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InnoReviews

Huawei Kirin 990 5G vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 820

WINNER
H
34.9Inno Score
VS
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
22.6Inno Score
33.3CPU20.8
48.6Benchmarks20
20Efficiencyspec-based29.7
6 spec wins — Huawei Kirin 990 5G0 spec wins — Qualcomm Snapdragon 820

InnoReviews verdict

Huawei Kirin 990 5G wins this mobile chipset face-off, 34.9 to 22.6, pulling ahead mainly in benchmarks (+29) and CPU (+12). Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 still makes sense if its price or standout specs fit your needs better.

Which would you pick?

Key differences

Reasons to pick the Huawei Kirin 990 5G

  • Stronger CPU score: 33 vs 21
  • Stronger benchmarks score: 49 vs 20
  • 289% higher Geekbench 6 (multi): 3,419 vs 880
  • 201% higher Geekbench 6 (single): 1,023 vs 340
  • 100% higher cores: 8 vs 4

Reasons to pick the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820

No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.

General

General comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
Announced20192016
Process7 nm+50%14 nm
TDP (typical)—11 W
ArchitectureARM (Cortex-A76 and Cortex-A55 cores)Armv8

CPU

CPU comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
Cores8+100%4
Core configuration2x2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 + 2x2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 + 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A552x2.15 GHz Kryo + 2x1.6 GHz Kryo
Max clock2.86 GHz+33%2.15 GHz

GPU

GPU comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
GPUArm Mali-G76 MP16Qualcomm Adreno 530

AI

AI comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
NPUHUAWEI Da Vinci NPU (2x Ascend Lite + 1x Ascend Tiny)Qualcomm Hexagon 680

Memory

Memory comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
Memory typeLPDDR4XLPDDR4-1866
Max bandwidth—29.9 GB/s

Connectivity

Connectivity comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
ModemIntegrated 5G modem (SA/NSA)Snapdragon X12 LTE
Max download2.3 Gbps—
Wi-Fi—Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth—4.2

Media

Media comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
Max display—4K @ 60Hz
Video capture—4K@30fps

Benchmarks

Benchmarks comparison: Huawei Kirin 990 5G versus Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
SpecHuawei Kirin 990 5GQualcomm Snapdragon 820
AnTuTuDifferent AnTuTu versions — not compared778,713Bottom 27%230,000
AnTuTu 11 (CPU)267,234Bottom 22%—
AnTuTu 11 (GPU)130,102Bottom 34%—
AnTuTu 11 (Memory)188,134Bottom 50%—
AnTuTu 11 (UX)193,243Bottom 15%—
Geekbench 6 (single)1,023+201%Top 50%340Bottom 9%
Geekbench 6 (multi)3,419+289%Top 38%880Bottom 5%

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