Samsung packs LTE connectivity into 5nm processor
Built in a 5nm extreme ultra-violet (EUV) process node, the Exynos W920- processor integrates an LTE modem and offers powerful yet efficient performance for wearable devices, according to Samsung.
Harry Cho, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics, said: “With the Exynos W920, future wearables will be able to run applications with visually appealing user interfaces and more responsive user experiences while keeping you connected on the go with fast LTE.”
The Exynos W920 integrates two Arm Cortex-A55 cores for high performing yet power-efficient processing and an Arm Mali-G68 graphics processing unit (GPU) that improves CPU performance by around 20 per cent and improves graphics performance by a factor of 10, compared with its predecessor. It also has upgraded cores and improved performance for faster application launches and a more interactive 3D graphical user interface (GUI) on a device’s qHD (960 x 540) display.
The Exynos W920 is in the smallest package currently available in the market for wearables with Fan-Out Panel Level Packaging (FO-PLP), said Samsung. The packaging technology incorporates the Exynos W920, power management IC (PMIC), LPDDR4 and embedded multimedia card (eMMC) in the same package using system in package-embedded package on package (SiP-ePoP) construction. The processor’s size allows smartwatches to house larger batteries or allows designers to create sleeker designs.
Always-on-display (AOD) for wearables, especially for smartwatches, is popular, because it makes it effortless to take a quick look at the time, notifications, missed calls and other functions without the need to wake the watch up from sleep mode. Rather than powering up the main CPU, the W920 activates a dedicated low-power display processor, the Cortex-M55, which reduces display power consumption under AOD mode compared to the previous Exynos model.
For seamless connected experiences on the go, the Exynos W920 is embedded with a 4G LTE Cat 4 modem as well as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) L1 for tracking speed, distance and elevation during outdoor activities.
The Exynos W920 supports a new, unified wearable platform which was built jointly with Google, and which will be applied to the Galaxy Watch model.
