Last week we introduced you a fast efficiency preview of the Snapdragon 865-based Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, showcasing that the cellphone has some outstandingly good efficiency and energy effectivity statistics. Since then, we’ve been capable of get our arms on an Exynos 990 primarily based Galaxy S20+ and S20 Ultra, placing the trio of telephones by way of our standard in depth assessment course of.
We’re nonetheless engaged on the total massive article which continues to be per week or extra away, however we needed already to cowl one largest speaking factors in regards to the new gadgets: battery life. Samsung’s new 120Hz refresh mode is kind of a power-hungry beast, which alters the battery life method for this 12 months’s flagships. On high of that, we’re once more seeing some fairly giant variations between the Exynos and Snapdragon primarily based telephones, and we’re capable of report the primary preliminary battery take a look at outcomes and analyse what the state of affairs appears to be like like.
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Editor’s Note: The present outcomes had been examined on the ATBM firmwares for the Exynos variants, and ATBN for the Snapdragon variant.
Very Expensive 120Hz Mode, Power Degradations Across The Board
One key facet of the brand new Galaxy S20 gadgets is their new 120Hz display show mode. Samsung’s new excessive refresh fee is undoubtedly a killer characteristic for the brand new flagships, and with regards to the efficiency in addition to the fluidity it brings, it’s an incomparable expertise that solely only a few gadgets can compete with.
To obtain this efficiency, Samsung seemingly has needed to make some sacrifices with regards to the ability consumption of the telephones. While Samsung has managed to implement the 120Hz mode with none further {hardware} equivalent to further MIPI interfaces between the SoC and the show controller IC (therefore, why it’s restricted to 1080p 120Hz), the precise energy administration and energy draw when within the 120Hz mode is extraordinarily inefficient and never very optimised.
On each Snapdragon and Exynos models there’s proof within the show drivers that there’s {hardware} help for some kind of VRR (Variable refresh fee) – what precisely this VRR implementation represents I at the moment don’t have additional info on, but it surely doesn’t appear that it’s a “true” VRR mode, at the very least not within the present software program state of issues. Samsung has the panel implementation arrange with seemingly four totally different refresh charges; 48Hz, 60Hz, 96Hz and 120Hz. Seemingly, it’s doable this VRR implementation is switching between these modes?
There’s additionally proof of an unfinished software program stack; seemingly Samsung had deliberate for some kind of adaptive 120Hz mode, nonetheless at the moment this appears to not be energetic and the cellphone merely stays at 120Hz on a regular basis.
Galaxy S20 Ultra (Exynos 990) – 120Hz vs 60Hz Device Power (Black Screen)
What’s worrisome right here is that the 120Hz mode has fairly a big energy impression that’s energetic always, regardless of the display content material. Above for instance we see the baseline energy on the S20 Ultra with the Exynos 990. Both highlighted areas are on a static black display, and there’s an enormous ~184mW distinction between the 2 modes. 184mW may not sound like a lot, however on condition that it is a baseline energy consumption of the cellphone that’s at all times current every time you might have the display on, it provides on to a substantial quantity of power over a complete battery cost.
This delta between the 60 and 120Hz mode is current on all of the S20 gadgets I’ve at hand right here, each on the Exynos 990 S20+ and S20 Ultra, in addition to on the Snapdragon 865 S20 Ultra:
Beyond the very giant impression of the 120Hz mode on the bottom energy consumption of the telephones, we additionally see that there’s bigger degradations in energy even on the 60Hz mode. The Exynos 990 right here is round 40-100mW worse in comparison with the Exynos 9820 powered…
