Xiaomi has launched its first SoC, the Surge S1. This is designed in-house by Xiaomi and it is an octa-core SoC with the 64-bit architecture. Just for those who are not sure what a SoC is, it is system-on-a-chip where most of the components are made on a single silicon chip. What comes packed in the SoC are the CPU, GPU (a graphics processor), memory, USB controller, power management circuits, and wireless radios (WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, and so on).
Xiaomi won’t be the first one to have its own SoC, though, as companies like Samsung, Apple, Huawei have been doing so for quite a few years. Now, let’s check out what the Xiaomi Surge S1 has packed internally. The first phone to run on this SoC is the Xiaomi Mi 5c.
Specifications of Surge S1 SoC
- Octa-core 64-bit chipset (4xA53 cores 2.2GHz + 4xA53 cores 1.4GHz)
- 28nm High-Performance Computing (HPC) process
- Mali-T860 quad-core GPU
- AFBC + ASTC image compression technology
- 32-bit high-performance DSP for voice processing
- 14-bit dual ISP; enhanced image processing capabilities
- Surge ISP algorithm improves camera light sensitivity by 150%
- Dual noise reduction algorithm reduces noise and preserves image detail in low light
- Upgradable baseband; programmable modem, OTA upgradeable
- VoLTE high-quality call and video support
- Chip-level security; TEE architecture, strict compliance with safety regulations
The company is putting this up in comparison with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, MediaTek Helio P20 and P10, where the Surge S1 beats them in AnTuTu scores.
The Surge S1 takes advantage of the big.LITTLE design, which is made for intelligent forecast and real-time switching between tasks. The 32-bit high-performance DSP of the chip has support for HD calls on VoLTE network and it also supports dual microphone noise reduction. The Mali-T860 GPU is said to be having the same levels of intensity, yet is about 40% more power efficient when compared to the Mali-T760 GPU.
The plans for producing a new SoC were made in October 2014, and it took about 28 months for the chipset to be in production finally.
