Core Values: The silicon behind Android
By Anand Shimpi 
posted Oct 14th 2009 3:30PM
posted Oct 14th 2009 3:30PM
Core Values is our new monthly column from Anand Shimpi, Editor-in-chief of AnandTech. With over a decade of experience poring over the latest in chip developments, he's here to explain how things work and why our tech is the way it is.
I've got nothing against Qualcomm, but a big reason most Android phones feel slow is because they're running on slow hardware. The ARM11 core was first announced in 2003. It's old and creaky, and it's used so frequently because it's cheap. But the basic rules of chip design mean that things are about to change fast.
The present Qualcommfest is partly due to Android's maturity on the Qualcomm platform. Remember that the chips used in these smartphones are SoCs (system-on-a-chip), meaning that the CPU, GPU, I/O and a bunch of other functions are all integrated onto a single piece of silicon -- so driver support is crucial. Until recently, running Android on other SoCs required a bit of legwork, but Android 1.6 adds in native support for non-Qualcomm processors. The Samsung Moment on Sprint uses an undetermined Samsung SoC, while the Motorola Sholes is expected to use a TI OMAP SoC.
Our industry would be doomed if it weren't for a third rule, though: transistors get smaller every 12 - 24 months.
Rule three doesn't happen magically -- it takes a lot of very smart people and a great deal of work. But it does happen, almost like clockwork, and ultimately it's the basis for Moore's Law.
Want to build faster chips? Gotta make 'em bigger. Want to build faster chips without increasing cost? Wait two years and then you can use smaller transistors to build faster chips at the same cost (size) as before. That's really all there is to it. So -- how does this relate to Android?
The 528MHz figure refers to the clock speed of the general purpose CPU core in these phones. There's much more to the Qualcomm SoC, but that's beyond the scope of this article, and it's really that 528Mhz ARM11 core that makes launching applications or interacting with your phone slow.
I present you with two boxes:
(Oh, and just for kicks let's throw a Core i7 into the mix just to give you all an idea of scale here:)
Like any other microprocessor company, ARM has to keep innovating, but since it doesn't make the chips, it takes a while for the design to go from ARM to incorporation in some manufacturer's SoC design, then to production, and then finally to actually being used in a smartphone. To make a long story short, while Cortex A8 debuted in 2005, it wasn't until 2009 that Apple used it in the iPhone 3GS and Palm used it in the Pre. The original iPhone and the 3G both used an ARM11 based SoC -- the same as in all these Android phones. (I've written extensively about the difference between ARM11 and Cortex A8, if you're interested.)
Apple and Palm had more motivation to go the performance route with their handsets. They were sold at a premium and performance had to be as high as possible to enable the sort of usage models Apple / Palm were targeting. But the Cortex A8 is built using 65nm transistors, which makes it roughly twice the size (and thus twice the cost to manufacture) of an ARM11 core. That means expensive phones get to use it, while cheaper phones don't.
Move to 45nm transistors and now the Cortex A8 ends up being around the same (manufacturing) cost as a 65nm ARM11. Of course, ARM is also expecting manufacturers to make 45nm ARM11 cores, which will be even cheaper and thus enable even lower cost handsets (or higher profit margins), so we won't totally escape ARM11 anytime soon.
In either case, we find ourselves in a sea of 528MHz ARM11-based Android phones because Android is still in its infancy and keeping costs low forces us into the open arms (pun) of a slower microprocessor.
If the rumors hold up, we'll see support for TI's OMAP SoCs in this next generation of Android phones. Samsung is also going to be making an appearance, obviously -- it'll be interesting to see if the Moment has a Cortex A8-based chip or just uses the higher-clocked ARM11 SoC that Samsung already produces. We're also seeing Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips arrive in Android phones, like Acer's Liquid and the rumored HTC Dragon. At the same time we'll see Cortex A8 SoCs moving to 45nm over the next 12 months and getting cheaper. The combination yields faster Android phones in 2010. It's about time.
Anand Shimpi is CEO and Editor-in-chief of AnandTech. Contact him at anand AT anandtech DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
I think 2010 is the year of Android. For it to shine with 1.6 Donut and 1.7 Pancake ( and the rumored 1.8 Empanada that is going to intro Language Kits)
Crap! They are going to run through every damn pastry out there!
I thought releases were in alphabetic order... Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, etc... Where are you getting this Pancake from?
It was a good Android Develop joke :P I heart that Green Robot
Just like 2009 was going to be the year of Android, and 2008 was going to be the summer of Android? :D
(For the record, I'm not anti-Android in general, but it needs quite a bit of work still, in my opinion, and a nice UI like SenseUI that's integrated into the OS for all to use would be a great start. It does finally seem to be maturing some though.)
But it is different now. We have more than the G1 now :D Just as the chart shows, and the upcoming ones. Plus, Android is more than phones. There is the Acer netbook running it. Archos devices.
@Joe H
Must be a Linux thing. :P
Now imagine Android on a Tegra based device :-D
@ Joe H
You must be talking about the PS3
@Mr.T
ENOUGH with the Tegra HYPE! It uses two ARM11 cores @600mhz, and the graphics are not much better than the latest PowerVR SGX series. Hardly revolutionary.
@loosely_coupled
I agree entirely. CPU is way more important on a smartphone, since it's 99% of what you generally use the phone for, and that's where Tegra just plain fails.
Tegra helps for video and gaming, sure, but I'd rather have worse games and faster webpage rendering like with Snapdragon or the Cortex A8 instead of having an Nvidia video chip in a smartphone.
@Joe H
It's cool that manufacturers can customize Android all they like, but I think the default Android UI is pretty fantastic as-is, and it really isn't in need of being replaced. It has the best notification system in the business, it's totally extensible through third party widgets, and completely customizable by the user to put shortcuts anywhere they want. I guess it's not nearly as flashy looking as Sense, but it isn't bad looking by any means and it's extremely functional in all the right ways.
@chefgon_ign
Well, I'd personally say Android has the second best notification system now, I'd put the Pre's notifications just a tiny bit ahead of it. While the default Android interface is okay, it's got a severe lack of polish like everything Google does. It's like it goes most of the way to the finish line and then just stops, in my opinion.
As for widgets, they're a personal preference, but I can't stand them. They make the interface look cluttered and you have to remember what page everything is on.
That was a good read. I'm glad Anand is contributing to engadget. In my opinion, he is the most insightful and interesting technology commentator out there.
I ditto that!
Anandtech is often the first place I go to read up on the latest PC hardware (otherwise it's Tweaktown or HardOCP) ... it's really cool that Anand contributed to engadget, hopefully this continues.
Agreed on both counts.
But I'm confused by Anand at the same time... does this mean the HTC Hero I so desperately want will suck in a matter of, oh, 4 months?
good thing because im a huge poster over there (8000+ posts)...seriously, his site is the best, especially the forums.
It would have been nice if he mentioned, the G1 is also underclocked. It doesn't run at the processors full capability of 528mhz. Google devs have casually mentioned that in testing that due to bus limitations, there is no significant performance benefit between the underclocked speed they set (was it 384mhz?) and the full 528mhz. Also, underclocking the processor provides greater battery life. If this is true for other Android devices than the G1, I don't know. But it does help explain why the G1 seems sluggish, and newer devices using the same processor appear to have better performance.
It's also annoying the G1/Dream was still advertised as a 528mhz device, without actually being clocked at 528mhz for full performance, even if the benefit gained was meager.
Yup.. when I used to play a lot of PC games come upgrade time or new wave of video cards Anandtech was always the spot.
Slow, I just played with the Hero and Mytouch when I was out shopping today. They aren`t slow. They aren`t bad at all. The (Sprint) Hero had 5 pages full of widgets running and it responded well. It wasn`t boom as soon as you hit it it pops up instantly maybe a 1.5 second delay to launch an app, no big deal. A 528mhz cpu is still pretty good, as long as the software isn`t a bloated mess. It`s not blazingly fast, but it certainly not dog slow, if the software is good. I have a Touch Pro using a 528 mhz qualcom chip. I have run a miriad of custom roms on it, optimized software is the key. Some roms were dog slow and others are super fast, while at the same time increasing in features.
The ARM 11 is last gen I`ll admit it. And since I cant wait for the HD2, and want Android I am going with the Hero, I tried it out today and the speed was fine. And I know that it wasn`t running alot of background processes, but I won`t either.
Not to try to be an Apple hater, but now that the 3gs has come out with a faster chip, these, for the most part, Apple loving blogs are dogging the Qualcomn 7 series as unbearably slow when it is not the case at all. The 3g was in the same level as they are, but no one every thought it was slow. Why all the basing now, because a new generation is just starting to arrive now within the last 6 months
Just read up on his ARM Cortex A8 / ARM11 comparison article.. insightful and engaging.
Definitely need to read up on his stuff more.
awesome! I love anandtech, great addition to Engadget!
Dammit, sense!
Out of those 5, I'd pick the Hero. It's looks to be the one I would want if I had to choose.
Why not the galaxy? (too bad a price isn't listed) you have the all-you-need-for-a-long-while 8GB storage.
Sense.
I agree, the Hero makes SENCE.
Why would you not include the Sholes in that list?
Also, why would you not include memory in the comparison?
Sigh, if only I ran a tech blog. I would do things right.
Because it's not even officially announced and we actually know next to nothing about it?
Then why don't you make a nob.noob.odyTech and prove that you're better than the professionals who have been doing this for years?
Mark, you must have your head up your ass if you don't know the specs by now.
Engadget doesn't do shit. They aggregate news and go to conferences. Looking up specs for devices and putting them in a chart and releasing it as a PNG is trivial shit. I could do, but I'm lazy as sin. Adding memory to that table is obvious and anyone with a brain would think to include it in a comparison of phones.
You don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you just go back to ruining threads over on Hofo?
Although interesting, did anyone else find that article very unstructured?
It's a column, rather than a news report, so less structure can be expected.
Great article. Give a really good explanation of the economics and timescales involved.
Wow. You guys suck at learning release dates and availability... It's on rogers too, and easily unlocked from what i've heard. Should probably include that you can get it for AT+T if you go talk to someone from Canada.
Seriously, We are physically bigger than you. Time to stop ignoring canadas existence on your site ;)
If they didn't teach us about you canadians in our fine public learning institutions, then you don't officially exist. All we know here South of the border is your square car wheels and fully detached upper heads.
Interesting read, but I'd call the Sprint Hero anything but sluggish. Even as a stock rom, the thing runs incredibly. HTC optimized Sense extremely well.
im sure it is optimized we have already seen them running xda roms on the dragon htc phone what makes you think they aren't poaching code from xda if a hero rom was optimized to run on a g1 how do u think it would run on an actual hero it would be fast as hell right(but its open source so its kinda ok mabye)
Well, by the looks and features on the spec sheet, I would choose Samsung Galaxy over other ones ;)... But again Idk anything about the real usage...
Yo Seriously the I-Phone Fanboy comments are getting old.....just let us be with our phones that do more than one task at an time....kay... e
I like the name of the series. Core Values... very punny!
now if anand would only take the same dedication and apply it to his forum community...
All the same applies to Windows Phones as well.
True!
I think the bottom line with WinMo and Android is that the UI is easier to customize on one vs the other. (Android)
And as of now, Android is more finger licking friendly, but that is supposed to change with WinMo 7 ** crosses fingers it does ***
Surely there is a market for a higher end Android phone? If Apple (and much, much smaller Palm) can afford the A8 at 65 nm and Android 1.6 works on other chips, then, handset makers, please don't abandon Android to the low end.
So the original iPhone used the same processor as all these phones. Nobody complained about them being slow. Perhaps it has more to do with Dalvik being particularly slow:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2009/01/dalvik-vs-mono.html
Yes, but that was two plus years ago - eons in handset time. People compare current phones with current OS's.