Samsung has just announced the launch of a new processor in the Exynos range. It is not the successor to the Exynos 2100 that premiered the Galaxy S21, but the Exynos W920, a processor designed for smartwatches that will be installed in “the next model of Galaxy Watch”.
The processor has been manufactured in a five-nanometer process, making it one of the processors for smartwatches with the smallest transistors on the market. To put it in context, the Snapdragon Wear 4100, which is Qualcomm’s most powerful alternative to date, is 12 nanometers.
This is what the processor in the next Galaxy Watch looks like
The Exynos W920 is a five-nanometer processor, making it more energy-efficient than previous models. Not only that, but it is also a more compact processor, which will allow Samsung to introduce more batteries thanks to the processor taking up less space.
According to the Korean firm, the Exynos W920 comes in “the smallest package currently available on the market for wearables.” This is possible thanks to Fan-Out Panel Level Packaging (FO-PLP) technology.
That technology assembles the Exynos W920, the power management integrated circuit (PMIC), LPDDR4 RAM, and eMMC memory in the same package via a SiP-ePoP (System-in-Package-embedded Package on Package) configuration.
In terms of performance, the new Exynos features two high-performance ARM Cortex-A55 cores (frequencies have not been disclosed) and a Mali-G68 GPU. According to Samsung, CPU performance has increased by 20% and GPU performance by ten times over the previous generation. It supports 3D graphic interfaces and qHD displays (960 x 540 pixels).
Interestingly, Samsung has optimized the clock to improve efficiency with the Always-On Display. Normally, this function is handled by the main processor or a lower-performance co-processor, and that’s the approach Samsung has taken. Instead of using the main CPU to handle AOD, the Exynos W920 has a low-power Cortex-M55 to reduce power consumption during Always-On Display usage.
Finally, it is worth noting that the processor has an integrated 4G LTE Cat.4 modem and L1 GPS chip that measures speed, distance, and elevation. In other words, the watch that mounts it will be compatible with LTE networks and GPS, something normal in high-end watches.
Samsung concludes by ensuring that the Exynos W920 supports the new platform developed by Samsung and Google (not expressly mentioned, but we are talking about One UI Watch). We will see this processor implemented in the company’s next Galaxy Watch, which, if all goes as expected, should be presented at the Unpacked to be held tomorrow.
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