Every phone has an SoC. At the center of these SoCs are CPU cores. Today we are going to be tackling the question, what are Qualcomm’s Kryo CPU cores?
Generally speaking, there are two types of CPU cores based on how they are built. These are IP CPU cores and Custom CPU cores. IP cores are made from ARM designs while Custom cores are modified ARM designs or non-ARM designs.
Qualcomm is a company that makes SoCs (Snapdragon) for smartphones. If you make SoCs, you’re going to need CPUs. Qualcomm customizes ARM’s designs to make their CPU cores. These CPU cores are called Kryo Prime, Kryo Gold, and Kryo Silver.
Qualcomm’s Kryo CPU cores
Qualcomm makes (or customizes) its cores because of a need to make its CPUs run better and to be more optimized for tasks. This has been their strategy for a while now and it has been working.
Qualcomm’s Kryo CPU cores are arranged in a three-tiered system.
Silver: Kryo silver cores are power-efficient cores. What this means is that these cores aren’t very powerful, but they can run basic tasks, stay cool and conserve battery.
Gold: The Gold cores are known as performance (big) cores. These cores have a lot of power and can handle heavy tasks depending on their architecture. The downside here is that powerful cores tend to heat up and drain the battery pretty quickly.
Prime: The Kryo Prime cores are a new addition to the Kryo setup. This is a result of Qualcomm adopting DynamIQ for its Snapdragon 800 series flagship SoCs. They offer a huge power boost to the SoCs but also suffer from heating and battery drainages as byproducts of their power.
Qualcomm’s Kryo CPU cores
| Core | Based on | SoC used | Process | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kryo 240 Gold (1.8GHz) Kryo 240 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A73 Cortex A53 | SD460 | Samsung 14nm | 2020 |
| Kryo 250 Gold (1.8GHz) Kryo 250 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A73 Cortex A53 | SD632 | Samsung 14nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 260 Gold 2.0-2.2GHz Kryo 260 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A73 Cortex A53 | SD665, SD662, SD660, SD636 | Samsung 11-14nm | 2017 |
| Kryo 265 Gold 2.4-2.8GHz Kryo 265 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A73 Cortex A53 | SD680, SD685 | TSMC 6nm | 2021 |
| Kryo 280 Gold (2.45GHz) Kryo 280 Silver (1.9GHz) | Custom Big Core Custom Little Core | SD835 | Samsung 10nm | 2016 |
| Kryo 360 Gold (2.0-2.3GHz) Kryo 360 Silver (1.7GHz) | Cortex A75 Cortex A55 | SD712, SD710, SD670 | Samsung 10nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 385 Gold (2.9GHz) Kryo 385 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A75 Cortex A55 | SD845 | Samsung 10nm | 2017 |
| Kryo 460 Gold 2.2GHz Kryo 460 Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD675, SD678, SD480, SD480+ | Samsung 8-11nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 465 Gold 2.3GHz Kryo 465 Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD720G | Samsung 8nm | 2020 |
| Kryo 468 Gold (2.4GHz) Kryo 468 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD7c | Samsung 10nm | 2019 |
| Kryo 470 Gold (2.2-2.3GHz) Kryo 470 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD732G, SD730G, SD730 | Samsung 8nm | 2019 |
| Kryo 475 Gold (2.3-2.8GHz) Kryo 475 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD768, SD765, SD765G | Samsung 7nm | 2019 |
| Kryo 485 Gold (2.84-2.96GHz) Kryo 485 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD855, SD855+ | TSMC 7nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 490 Gold (2.45GHz) Kryo 490 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD8c | TSMC 7nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 495 Gold (2.84GHz-3GHz) Kryo 495 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A76 Cortex A55 | SD8cx, SDSQ1 | TSMC 7nm | 2018 |
| Kryo 560 Gold (2.0GHz) Kryo 560 Silver (1.7GHz) | Cortex A77 Cortex A55 | SD690 | Samsung 8nm | 2020 |
| Kryo 570 Gold (2.2GHz) Kryo 570 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A77 Cortex A55 | SD750G | Samsung 8nm | 2020 |
| Kryo 585 Prime (3.2GHz) Kryo 585 Gold (2.0-2.4GHz) Kryo 585 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex A77 Cortex A77 Cortex A55 | SD865, SD865+, SD870 | TSMC 7nm | 2019 |
| Kryo 660 Gold (2.2GHz) Kryo 660 Silver (1.7GHz) | Cortex A78 Cortex A55 | SD695 | TSMC 6nm | 2021 |
| Kryo 670 Prime (2.5GHz) Kryo 670 Gold (2.2GHz) Kryo 670 Silver (1.9GHz) | Cortex A78 Cortex A78 Cortex A55 | SD778, SD778+, SD780G | TSMC 6nm Samsung 5nm | 2021 |
| Kryo 680 Prime (3.0GHz) Kryo 680 Gold (2.4GHz) Kryo 680 Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex X1 Cortex A78 Cortex A55 | SD888, SD888+ | Samsung 5nm | 2020 |
| Kryo Prime (3.0-3.2GHz) Kryo Gold 2.5-2.75GHz Kryo Silver (1.8GHz) | Cortex X2 Cortex A710 Cortex A510 | SD8 Gen 1, SD8+ Gen 1 | Samsung 4nm | 2021 |
| Kryo Gold 2.0GHz Kryo Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex A78 Cortex A55 | SD4 Gen 1 | TSMC 7nm | 2022 |
| Kryo Gold 2.2GHz Kryo Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex A78 Cortex A55 | SD6 Gen 1 | Samsung 4nm | 2022 |
| Kryo Prime 3.2-3.36GHz Kryo Gold 2.8GHz Kryo Gold 2.8GHz Kryo Silver 2.0GHz | Cortex X3 Cortex A715 Cortex A710 Cortex A510 | SD8 Gen 2, SD8 Gen 2 For Galaxy | TSMC N4 5nm | 2022 |
| Kryo Prime 2.4GHz Kryo Gold 2.36GHz Kryo Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex A710 Cortex A710 Cortex A510 | SD7 Gen 1 | Samsung 4nm | 2022 |
| Kryo Prime 2.9GHz Kryo Gold 2.49GHz Kryo Silver 1.8GHz | Cortex X2 Cortex A710 Cortex A510 | SD7+ Gen 2 | TSMC N4 5nm | 2023 |
Read: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoCs Explained
Microarchitecture
On most Snapdragon SoCs, Kryo cores are arranged in a big.LITTLE (4+4 or 2+6) configuration. So what you’ll get is 4 Kryo Gold cores + 4 Kryo Silver cores or 2 Kryo Gold cores + 6 Kryo Silver cores.
On the Flagships, the arrangement changes into a 1 Kryo Prime core + 3 Kryo Gold cores + 4 Kryo Silver cores (DynamIQ).
The new Kryo cores based on ARMv9 are the most powerful, followed by the Kryo 600 series. Next up, you have got the Kryo 500 and 400 series. The Kryo 200 cores are the least powerful of all the Kryo cores.
Design and manufacture
Qualcomm’s cores are sometimes referred to as semi-custom cores. This is because their cores are closely related to ARM’s IP designs. This makes it easy to compare their performance with those of IP cores.
Qualcomm are known as fabless SoC manufacturers because they do not do any manufacturing themselves. They usually contract the making of their SoCs to TSMC and/or Samsung. They favor TSMC a lot these days after the disaster that happened to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Benefits
The use of customized cores has been very beneficial, not just to Qualcomm but to consumers as well. Qualcomm’s Kryo cores tend to be more efficient and optimized for handling tasks, apps, and games. Snapdragon SoCs are also well supported by Qualcomm and this makes it easier for software developers to optimize software (apps and games) for them.
Read: Qualcomm Snapdragon vs Samsung Exynos
Drawbacks
Customized CPU cores do not come cheap. Not even in the slightest. The Architecture license for starters is quite expensive, and the research and development are also expensive. On top of that, Qualcomm ensures that their SoCs are well supported by developers worldwide. These all cost money.
Hence, Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs using Kryo cores are usually costly and phones using Snapdragon SoCs with Kryo cores tend to be more costly than phones using SOCs with IP cores. However, a lot of users are willing to forego the costs to enjoy the benefits that Snapdragon SoCs bring with them.
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