Snapdragon 675 Review and Benchmarks

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 is currently one of the most hyped SOCs due to the aggressive pricing of Redmi Note 7 Pro.

I’m sure you guys are excited to know how powerful it actually is and where does it stand in comparison to Snapdragon 660, 710 and MediaTek Helio P70.

It is manufactured using a new 11nm LPP Process by Samsung and it has the powerful Kryo 460 CPU Architecture. Vivo V15 Pro was the first smartphone that had this SOC followed by the Redmi Note 7 Pro.

So, let’s debunk some myths and have an in-depth analysis of the Snapdragon 675.

    Snapdragon 675 Explained

Snapdragon 675 Specification

The words like 11nm and Kryo 460 seem pretty overwhelming, right?

Let me clear everything to you.

Kryo 460 Cores 

The Kryo 460 Architecture is the 4th Generation of Qualcomm’s Semi-Custom Kryo Cores. The Kryo 460 architecture is derived from the ARM’s Cortex-A76 & Cortex-A55 designs.

So, what are full custom, semi-custom, and direct implementation?

Well, Apple and Samsung (in flagship series) develop their own CPU core from scratch based on ARM’s Architecture. While Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin directly implement the design provided by ARM. In the case of Qualcomm, they obtain the CPU design from ARM, tweak it as per their needs and call them Kryo Cores.

Hence, the Kryo 460 architecture is a tweaked and optimized version of ARM’s Cortex-A76 & Cortex-A55 CPUs. In Snapdragon 675, Qualcomm has used 2 Kryo 460 Gold Cores (Cortex-A76) which deliver high-performance. While the other 6 cores are called Kryo 460 Silver Cores (Cortex-A55) that are power efficient.

When you’re gaming or doing heavy multitasking, the powerful semi-custom Cortex-A76 drive your smartphone while during normal usage such as Browsing, the power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores are being used. This is also known as ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture.

Guess what? Even the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 uses the combination of Cortex-A76 & A55 cores. But in Snapdragon 855, the Kryo 485 Architecture is used which is better optimized. Furthermore, the fastest CPU core of Snapdragon 855 can reach to 2.84 GHz Frequency and hence the performance difference between SD675 and SD855 is very significant.

11nm Process: Close to 10nm or Just a Marketing Gimmick?

If you’re not sure what this nanometer number means, you should first check out my article on Fabrication Technology.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SOC is manufactured by Samsung using their new 11nm LPP FinFET Process.

And to be honest, this number is more of a marketing gimmick just like the TSMC’s 12nm Node. But, it is superior to TSMC’s 12nm Node.

The 11nm Process delivers around 15% higher performance than their 14nm counterpart at the same power efficiency.

However, if we compare Samsung’s 10nm LPE Process with their 14nm LPE, there is 27% higher performance with 40% less power consumption.

To sum it up:

Samsung’s 11nm Process has similar power efficiency as their 14nm Node but it delivers 15% higher performance.

It would have been better if Samsung had used a name like 12nm or 13nm. Nevertheless, 11nm LPP is still an excellent choice for Snapdragon 675. But in terms of power efficiency, it is no match for Snapdragon 670 & 710 that are manufactured using the 10nm Process.

Adreno 612 GPU: Is it Powerful Enough?

It was pretty weird to see the Adreno 612 GPU in Snapdragon 675 when its predecessor (Snapdragon 670) had a better GPU (Adreno 615).

But seems like Snapdragon 670 isn’t its predecessor but a different SOC destined for a different category of devices.

Have a look at this table to see the different GPUs used in Qualcomm’s upper mid-range SOCs.

Processor Fabrication Process GPU
Snapdragon 660 14nm LPP Adreno 512
Snapdragon 670 10nm LPP Adreno 615
Snapdragon 675 11nm LPP Adreno 612
Snapdragon 710 10nm LPP Adreno 616

If you’re wondering which has better CPU & GPU Performance, here’s what you need to know.

CPU Performance: Snapdragon 675 > Snapdragon 710 > Snapdragon 670 > Snapdragon 660 > Snapdragon 636

GPU/Gaming Performance: Snapdragon 710 > Snapdragon 670 > Snapdragon 675 > Snapdragon 660 > Snapdragon 636

The Adreno 512 GPU in Snapdragon 660 was already good enough to deliver smooth gaming performance at 1080p. But now the Adreno 612 takes the gaming performance to a whole new level.

In a real-world gaming scenario, it will be nearly impossible to differentiate between the gaming performance of SDM675 with Snapdragon 670 & Snapdragon 710. But yes, the difference is there.

If you want to know more about the rankings of Mobile GPUs, you can visit this page.

    Specification

Name Snapdragon 675
Codename SDM675
Brand Qualcomm
Technology Node 11nm LPP FinFET
CPU Cores 8 (Octa-Core)
Core Configuration 2x Kryo 460 Gold at 2.0 GHz + 6x Kryo 460 Silver at 1.7 GHz
GPU Adreno 612
Max. Display Resolution Full HD+
Memory Dual-Channel LPDDR4x
DSP Hexagon 685
Modem X12 LTE
VoLTE Support Yes, Dual VoLTE
Max Download Speed 600 Mbps
Bluetooth version 5.0
Fast Charging Qualcomm Quickcharge 4+
Camera ISP Spectra 250L: Dual ISP with max 48MP

Here’s a table for those of you that want to have a look at the specification. If you need the detailed specification, you can get that from Qualcomm’s Official Website.

As already mentioned, it is fabricated using Samsung’s 11nm LPP Process and has 8 Cores.

The 2 Powerful Kryo 460 Gold Cores are derivatives of ARM’s Cortex-A76 architecture while the other 6 Kryo 460 Silver cores are derivatives of ARM’s Cortex-A55 architecture. It is good to see a step up from the previous generation Cortex-A53 Cores. While the high-performance cluster is clocked at 2.0 GHz, the other one runs at 1.7 GHz.

This SOC has the new Adreno 612 Graphics Processor that can support a maximum Display of FHD+. Adreno 612 is better than Adreno 512 (Snapdragon 660) while it is considerably weaker than Adreno 616 (Snapdragon 710).

It has the Qualcomm’s X12 LTE Modem that supports Dual 4G VoLTE and can theoretically deliver maximum download speeds up to 600 Megabits per second. The latest Bluetooth v5.0 is also supported.

Coming to the memory, it has a Dual-Channel LPDDR4x RAM configuration. The latest Qualcomm Quickcharge 4+ technology is also supported by this SOC.

And yes, the Spectra 250L Image Sensor Processor can support a true 48 Megapixel Camera without pixel binning.

    Centurion Mark

Snapdragon 675 Centurion Mark

In our real-world testing, we have given Snapdragon 675 a score of 112 in Centurion Mark. All the three SOCs i.e. 670, 675, 710 are just next to each other in our scale.

Here’s why:

  • All the three SOCs have LPDDR4x RAM, Dual 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, and the Hexagon 685 DSP. Hence, they are equivalent in these factors.
  • Snapdragon 710 has a better & faster Modem (X15 LTE) while the other two SOCs have a slightly slower Modem (X12 LTE).
  • Both Snapdragon 670 and 710 are manufactured using 10nm Process that is a lot more efficient than 11nm Process of 675.
  • Snapdragon 675 has better CPU performance due to the new Kryo 460 Architecture that is superior to Kryo 360 found in Snapdragon 670 & 710. But 710 has a higher clock speed that diminishes the difference. SDM675 is still the winner though.
  • Snapdragon 710 has the best Gaming performance followed by 670 and lastly 675.

After combining all these points and some other minor factors, we arrived at the above score.

Here are the pros. and cons. of Snapdragon 675.

Pros
  • Exceptional Performance
  • Power Efficient
  • Great for Gaming
Cons
  • None

    Antutu Benchmark

Snapdragon 675 Antutu Benchmark

In our Antutu Benchmark test, Redmi Note 7 Pro scored 178,624 points while the Vivo V15 Pro reached a score of 174,924.

    GeekBench Score

Snapdragon 675 Geekbench Score

The performance of the powerful Kryo 460 CPU is easily reflected in its Geekbench score. Snapdragon 675 scores 2,397 points in the Single-Core test which is pretty close to Snapdragon 845. The Multi-Core score of 6,481 is also quite impressive.

    Snapdragon 675 Review

In the review section, I generally talk about how well does a particular SOC performs in real-world scenarios and whether it suffers from any issues such as lags or overheating. Also, I keep the price of a product in mind while doing a review.

In the case of Snapdragon 675, there was no issue that affects the user experience and the performance was spectacular. I could have given it even 4.9 stars out of 5 if it had a better GPU. Nevertheless, the Adreno 612 GPU is still pretty good for heavy gaming.

Real-World Performance

While performing basic tasks such as Web Browsing, Video Streaming, and Social Media, the performance is buttery-smooth. The day-to-day life performance is much better than the existing mid-range SOCs like Kirin 710, Snapdragon 660, Helio P70 SOCs because the power-efficient cluster of Snapdragon 675 uses the new Cortex-A55 (Kryo 460 Silver) Core.

The new Cortex-A55 Cluster not only consumes 15% less power, but it also delivers 18% higher performance. It directly translates into an extraordinary user experience that we have seen for the first time on a mid-range SOCs.

When it comes to heavy usage, things get even better. The powerful Kryo 460 Gold (Cortex-A76) delivers exceptional performance that can reach the levels of flagship SOCs like Snapdragon 845.

Hands down the Snapdragon 675 has the best CPU Performance among mid-range SOCs.

Gaming Performance

Most of the popular games like PUBG Mobile run flawlessly on Snapdragon 675 devices at the highest settings. You’ll not face any frame drops or overheating on extended usage.

The Adreno 612 GPU holds up pretty well in case of both casual and heavy gaming. There are some decent improvements and optimizations when compared to previous generation Adreno 512 GPU. However, these improvements aren’t as significant as we see in the case of Adreno 615 & 616.

Nevertheless, Snapdragon 675 is a really good choice for gaming. But Snapdragon 710 is even better when gaming is concerned.

Power Efficiency

As discussed earlier, the power efficiency of this chip is pretty good but not on the same level as some of the 10nm SOCs like Snapdragon 710. The 11nm LPP Process is simply not as great as it sounds like. You can expect similar power efficiency as other 14nm chips (or 12nm in case of SOCs like Kirin 710 & Helio P70).

However, there’s a factor that we are missing. The power-efficient Cortex-A55 cluster consumes 15% less power than other SOCs that have the Cortex-A53 CPUs.

Also, the LPDDR4x RAM & Bluetooth v5.0 ensure low power consumption. Considering all these factors into account, you should expect around 10-15% lower power consumption and higher battery life than most other phones with 14nm/12nm SOCs.

Ratings

Snapdragon 675
4.8

 

    Comparison

Here’s a brief comparison of Snapdragon 675 with SOCs of other mid-range devices.

Snapdragon 675 vs 636

SDM675 outperforms Snapdragon 636 is all the factors. This should not even be a comparison.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 675

Snapdragon 675 vs 660

Once again, 675 completely domainates Snapdragon 660 in all scenarios.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 675

Snapdragon 675 vs 710

Though Snapdragon 675 has better CPU Performance, SDM710 has a far better GPU, better power efficiency and modem. Also, 710 is not too far behind in CPU performance either.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 710

Snapdragon 675 vs 845

Though Snapdragon 675 comes close to 845 in CPU Performance, it is still no match to the mighty Snapdragon 845. SDM845 has slighty better CPU Performance and it is way ahead in Power Efficiency and GPU Performance.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 845

Helio P70 vs Snapdragon 675

The Helio P70 is no match for Snapdragon 675 and it loses in all scenarios. In fact, Helio P70 is even worse than Snapdragon 660 in gaming performance.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 675

Kirin 710 vs Snapdragon 675

Once again, the Kirin 710 is nowhere near the SDM675. Kirin 710 loses even against Snapdragon 660.

Winner
  • Snapdragon 675

    List of Snapdragon 675 Smartphones

  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro
  • Vivo V15 Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy A70



9 thoughts on “Snapdragon 675 Review and Benchmarks”

    • A SOC’s Image Sensor Processor only plays a small role when it comes to image quality. It depends more on the Camera Sensor being used in a phone and how well the software is optimized. Almost every smartphone Processor out there can take great images when paired up with a good Image Sensor and Software.

      Reply
  1. Very detailed piece. Hoping for more of the same.
    I was not aware the 675 had a weaker GPU compared to the 670.

    Not too many phones with 710 out there.

    Reply
  2. I Think SD 675 The Most Worth It Mid End Soc In 2019 🙂
    Even I Guess This SoC Will Survive In 2020 Because Recent Mid End Smart Phone Using SD 665 So Thank You For The Information 🙂
    SD 675 VIVO U3 :0

    Reply
  3. seeking urgent reply.

    redmi note 7 pro with sd675
    or
    redmi note 8 running sd665

    i already read your 665 review, but note 8 is launched with 11nm anf more adreno

    would you recommend note 8 over 7 pro??

    thanks!

    Reply
    • Snapdragon 675 is miles ahead of 665 in CPU performance. Both the chips are on 11nm but 675 has a slightly better GPU. As far as the phones are concerned, I don’t test other features such as Cameras. I would recommend watching other reviews to help you with that.

      Reply

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