 thousand rubles, and the fresh November Lenovo Vibe X2 and Meizu MX4 clearly demonstrate this. MediaTek implemented in its chipset a lot of software and hardware features, which rightfully allow to call MT6595 one of the most powerful, technical and promising processors for smartphones today. But the models on MT6795 will appear soon too ... But that is another story.
In this article, I will talk about the chips implemented in top chipsets from Taiwanese MediaTek - MT6595 ( review on Geektimes ) and all the newer eight-core solutions. But of course, we will put MT6595 at the forefront: on the basis of this chipset, there are already several smartphones. For example, Meizu MX4, Lenovo Vibe X2, Zopo ZP999, Alcatel One Touch D820 and so on. MediaTek MT6595 will be relevant throughout the whole of 2015, and on its basis several more devices of the middle and upper price level will probably be released. Plus, from day to day, the 64-bit eight-core MT6795 ( Habré announcement ) and other newest developments by the Taiwanese chip maker will pick up the baton.
Spend energy wisely
In MediaTek MT6595, the company's engineers decided to implement the most complex version of ARM technology big.LITTLE , in which both clusters with four cores each - ARM Cortex-A17 (up to 2.2 GHz) and ARM Cortex-A7 (up to 1.7 GHz) - can be used simultaneously. There is nothing super singular in this - this possibility is also realized in the ARM technology big.LITTLE itself. But the kernel management system, implemented in MT6595 and called CorePilot , was developed in MediaTek. It allows you to achieve the most optimal balance of power, power consumption and heat dissipation, depending on the specific tasks facing the smartphone.
')
Using CorePilot to perform various types of tasks, individual assessment and selection takes place not only of bundles of different types of cores, but also their frequencies. For example, for a particular game, all ARM Cortex-A7 cores will operate at a frequency of 1 GHz, and ARM Cortex-A17 will work at 1.8 GHz. As a result, on the one hand, there will be enough performance for a high and stable frame rate, and on the other hand, the smartphone will not overheat and waste battery power too quickly. Compared to less flexible chipsets based on ARM big.LITTLE technology, MediaTek MT6595 power consumption is reduced by almost 20% while productivity increases by the same 20%. By the way, it was in MediaTek that, in principle, the first to invent and implement an “intelligent control” of the processor for the dynamic distribution of the load of cores.
In practice, the results of this approach can be seen in the latest flagship smartphones - the already mentioned above Meizu MX4 and Lenovo Vibe X2. With a mixed load, both devices are able to work from one battery charge more than one day. Moreover, MediaTek helps manufacturers to choose a chipset depending on other components used in the smartphone. For example, a thin Lenovo Vibe X2 with a not very capacious 2300 mAh battery uses a modification of the MediaTek MT6595M, which, in comparison with the MT6595, gives an increase in autonomy of 10-15%. Still, in the AnTuTu benchmark, the model gains a solid 45,000 points.
On the contrary, the creators of Meizu MX4 did not strive to minimize the thickness of the device and chose a 3100 mAh battery, placing the most productive version of the chipset in the case - in fact, MT6595 without any letters "M" in the title. MT6595 allowed MX4 to score from 48000 to 51000 points in AnTuTu and become the most powerful smartphone in the world in 2014 .
Under the optimization of power consumption, the “sharpened” and built-in MT6595 4G ​​modem (Cat. 4, up to 150 Mbps). MediaTek MT6595 has become the world's first eight-core chipset with an integrated LTE modem. Many other chip makers prefer modems as a separate chip, which in fact can be “screwed” to any chipset. However, for such universality you have to pay with autonomy, the total power consumption of the device increases by at least 10-15%.
"Tuning" screen in Taiwanese
The current rivalry between manufacturers of smartphones in the field of screens, obviously, comes to a standstill. Manufacturers not only did not stop measuring PPI , but even began to increase the display resolution. However, there is little point in this. The resolution of the human eye already at a distance of 25 cm from the screen will be 0.073 mm. Thus, the distinguishable limit of PPI will be set at 350 dpi. At the same time, for example, in 5-inch FullHD-smartphones the pixel density per inch has a decent margin of 441 units. A further increase in resolution to 2k and higher becomes a purely marketing advantage, for which you have to pay with the same autonomy and increased load on the chipset.
It would seem, on what features of the screens can the processor developer - the same MediaTek - concentrate in order to really improve the picture? The company paid attention to such an important parameter as the frequency of updates. With the participation of Japan Display, one of the world's largest suppliers of mobile screens, MediaTek experts implemented support for the frequency of scanning displays at 120 Hz. This allows you to achieve a smoother image in any situation, starting with scrolling through desktops and ending with watching movies and games. At the moment, in almost all smartphones and tablets, the frequency does not exceed 60 Hz.
By the way, MediaMTek MT6595 from the previous top-of-the-line eight-core MT6592 was inherited by the technology, also associated with the frame frequency, ClearMotion. This technology increases the clarity of video playback, increasing the frequency of commercials from the usual 24-30 frames per second to 60 frames per second.
A small but important contribution to reducing the energy consumption of gadget screens is made by the intelligent backlight control system MiraVision , also developed in MediaTek. Usually, even in the most expensive smartphones, the brightness of the display is adjusted only on the basis of the light sensor readings. Therefore, sometimes with the maximum brightness, the image in the sun may “go blind” or, on the contrary, be too bright in the dark. When using MiraVision, the light sensor works in tandem with the chipset, the latter analyzes the color gamut of the current image and selects the best brightness, taking into account not only the ambient light, but also the brightness and color gamut of the picture itself. So the image on the screen adapts to all conditions as much as possible.
Perfection without Photoshop
The latest iPhone 6 can record at 240 frames per second - just like an action camera GoPro Hero4 Black. However, MediaTek MT6595 smartphones can support the Super-Slow Motion option - recording with an even more outstanding rate of 480 frames per second! In other words, we get a clear image and smooth playback, even when playing a video with a slowdown 16 times.
The next feature concerns the photo and especially will appeal to girls who are willing to spend 15-20 minutes before uploading their photos to the Internet, just to cover acne, red eyes and other trifles. In the end, even the Instagram magic filters are not omnipotent, so it is often impossible to do without the help of a computer. Unless you have a MediaTek MT6595 smartphone with Face Beautifier technology.
Tone and color correction, the formation of slender facial features, smooth skin - these and many other "plastic" tasks are performed in real time. Moreover, in the settings you can select the degree of processing. The result is instantly displayed on the smartphone screen to select the best angle and evaluate a potential photo before touching the virtual shutter button. For example, this is how the function works in Meizu MX4, which is already on sale. Face Beautifier makes skin slimmer, eliminates stubble and some skin blemishes.
Unfortunately, in the bulk of smartphones, the quality of front camera shooting leaves much to be desired, which sometimes makes people take a selfie with the back module. And this, you see, is extremely inconvenient. After all, you can not even look at the screen and understand how successful the picture will be. The Picture-In-Picture feature combined the ability to get a fairly clear foreground with the front camera and an excellent background using the main peephole. Even if you wanted to make such a collage manually, you would have to use Photoshop and spend at least 15 minutes. MediaTek MT6595 saves your time and “on the fly” performs processing, combining the image from two cameras into one picture.
Instead of output
In 2015, we will surely see a lot of smartphones based on the new MediaTek MT6595 processor. The cost of such smartphones is unlikely to exceed 15-20 thousand rubles (prices taking into account the exchange rate at the time of the article). At the same time, the new models will practically not be inferior in technical characteristics and performance to much more expensive competitors for 30-35 thousand rubles, and the fresh November Lenovo Vibe X2 and Meizu MX4 clearly demonstrate this. MediaTek implemented in its chipset a lot of software and hardware features, which rightfully allow to call MT6595 one of the most powerful, technical and promising processors for smartphones today. But the models on MT6795 will appear soon too ... But that is another story.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/375719/
All Articles