On December 16, 2021, MediaTek officially released the flagship 5G mobile platform of Tianji 9000. At the press conference, MediaTek introduced in detail the main features and performance improvements of the Tianji 9000. In the previous article "Upgrading from 1 to 9 flagships, MediaTek Tianji 9000 Detailed Configuration Exposure", we have made a preliminary interpretation of the technical specifications of Tianji 9000 and the development of MediaTek in the past one or two years. Here, we talk about the technical improvements of Tianji 9000 and the changes in the industry it brings.
Tianji 9000 is a SoC product based on ARM architecture, and ARM CEO Simon Segars also made a video speech at the press conference. Simon Segars specifically mentioned: "The Tianji 9000 is the first product on the market based on the ARMv9 architecture, and this product launch marks a new level in the partnership between ARM and MediaTek. We're excited to see MediaTek's foraTek's entry into the high-end flagship market, giving the next generation of flagship smartphones the best top-of-the-line experience." Such a statement shows that MediaTek is already in a leading position in the field of ARM architecture SoC. Dr. Yanji Li, Deputy General Manager of MediaTek's Wireless Communication Division, stressed at the press conference: "Tianji 9000 is a milestone in MediaTek's innovation road, it is specially built for the world's flagship 5G smartphone, and it is a symbol of Tianji entering a new generation. ”
The flagship has been fully upgraded
The technical indicators of Tianji 9000 also deserve such praise.
The first is the underlying performance. The Tianji 9000 adopts TSMC 4nm process, and the CPU adopts a new generation ARMv9 architecture, including a 3.05GHz Cortex-X2 super core, Three 2.85GHz Cortex-A710 large cores and four 1.8GHz Cortex-A510 energy-efficient cores with built-in 14MB cache; 10 Mali-G710 cores for GPUs; LPDDR5X memory with transfer rates up to 7500Mbps; and dual-channel UFS3.1 flash memory.
The improvement of basic performance, combined with the new MediaTek HyperEngine 5.0 game engine, allows various large mobile games to have better game performance on the Tianji 9000 platform, including a smoother gaming experience and lower running power consumption. AI-VRS variable rendering technology, CPU thread optimization, intelligent dynamic frame stabilization technology, mobile ray tracing dual engine, 180Hz FHD+ display refresh rate, variable refresh rate technology, etc., have been recognized by game mobile phone manufacturers and mobile game manufacturers.
Li Congbing, deputy general manager of Tencent's game R&D efficiency department, said: "Entering the 5G era, starting from 2020, we continue to pay attention to the release of each Tianji 5G chip. In 2021, we and MediaTek released the results of our first cooperation with MediaTek on mobile light tracking solutions at the GDC Conference in the United States, and we look forward to continuing to carry out in-depth cooperation with MediaTek in 2022. ”
The second is AI performance.
Tianji 9000 also integrates MediaTek's fifth-generation AI processor APU 590, which is 4 times higher in performance and energy efficiency than the previous generation, providing energy-efficient AI computing power for smartphone camera, video, streaming, gaming and other applications. Fu Le'an, head of the Douyin intelligent creation AI engineering platform, said: "Douyin and MediaTek have a very close cooperation in technology, in the Douyin video super score project, based on the intelligent creation team reasoning engine ByteNN, combined with the super computing power of MediaTek's new generation of chips, the two sides completed the 2K AI super score for the first time, and achieved very good results, while having strong performance, as well as excellent power consumption performance." ”
The third is image strength. The Tianji 9000 has an 18-bit HDR-ISP image signal processor, Imagiq 790, and the processing speed of three ISPs reaches 9 billion pixels per second, supporting up to 320 million pixel cameras. The Tianji 9000 supports three cameras to process 18-bit HDR video at the same time, and all three cameras support triple exposure, meeting the creativity and productivity needs of mobile video creators for professional images. Using the AI Video Video Engine, the Tianji 9000 can reduce the bandwidth occupied by video shooting and make the preview delay lower. In high-speed capture and low-light scenes, combined with AI-NR 2.0 intelligent noise reduction technology, clarity, high dynamic range and better noise reduction can be achieved.
MediaTek provides a full range of computing performance support for the improvement of photography performance through the upgrading of IPS technology and AI technology, which has effectively promoted the comprehensive upgrading of the computational photography experience. At the press conference, major image sensor manufacturers, including Sony and Samsung, expressed their support, and even directly named the focus of cooperation with MediaTek in their speeches. Jesuk Lee, vice president of advanced development of Samsung's image sensors, said: "In order to drive the high-pixel mode of a 200 million-pixel sensor, pixel rearrangement technology is required. In order to capture clear image quality and detail in multiple environments, pixel rearrangement technology based on deep learning AI has been developed. Latency issues due to compute boosts have been greatly improved through MediaTek's APUs. In order to provide higher pixels and more advanced smartphone camera technology, Samsung ISOCELL and MediaTek will continue to work closely together. Atsushi Kitaoka, vice president of Sony Semiconductor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., emphasized: "Multi-exposure video HDR technology is our latest cooperation result, through which we can meet the needs of users who can record 4K 2K HDHDR videos in different scenarios, and it can be said that HDR is one of the core technologies of our image experience." ”
The fourth is the expression of picture quality.
Tianji 9000 supports 8K30 AV1 HDR, full link 10bit, P3 wide color gamut, HDR10+ ADAPTIVE, Elite HDR Vivid and other standards, combined with MediaTek MiraVision 790 mobile display technology, intelligent adjustment of screen display and video streaming, through software and hardware optimization can provide better visual effects.
Finally, there is the network connection.
Tianji 9000 integrates a new generation of 5G baseband MediaTek M80 that supports the 3GPP R16 standard, supports Sub-6GHz 5G full-band network and 3CC multi-carrier aggregation, the theoretical peak of 300MHz downstream rate can reach 7Gbps, and takes the lead in supporting R16 super upstream, including two technical solutions of supplemental upstream and upstream carrier aggregation, 5G connection speed is faster, and it is more in line with the development direction of domestic 5G networks. Tianji 9000 also supports MediaTek 5G UltraSave 2.0 power saving technology and dual-card technology, which not only greatly reduces the power consumption of 5G communication, but also brings multi-standard dual-card dual-pass technology, which supports multiple combinations of dual 5G and 4G. In addition, Tianji 9000 supports Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.3 and Bluetooth LE Audio and other new generation wireless network connections, with MediaTek FastPath Fast Track, smart antenna 2.0, Wi-Fi Bluetooth dual anti-interference, 5G Express Channel and other HyperEngine 5.0 network optimization technology, in the network games, video calls and other high-demand applications, has a better connection performance.
Flagship Showdown Vote with your feet
At the MediaTek flagship chip conference, a phenomenon that attracted people's attention was that all partners expressed a strong willingness to cooperate. From this perspective, we can see that MediaTek's ability to improve 5G chips in recent years has been recognized by many upstream and downstream partners.
Wang Hengjiang, deputy general manager of China Mobile Terminal Company, said: "China Mobile and MediaTek have always had deep cooperation, and MediaTek has become the largest 5G chip supplier in china's mobile market. Chen Fengwei, deputy general manager of China Unicom Terminal and Channel Support Center and China Unicom Huasheng Communications Co., Ltd., said: "China Unicom's first self-owned brand 5G mobile phone Youchangxiang 20 uses Mediatek Tianji 5G chip. At the same time, the cooperation and exchange between China Unicom and MediaTek in the field of 5G new technologies have also been deepened and expanded, and a number of technical experiments, including R16 new feeling, have been carried out in Unicom. Chen Li, deputy general manager of China Telecom Terminal Operation Center and Tianyi Telecom Terminal Co., Ltd., said: "Since the advent of Tianji's 5G mobile phone chip, MediaTek has continued to gain market and user recognition with technological innovation, and China Telecom has also worked closely with MediaTek in the fields of super upstream, carrier aggregation, voNR and so on. ”
More importantly, the attitude of OEMs to Tianji 9000, whether a chip is successful, the key is to see how many terminals are eventually listed, and whether the manufacturer adopts heavyweight products. At the Tianji 9000 conference, OPPO, vivo, Redmi, Glory and other first-line manufacturers collectively stood on the platform, and users shouted "MTK Yes", and the scene was a bit like the AMD big turnaround period in the PC field. And it is worth noting that the OEM's platform for MediaTek this time is by no means out of courtesy, but really attaches importance to the Tianji 9000 chip, and even a little bit of a collective sense of grabbing the first launch. On the one hand, several major OEMs emphasized the good cooperation with MediaTek "since ancient times", and on the other hand, they said that they would "take the lead" in launching high-end products based on the flagship chip of Tianji 9000. Duan Yaohui, vice president of OPPO and president of mobile phone product line, announced at the press conference that OPPO's next-generation Find X flagship series will be the first to carry the Flagship Platform of Tianji 9000. Users who understand the Find series' position in oppo's mobile phone product line should understand what this means. Lu Weibing, general manager of the Redmi brand, said more bluntly: "Tianji 9000 sets the latest technology in the industry, whether it is performance, imaging, gaming, communication or AI, etc., it has performed well, and is currently one of the most advanced 'super flagship' SoCs." The Tianji 9000 is indeed an unprecedented performance leap, and Redmi's next flagship K50 is also poised to take off. ”
MediaTek has been working hard to break through the flagship ceiling. The launch of the Helio brand in 2015 was the first attempt to hit the flagship SoC market, but it failed due to its own strength and the drag of partners. In 2019, MediaTek took advantage of the favorable opportunity of 5G replacement to launch the Dimensity brand again. After the successful paving of the Tianji 1000, Tianji 1100, and Tianji 1200 series, OEMs have fully recognized MediaTek's ability in high-end chips, and it is a matter of course that Tianji 9000 will be valued as soon as it is born. On the other hand, the situation that Qualcomm Snapdragon is the only one is also what all mobile phone manufacturers do not want to see, especially in the context of Huawei's Kirin chip manufacturing restrictions and Samsung Orion's continued decline. In 2022, maybe we can see a wave of wonderful flagship showdowns!