Earlier last month, MediaTek announced their brand new Helio P90 smartphone platform, which is expected to bring a significant update to their Helio Smartphone Platform. Earlier last year, MediaTek launched Helio P70 platform. However, P70 brought minor upgrades to its existing P60 platform. This will not be the case for the new Helio P90 SoC. We are expecting a lot of new features and performance/speed upgrade in MediaTek’s latest platform. In this post, we will compare the Helio P90 vs P70 concerning specifications, features, and technology to figure out how they differ in different aspects.
Helio P90 vs P70
Features Highlights:
Following is a brief description of various features offered in both of these smartphone platforms by MediaTek. This will give us a quick idea about some of the best features and technologies provided in the Helio P90 and Helio P70 by MediaTek. After that, we will move to side by side specification comparison. So without any more delay, here we begin the discussion:
MediaTek Helio P90:
Like all the recent additions in the Helio series, this one is also being marketed while keeping the fantastic AI capabilities on the forefront. MediaTek Helio P90 packs advanced AI performance, impressive connectivity, and amazing capturing capabilities. According to MediaTek, the Helio P90 features the most potent AI ever introduced for smartphones to date. It features APU 2.0, helping it to generate ~1127GMACs, and deliver almost 4.6 times faster performance compared to P70/P60. When the same factor is compared to competitive platforms from the same price bracket, the Helio P90 offers virtually double performance. Our way and purpose of using a smartphone are changing at a fast pace, and MediaTek promises that Helio P90 is capable of meeting the increasing expectations.
Intelligent Imaging:
The AI imaging is not limited to surface detection, etc. features while capturing pictures or videos. It means that the smartphone will perform better in facial recognition, and automatically apply the useful beautification and lighting effects before storing selfies and portraits. The Bokeh mode is expected to improve as P90’s edge detection will be more precise thanks to depth engine and neural network processing support. With low-light noise reduction algorithm, the camera will perform much better while shooting in the dark. P90 comes with optimized AI-camera synergy, allowing it to offer a lot of features like abstraction, image construction, and some other pixel-level enhancements. Some other camera related functions are as follows:
- Real-time video previews
- Quality live streams
- Relighting, beautification, semantic segmentation, 3D pose, AR even features in Bokeh Mode
Big Photography:
MediaTek states their new Helio P90 platform as “Resolution Revolution” and also believes it to be DSLR grade. Well, that might be a little too much, but Helio P90 is taking us closer to that. It supports the latest 48 MP sensors. These sensors are capable of capturing even beyond 8K resolution. With zero delay technology, the Helio P90 allows capturing with 30 fps at 48 MP and with super fast 480 fps at 16 MP resolution. For dual setup, P90 supports a 24 + 16 MP combo. It even supports 30 fps live previews in Bokeh mode, which is promisingly 6x faster and deliver 2.25x better resolution compared to many alternative platforms (According to MediaTek). Moreover, Helio P90 offers upgraded triple ISP, allowing it to process 14-bit RAW and 10-bit YUV imaging data while keeping the power efficiency at its best.
Fast & Efficient Gaming:
There are some minor architectural changes to it in Helio P90 compared to its predecessor platforms to deliver an impressive performance modern gaming demands. It comes with CorePilot control with All-Cores-All-Open (ACAO) support. Moreover, there are as well some smaller changes to enhance gaming experience such as the exclusive network traffic channel. It ensures stable performance regardless of the time spent in-game. The Helio P90 platform features single Octa Core cluster which comprises of dual Arm Cortex A75 and six Cortex A55 CPUs. This cluster is paired with L3 cache, which all of the cores can access as required. Further, there are APU 2.0, IMG PowerVR GM 9446 GPU, LPDDR4X memory controller and SoC for combining these components. Overall, the Helio P90 is a complete package of speed and performance for both gamers and the developers.
Dual 4G Setup – Advanced Connectivity:
Helio P90 platform promises reliable connectivity even in dense areas thanks to the 4G LTE World Mode modem. It features 4×4 MIMO, 3CA, and 256QAM. It features advanced IMS that is supported by hundreds of cellular operators around the world. Additionally, it supports global eMBMS, HPUE and 600 MHz (Band 71) as well. The platform delivers best call/live-video experience with 4G LTE on both the sim cards. It also promises faster call setup and more precise sound quality. Like all other new platforms by MediaTek, this one too promises of reliable coverage at reduced power consumption and increased efficiency. It is also considered future proof as 2G and 3G standards are retiring slowly.
MediaTek Helio P70:
The P70 platform packs Arm Cortex A73 / A53 Octa Core processors (Variations) paired with Arm Mali G72 class GPU so that it delivers scalable performance in both operations which involve graphics and those who do not. It offers almost ~13% better performance compared to previous platforms in the Helio series. Moreover, it is also more energy efficient compared to older Helio platforms. It features a complex AI algorithm to handle a task such as human pose detection. It is known for the impressive power management, flexibility and performance it offers.
We have discussed various features of Helio P70 platform in our previous post. Here are the quick highlights of what best the platform has to offer:
- Power efficient AI Processing
- Smooth gaming experience
- Amazing smart capturing capabilities
- 4G LTE World Mode Modem
For an in-depth discussion about these features, you can head to MediaTek P70 vs P60 vs x30
MediaTek P90 vs P70 Specs Comparison:
The discussion so far might have given an in-depth idea about the best features offered by both of the MediaTek platforms. Moving further, following is a side by side specification comparison for MediaTek Helio P90 and Helio P70 platforms. Have a look at below tables:
Processors:
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| CPU Types | Arm Cortex A75 Arm Cortex A55 | ARM Cortex A53 ARM Cortex A73 |
| CPU Frequency | 2.2 GHz Max | 2.1 GHz Max |
| Cores | 8 (Octa – Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| CPU Architecture | 64 – bit | 64-bit |
| Heterogeneous Multi-Processing | – | Supported |
Memory & Storage:
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| Memory Type | Dual channel LPDDR4X | LPDDR3 LPDDR4X |
| Max. Memory Frequency | 1866 MHz | 1x LPDDR3 @ 933 MHz 2x LPDDR4X @ ~1800 MHz |
| Max Memory Size | 8 GB | 8 GB on LPDDR4X 4 GB on LPDDR3 |
| Storage Type | UFS 2.1 | eMMC 5.1 UFS 2.1 |
Connectivity:
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| Cellular Technologies | Carrier Aggregation CDMA2000 1x / EVDO Rev.A – SRL FDD / TDD LTE HSPA+ | Carrier Aggregation CDMA 2000 1x / EVDO Rev.A – SRL FDD / TDD LTE HSPA+ |
| Specifications | 4G LTE Cat 12 – DL Cat 13 – UL – FDD/TDD 4×4 MIMO 3CA 256QAM HPUE IMS – VoLTE, ViLTE, WFC eMBMS Dual 4G VoLTE (DSDS) Band 71 TAS 2.0 | 2×2 UL CA TAS 2.0 HPUE IMS (VoLTE / ViLTE / WoWi-Fi) eMBMS Dual 4G VoLTE (DSDS) BAND 71 |
| LTE Category | Cat-12 DL Cat-13 UL | CAT-7 DL CAT-13 UL |
| General Connectivity | Bluetooth FM Radio GNSS Wi-Fi | Bluetooth FM Radio GNSS Wi-Fi |
| GNSS | Beidou Galileo Glonass GPS | Beidou Galileo Glonass GPS |
| Wi-Fi | a/b/g/n/ac | a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth Version | 5.0 | 4.2 (Lower Energy Consumption) |
Camera :
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| Max ISP | Single: 42 MP Dual: 24 + 16 MP | Single: 32 MP Dual: 24 + 16 MP |
| Max Video Resolution | 3840 x 2160 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Max FPS | 30 fps on 48 MP with ZSD 120 fps on 16 MP | 30 fps on 32 MP with ZSD 90 fps on 16 MP |
| Features | AI NR FacelQ 30 fps Advanced depth engine HW EIS Anti-blooming engine MEMA 3DNR MFNR Real-Time HDR Zigzag HDR RAW Domain Multiframe HDR PDAF | Facial / Scene Detection (AI) Hardware Warping Engine Anti Blooming Engine MEMA 3DNR Multi Frame Noise Reduction Real-Time HDR Recording + Viewing Zigzag HDR RAW domain multi-frame HDR PDAF |
Graphics:
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| GPU Type | IMG PowerVR GM 9446 | ARM Mali G73 MP3 |
| Max Frequency | 970 MHz | 900 MHz |
| Max Resolution | 2520 x 1080 | 2160 x 1080 |
| Video Encoding | H.264 | H.264 |
| Video Playback | H.264, H.265 / HEVC | H.264, H.265 / HEVC |
Other:
| Specification | MediaTek Helio P90 | MediaTek Helio P70 |
| AI Accelerator | Yes | Yes |
| AI Performance | 1127 GMAC/s Max | 280 GMAC/s Max |
| MediaTek Technologies | Not Specified | CorePilot Imagic NeuroPilot Pump Express Pump Express Wireless Response Time Enhancement Technology |
As the comparison implies, minor differences are seen in graphics and networking. However, camera performance and AI performance of both platforms highly differ from each other. Also, the CPU cluster configuration is highly tweaked, so that the platform can handle these upgrades well. It would be interesting to see how these figures and technical details turn out in real-time performance tests. For now, we will wrap up the discussion here.
Conclusion:
As we discussed, the Helio P90 is going to be an excellent upgrade over P70 platform with many compelling, performance boosting features, the camera and AI performance being the most significant one. If there is any doubt on your mind, or any suggestions regarding the data, feel free to comment down below or contact us directly. Make sure to subscribe to Face of IT for regular tech updates like this. Thank You, see you until the next post!
