Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 vs HiSilicon Kirin 970 benchmark which processor is better

Snapdragon 636 vs Kirin 970

Comparisons 11-03-2021

So, which chip or processor is better? Full data of speed tests and benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 vs HiSilicon Kirin 970, compare of GPUs Mali-G72 MP12 and Adreno 509.

This performance comparison involves two processors: Snapdragon 636 is octa-core (Kryo 260) and Kirin 970 is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A72). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A careful analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.

From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel benchmarking in synthetic type tests such as AnTuTu, WebXPRT 3, GeekBench 6, 5, GFXBench, Quadrant, 3DMark, PassMark, Neocore, PCMark, Mozilla Kraken, Vellamo, Octane V2, even the gaming performance of CPUs in PUBG, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile, Real Racing 3, Minecraft Bedrock, Sniper 3D, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Mortal Kombat etc.

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which SoCs is better to buy Snapdragon 636 or Kirin 970 and which chip is better for gaming: Need for Speed No Limits, Madout2, Asphalt 9, CSR Racing 2.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
CPU Benchmark
Based on Antutu and Geekbench score

Snapdragon 636

Kirin 970

11%

Battery life test
Power Consumption efficiency (how quickly the processor reduces the battery charge)

Snapdragon 636

57%

Kirin 970

64%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 636

Kirin 970

Antutu v10, 9

Antutu benchmark separately tests the performance of the CPU, GPU, and memory speed

	Snapdragon 636	Kirin 970
Total score	98787	160216
CPU	27664	44870
GPU	37543	60875
MEM	15797	25631
UX	17777	28844

GeekBench 6, 5.2

This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Snapdragon 636	Kirin 970
Single-Core	255	328
Multi-Core	1150	1379

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 636	Kirin 970
Frequency	1800 MHz	2400 MHz
Cores	8	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	10 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	8x1.8 GHz Kryo 260	4x2.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	9 W	9 W
Memory type	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)	LPDDR4x
Max. Memory	8 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	1333	1600
Memory bandwidth		29
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache		512 KB
L2 cache		2 MB
L3 cache
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv8-A	ARMv8-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Kirin 970 is 25% better than Snapdragon 636 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 509	Mali-G72 MP12
GPU Frequency	850 MHz	850 MHz
GFloPS	178	346
# of Cores		12
# of Shader Units	128
Display	3840 x 2160 pixels	2560 x 1600 pixels

The frequency of the GPU does not always directly indicate its performance. To fully evaluate all the capabilities of a graphics chip, you should take into account the number of Shader Units and Cores, as well as how many GFlops it has.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite Mobile		20.9
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	21.8	24.4
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	37.1	53.4
Call of Duty: Mobile	24.1	27.9
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	18.5	21.1
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	23.2	30.3
Real Racing 3	74.2	106.8
Sniper 3D	48.2	85.4
Need for Speed No Limits	44.5	64.1
Mortal Kombat X	59.4	77.4
CSR Racing 2	40.8	64.1

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the gadget and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Antutu v10, 9 and GeekBench 6, 5.2 becnmarks.

Cameras

Camera resolution	24 MP	20 MP
Dual Camera resolution	16 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Qualcomm Spectra 160
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	FullHD
Codec support	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP9	H.264

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 LTE modem	18
Download speed	600 MBit/s.	1200 MBit/s.
Upload speed	150 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Navigation	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 is better: 7
The number of parameters for which HiSilicon Kirin 970 is better: 27
You need to know that you should not sightlessly trust the automatic comparison of the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of joint testing and listen to what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both chips think, as well as read the test results at the links below.

Snapdragon 636 SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile
• Antutu v10
• 3DMark

• Snapdragon 636 specs and review.

Kirin 970 SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• 3DMark
• Antutu v10
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile

• Kirin 970 specs and review.