Arm Cortex-X925 brings a leap forward in performance and battery life.

When you open the hottest mobile games and feel the exquisite and smooth graphics, or when you press the shutter button on your phone and see a photo taken and saved instantly, have you ever wondered the reasons behind it? When I first encountered mobile phones, text-based games were the mainstream, and opening the camera mode took several seconds. At that time, there was not even the concept of "mobile phone snapshot" because the entire process from pressing the shutter to the photo being formed was long enough for Usain Bolt to run over 30 meters.

A few years ago, you might have heard many people complaining about their phones lagging or malfunctioning, but now such complaints are rare. Occasional grievances are actually just minor system bugs that can be resolved by clearing the background.

Ultimately, the key lies in the improvement of mobile phone chip performance. Rapid advancements in chip performance are largely attributed to chip architecture, and Arm's new-generation cores have laid the foundation for significant performance boosts in numerous flagship devices.

Some readers may be unfamiliar with Arm, but as the most renowned semiconductor design and software platform company in the mobile field, Arm-based phones from brands like Samsung, Apple, and vivo are undoubtedly familiar to everyone. It can be said that modern mobile phone chips are built upon the Arm architecture, albeit with Arm operating more like a mysterious boss behind the scenes, rarely seen by the public.

Arm's Cortex-X4 core has already fueled unprecedented performance growth in many smartphone chips, and this is just the beginning. In June this year, Arm unveiled the Arm Cortex-X925 CPU, a new-generation core based on the Armv9.2 architecture, calling it one of the best CPUs Arm has ever produced.

Greater performance, longer battery life

Many media outlets have reported on this, claiming that "Cortex-X925 has improved performance by xx%, which is fantastic," but they fail to elaborate on the significance of this improvement and its tangible benefits for consumers. Today, I'd like to discuss what Cortex-X925 truly brings to the table.

When discussing mobile phone chips, we often evaluate them based on parameters like core count and clock speed. However, Cortex-X925 is not a complete chip; as a CPU, it represents just one core. Imagine a car composed of various parts like the body, engine, wheels, and chassis. Cortex-X925 is akin to the engine, its performance determining the overall car's performance.

According to Arm's official data, in the Geekbench 6.2 benchmark test, Cortex-X925 demonstrated a 15% improvement in IPC performance over Cortex-X4. While this number may not seem significant, a 15% boost in IPC is remarkable in the CPU realm. Previous generations saw IPC improvements of around 10%, making Cortex-X925's 15% gain a record-breaking achievement, representing a 1.5x increase and promising superior user experiences on devices equipped with Arm Cortex-X925. It also effectively mitigates overheating issues under high frequencies.

What is IPC, and why is it so challenging to improve? In technical terms, IPC stands for Instructions Per Clock cycle, referring to the number of instructions a CPU can execute in each clock cycle. Imagine the CPU as a factory filled with automated robots. When production tasks are assigned, the robots assemble products based on instructions.

Let's say a product requires 1000 parts assembled by 5 robots (computational units), each capable of assembling 10 parts per second. The IPC in this scenario is 5 robots taking 20 seconds to complete the product. With a 15% IPC boost, each robot can now assemble 11.5 parts per second, reducing the assembly time to 17.3 seconds.

Scaling up the "factory" to produce millions, billions, or even trillions of products amplifies the value of even a 1% IPC improvement. Modern chip processing performance has long surpassed the trillion threshold. IPC enhancements not only boost processing power but also allow processors to complete tasks with fewer computational units in the same timeframe, potentially increasing CPU efficiency by 15% under constant conditions.

IPC improvements are just the start. As the foundation of the entire chip system, IPC provides a broader "base" rather than a standalone "building." There's ample room for significant performance gains built upon IPC advancements.

When designing Cortex-X925, Arm engineers upgraded various modules, such as increasing the L2 cache from 2MB to 3MB, a 50% capacity boost that significantly enhances CPU performance in prefetching data and executing complex instructions. Additionally, for popular AI applications, Cortex-X925's vector pipeline offers a 50% increase in Integer8 computing performance, notably enhancing AI response speeds.

However, Cortex-X925's advancements don't stop there. Leveraging the latest 3nm process technology and a new-generation CPU architecture, Cortex-X925 delivers higher clock speeds and superior energy efficiency. Comprehensive performance enhancements and energy efficiency optimizations enable Cortex-X925 to achieve an average 30% boost in performance and energy efficiency across various mobile applications in real-world tests.

As just one CPU core within a chip, Cortex-X925's 30% boost acts as a catalyst for "explosive performance growth" in chip designs. When a chip product revolves around Cortex-X925, its performance, speed, and operational efficiency correspondingly increase by 30%.

Authentic Consumer Experience

In daily mobile phone usage, whether running apps like Douyin, Xiaohongshu, or Weibo that don't tax chip performance, battery life improves significantly. Even heavy users can enjoy a full day's usage on a single charge. When intense performance is needed for games like Honkai: Star Rail, the chip unleashes its full potential for a superior gaming experience.

Overall, Cortex-X925 significantly enhances smartphone performance and energy efficiency, upgrading the user experience in the following ways:

1. Faster AI application response: AI chatbots reply more accurately and promptly.

2. Superior 3A game quality: Smoother, more immersive gameplay with higher graphics quality.

3. Quicker app operation: Faster app launches for a smoother user experience.

4. Seamless multitasking: Simultaneous music listening, web browsing, and chatting without lag.

5. Smoother video streaming: Reduced buffering for a seamless viewing experience.

6. Faster webpage loading: Improved responsiveness when scrolling and switching pages.

7. Sustained high performance: Enhanced energy efficiency prolongs smartphone battery life, ensuring stable and lasting power supply.

The significant impact of IPC performance on overall chip performance underscores its importance. IPC is also a crucial metric for evaluating a CPU's design excellence and architectural leadership. With Cortex-X925, Arm once again demonstrates its innovative prowess in shaping the future of mobile experiences.

Empowering Creative Freedom

The enhancement of mobile phone camera performance is evident. As a core upgrade in flagship phones, photography has become a daily pastime for many users. Have you noticed that camera apps now integrate various functions, including editing capabilities?

Just a few years ago, manipulating videos and images in various formats on mobile phones was challenging, with iPhone leading the way in this field. With the rise of short video and multimedia sharing platforms like Xiaohongshu, more manufacturers have recognized this market and introduced relevant apps.

However, for truly seamless multimedia editing on mobile phones, optimization goes beyond just the apps; it necessitates core processing enhancements. After several generations of multimedia performance optimizations, Arm's Cortex-X925 has once again evolved.

The Armv9 architecture underlying Cortex-X925 boasts a unique feature—SVE2 (Scalable Vector Extension 2), which is versatile, spanning video playback optimization, image data transmission, and multimedia editing enhancements, covering mainstream image-related scenarios.

So, what is SVE2? Simply put, SVE2 is not a single function but an extension technology that directly enhances and expands the chip's parallel processing capabilities across multiple domains.

SVE2 significantly improves video playback and capture functions by accelerating video decoding, enhancing camera sensor data processing, and bolstering computer vision pipelines. In practice, SVE2-equipped phones effortlessly decode high-resolution HDR videos, conserve battery life, and deliver clearer, brighter video calls.

Crucially, SVE2 Halide is widely used in smartphone imaging software. Arm's SVE2 Halide backend reprocesses image data, leveraging complex computer vision algorithms to accelerate backend processing, improving photo sharpness, color, tone, and depth of field in real-time. Users can capture better photos without manually adjusting camera settings, elevating smartphone photography to professional-grade levels.

As smartphones continue to evolve in imaging hardware, Cortex-X925's features offer immense benefits, enhancing experiences for both video enthusiasts and photographers alike.

Benchmark for Mobile CPUs

The pursuit of performance knows no bounds. Cortex-X925 was born out of this relentless quest, standing as one of Arm's most powerful CPUs ever, setting the benchmark for mobile CPU performance. While this may seem grandiose, Arm, as the dominant force in the mobile space, confidently backs this claim, considering over 90% of mobile devices utilize Arm-based chips.

With Cortex-X925, smartphone performance experiences a quantum leap. Users will notice significant improvements across gaming, photography, and everyday multitasking. From IPC enhancements to SVE2's parallel processing optimizations, Cortex-X925 not only boosts overall device efficiency but also extends battery life, mitigating lag and overheating under heavy loads.

Powered by Cortex-X925, enjoy seamless HDR video playback, professional-grade photography, faster AI response times, superior gaming experiences, and longer battery life—everything tailored to your preferences.

Source: Leitech