![[IT큐레이션] Exynos and foundry butterfly effect](https://cdn.econovill.com/news/thumbnail/202101/514445_418102_4144_v150.jpg "[IT큐레이션] Exynos and foundry butterfly effect")
[이코노믹리뷰=최진홍 기자] In the midst of CES 2021, Samsung Electronics announced on the 13th that it will release premium mobile AP’Exynos 2100′. By applying the latest mobile AP design technology, CPU and GPU performance improved by more than 30% and 40%, respectively, and On-Device AI performance was also greatly enhanced.
Samsung Electronics’ Exynos 2100 is expected to help enhance Samsung Electronics’ presence in the mobile AP market while strengthening foundry capabilities. This is why industry expectations are growing.
Exynos 2100
Samsung Electronics’ Exynos 2100 is expected to enter the Galaxy S21, the next premium smartphone lineup, as the first 5G modem integrated chip for a mobile AP manufactured in a 5-nano process.
‘Tri-Cluster structure’ with high-performance Cortex-X1, 3 Cortex-A78, and 4 low-power Cortex-A55 running at up to 2.9GHz in cooperation with Arm of the UK It was designed as. It is explained that the multi-core performance is improved by more than 30% compared to the previous model.
The latest Am Mali (Mali-G78) is mounted as a graphics processing unit (GPU), which improves graphics performance by more than 40% compared to the previous model and enhances the on-device AI function.
It supports high-performance ISP that can process up to 200 million pixel images, and a 5G modem is built-in to support all major frequencies, including low-frequency bands (Sub-6, Sub-6) as well as ultra-high frequency bands (mmWave, mmWave).
In response to this, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 888 at the Tech Summit in December last year. The Snapdragon 888 is also manufactured with a 5-nano process, improves the performance of the Qualcomm Cryo680 CPU by up to 25%, implements the highest frequency of up to 2.84GHz, and is the first commercial CPU sub based on the Cortex-X1 of Arm. It consists of a system. Qualcomm Adreno 660 GPU is said to provide up to 35% faster graphics rendering than its predecessor.
Mobile AP market flow
In the current mobile AP market, while Snapdragon Qualcomm’s presence is still strong, Exynos’ Samsung Electronics is rapidly pursuing. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Qualcomm ranked first in the global mobile AP market last year, with a 33% share, followed by MediaTek with 25% and Samsung Electronics with 14%.
Considering that Taiwan’s MediaTek mainly manufactures mobile APs that enter the mid- to low-end lineup, the premium mobile AP market is narrowed down to a confrontation between Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Electronics is reinforcing the framework of cooperation, such as deploying the Snapdragon 888 to the overseas lineup of the Galaxy S21, while not hiding its willingness to increase the presence of Exynos. It was said that the Galaxy S20 did not adopt Exynos and that Samsung Electronics was once “selecting and focusing” in the mobile AP market, but Samsung Electronics is showing a powerful move by strongly adopting the 5-nano process mobile AP strategy. In progress.
This is why Exynos 1080, which was released in China in November last year, attracts attention. Exynos 1080, which is also made using a 5-nano process, belongs to a mid- to low-end mobile AP, and is equipped with a Xiaomi smartphone. In that extension, the premium mobile AP released this time, Exynos 2100, is the number of matches for Samsung Electronics from the era of 5 nano mobile APs.
The role of a definite friend named AMD also attracts attention. AMD, which recently announced a battle with Intel through the acquisition of Xilinx, is expected to be of great help to Samsung Electronics’ mobile AP strategy. As the two companies entered into a strategic partnership in June 2019, then AMD CEO Lisa Su said, “The adoption of the latest Radeon graphics technology is increasing in the PC, game console, cloud and high-performance computer markets.” Through this, high-performance Radeon graphic solutions will be expanded to the mobile market, and accordingly, the Radeon user base and development ecosystem will also expand.”
Above all, AMD’s powerful GPU technology is expected to be of great help to Samsung Electronics’ Exynos strategy. In fact, Kang In-yeop, head of Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division (President), introduced the Exynos 2100 on the 12th (local time) and announced the emergence of a new Exynos that utilizes AMD’s GPU technology.
It is a well-known fact in the industry that Samsung Electronics is using Mali’s GPU in its mobile AP, but it is showing a’lukewarm’ response to its performance. In that extension, if AMD’s GPU enters Exynos, the market itself is expected to have a huge wave.
The foundry is hilarious
Samsung Electronics plans to expand the territory of Exynos by confronting or cooperating with Qualcomm with Snapdragon in the mobile AP market while exploring various possibilities such as GPU cooperation with AMD. With Exynos 1080, the company plans to add a’color’ of 5-nano process to the mid-to-low-end mobile AP market, and to secure partners.
Naturally, as Exynos’ territory expands, Samsung Electronics’ foundry strategy is expected to become sharper.
Currently, Samsung Electronics is a foundry company that can produce 5-nano processes with TSMC. In the midst of this, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 won all orders, and if it starts digesting the Exynos 2100 this time, a significant increase in sales is expected.
Samsung Electronics is also fully prepared.
Currently, Samsung Electronics is showing a strong presence by strengthening its foundry presence through Samsung Semiconductor Vision 2030. The main goal is to invest 133 trillion won in system semiconductors and employ 15,000 people by 2030, focusing mainly on strong drives through foundries. In October of last year, the company purchased 258 acres of land near the Austin factory to strengthen the infrastructure of the local foundry market.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stood at the vanguard. While playing a leading role in winning orders for a number of foundries such as Qualcomm and IBM, Peter Wennink, CEO and Martin van den Brink, CTO, visited ASML headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands last October. We met with others to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation for the development of next-generation semiconductor technology, and also visited a semiconductor manufacturing equipment production plant with the guidance of CEO Burningk along with Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam of Samsung Electronics’ DS Division to see the EUV equipment production status.
For the first time this year, Vice Chairman Lee attended a ceremony for bringing in foundry production facilities at Pyeongtaek Plant 2, along with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam and Foundry Business Manager Choi Si-young, and checked the semiconductor division’s president and mid- to long-term strategies.
In the midst of this, there is even a saying that Intel, which gave up 7-nano process production, can provide supplies to the foundry of Samsung Electronics. TSMC, which abandons Huawei and has a close relationship with US fablesses, may take Intel’s supply, but TSMC is not able to properly digest the quantity secured to vitalize the foundry market. From that extension, there is even a prospect that Samsung Electronics can receive unexpectedly large quantities of Intel.