Huawei Kirin 990 5G vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
33.3CPU30.1
—GPU24.9
48.6Benchmarks42
—AIspec-based29
20Efficiencyspec-based32.1
3 spec wins — Huawei Kirin 990 5G0 spec wins — Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
InnoReviews verdict
Huawei Kirin 990 5G wins this mobile chipset face-off, 34.9 to 31.4, pulling ahead mainly in benchmarks (+7) and CPU (+3). Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 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 30
- Stronger benchmarks score: 49 vs 42
- 27% higher Geekbench 6 (multi): 3,419 vs 2,700
- 20% higher Geekbench 6 (single): 1,023 vs 850
Reasons to pick the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.
General
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2019 | 2019 |
| Process | 7 nm | 7 nm |
| TDP (typical) | — | 10 W |
| Architecture | ARM (Cortex-A76 and Cortex-A55 cores) | Armv8.2 |
CPU
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Core configuration | 2x2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 + 2x2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 + 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55 | 1x2.84 GHz Cortex-A76 + 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A76 + 4x1.79 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| Max clock | 2.86 GHz+1% | 2.84 GHz |
GPU
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | Arm Mali-G76 MP16 | Qualcomm Adreno 640 |
AI
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| NPU | HUAWEI Da Vinci NPU (2x Ascend Lite + 1x Ascend Tiny) | Qualcomm Hexagon 690 |
| AI performance | — | 7 TOPS |
Memory
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X-2133 |
| Max bandwidth | — | 34.1 GB/s |
Connectivity
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| Modem | Integrated 5G modem (SA/NSA) | Snapdragon X24 LTE |
| Max download | 2.3 Gbps | — |
| Wi-Fi | — | Wi-Fi 5 |
| Bluetooth | — | 5.0 |
Media
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| Max display | — | 4K @ 60Hz |
| Video capture | — | 4K@60fps |
Benchmarks
| Spec | Huawei Kirin 990 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
|---|---|---|
| AnTuTuDifferent AnTuTu versions — not compared | 778,713Bottom 27% | 600,000 |
| 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+20%Top 50% | 850Bottom 36% |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 3,419+27%Top 38% | 2,700Bottom 47% |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme | — | 800Bottom 23% |
Related comparisons
Huawei Kirin 990 5Gvs MediaTek Dimensity 7050VSHuawei Kirin 990 5Gvs Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2VSHuawei Kirin 990 5Gvs Qualcomm Snapdragon 685VSHuawei Kirin 990 5Gvs Huawei Kirin 9000SVSQualcomm Snapdragon 855vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5GVSQualcomm Snapdragon 855vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 732GVSQualcomm Snapdragon 855vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 750GVSQualcomm Snapdragon 855vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2VS