Top Android Phones with Fastest Processors in 2021

Android phones have continued to roll out in the market in 2021, just like in the preceding years. In this article, we bring you the top Android chips released in phones this year. When purchasing an android phone, it’s quite difficult to make a decision because of the hundreds of options available and so many confusing specifications. However, these 2021 fastest processor will make the choice for you!

We will make it easier for you to choose a phone based on the SoCs installed and how Geekbench scores rank the performance of each of these chips. Qualcomm leads the market in android phones with their series of Snapdragon chips. In this article, you’ll learn how to compare SoCs to choose your next Android phone.

Here are few important chips we will be discussing in this article:

• Snapdragon 888
• Exynos 2100
• Snapdragon 865 and 865+ 5G
• Snapdragon 855
• Huawei Kirin 990

Processor vs System on Chip

A processor is just one unit that performs only the role of computing operations on data for any system it is connected to. A System on Chip, on the other hand, is a complete system on a single fragment. An SoC is often referred to as just a chip in order to differentiate it from a processor. A chip may hold a processor along with GPU (a graphics processor), memory, USB controller, power management circuits, and wireless radios that include WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, etc. An SoC’s biggest advantage is that it saves space. A processor may require you to connect other devices to it, but in SoC’s case, you get everything in a single chip. SoC alone is a complete computer, and a processor is not. 

When comparing SoCs, people consider the following specs:

• Transistor size (Smaller size means more transistors can be included in a single chip, increasing the processing speed; currently, the smallest available size is 5 nm)
• Transistor count (Number of transistors on the chip)
• Frequency ( A frequency of 2 GHz enables the processor to execute 2 billion cycles per second)
• Availability of 5G tech

What is Geekbench

Geekbench is an application used to benchmark the performance of processors or SoCs of different devices and provides a score accordingly. Geekbench scores are widely used as an authentic source to compare the speeds of smart devices. This software was introduced by a lifelong Apple fan, John Poole, to only test speeds for Apple devices. However, he later upgraded to test to provide scores for multiple platforms, including macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Snapdragon 888

Snapdragon 888 is the latest of Qualcomm’s chips powered by eight processing cores and currently supported by only a handful of smartphones. The most recent SoC is integrated with 5G technology and 5nm transistors making the chip capable of holding 173 trillion of them. It serves at a frequency of 1.8 GHz to 2.84 GHz. The AI-powered engine allows the chip up to 26 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second.) 

Snapdragon 888 is hosted by some of the flagship phones of 2021. Starting with the all-famous Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra that were released in January 2021 and took the market by storm. These Samsung devices have an octa-core CPU; as the name suggests, it means eight cores of processing units. An octa-core processor will be faster than its predecessor. a quad core or dual core processor considering the chipset is the same. 

The same processor powers both devices. However, S21 Ultra comes in two variants, with the other one integrating Samsung’s own SoC Exynos 2100 (covered later in the article). Other notable devices to use Snapdragon 888 include One Plus 9 and One Plus 9 Pro. The table below shows some of the best Snapdragon 888 devices, along with their Geekbench scores. 

Snapdragon 888 comes with 580 ISP (Image Signal Processor) makes this the first Snapdragon with a Triple ISP. Captures three 4K HDR videos or 28 MP photos, at a leap 2.7 gigapixels per second and 35% faster than the predecessor.

Exynos 2100

Exynos 2100 is another chip belonging to the Exynos series. Exynos is developed and manufactured by Samsung in continuation of their previous series containing S3C, S5L, and S5P chipsets. Just like the former, Exynos 2100 uses 5nm transistors counting 125.6 trillion and offers a frequency of 2.2 GHz to 2.9 GHz. 

Since this is a Samsung chip, it is only introduced with recent Samsung smartphones. All of Samsung S21 series smartphones come with an Exynos 2100 variant as well. Exynos also supports the 5G technology. 

The table below shows a list of phones using Exynos 2100 and their multicore Geekbench score. 

Snapdragon 865 and 865+ 5G

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865+ was announced by the company in December 2019 and released in mid-2020. The chipset was then called a great weapon for gamers, which is the significant difference between the two chipsets. As the name suggests, the SoC supports 5G technology and integrates it into modern smartphones. 

Snapdragon 865 and 865+(up to 3.1GHz) hold pretty much the same specifications. The common aspects of both SoCs include 7 nm transistors with a total count of 10.3 billion, a frequency of 1.8GHz to 2.84GHz, both support 5G connectivity  

Snapdragon 865 and 865+ allows 480 ISP captures videos at Gigapixel speeds while concurrently taking brilliant 64MP photos.   

In the table below, you can find the best phones using Snapdragon 865 and 865+ worth buying in 2021. 

Snapdragon 855

Snapdragon 855 was released in March 2019 by Qualcomm Technologies and was a highly valued SoC. It still performs well, and some Android phones using Snapdragon 855 are still blooming in the market. This SoC contains 7nm transistors at a total count of 6.7 billion and features a frequency of 1.8 GHz to 2.84 GHz.  

Snapdragon 855 is the world’s first Computer Vision ISP delivering 4K HDR video capture with Portrait Mode and to capture HDR10+ video.

Check out the table below for some of the best phones featuring Snapdragon 855, along with their Geekbench scores. 

HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G

HiSilicon Kirin is a series of processors owned by the Chinese mobile company, Huawei. It was released on 6th September, 2019 and came out with the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5g. It has an ARM based high-end octa-core SOC for smartphone and tablets. SOC carries a transistor count of 10 Billion and includes 7nm transistors. Kirin 990 5G features a frequency of 1.9 GHz to 2.86 GHz.  As the name suggests the chip supports 5g connectivity, but it also has a 4G only version. In the table below find some of the devices using Kirin 990 5G and their performance scores according to Geekbench.

Android’s Fastest vs Apple

Now that we have discussed some of the fastest Android chips available, it would be interesting to compare them to Apple’s most recent SoC for reference. The latest Apple devices, including the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the rest of the iPhone 12 series, along with the 4th generation iPad Air use Apple’s latest A14 chip. 

A14 chip features a frequency of 1.80GHz to 3.01Ghz. Six CPU cores: two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, have four GPU cores and have a 5-nanometer manufacturing process.

Geekbench scores of Apple devices show a considerable difference as Apple clean sweeps Android. The table below shows the Geekbench scores of all Apple devices incorporating A14 Bionic. 

The most significant concern of any Android phone buyer who is not brand conscious or loyal to any single brand is to find a device that operates at the fastest speed, does not cost them a fortune, and is reliable for an extended period. If you are not just going to buy the latest Samsung phone and want to review your choices, this article is for you. 

You’ll now be able to judge the performance of each phone in question and compare it with others before you finally make a decision. Do you think we missed out on any essential phones or SoCs? Let us know in the comments! 

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