MediaTek MT8161 vs HiSilicon Kirin 659 vs JLQ JR510

MediaTek MT8161

The MediaTek MT8161 is an ARM based entry-level to mid-range SoC for (Android based) tablets. It offers four ARM Cortex-A53 processor cores (quad-core) that are clocked with up to 1.3 GHz. Furthermore, an ARM Mali-720 graphics card, a LPDDR3 memory controller (e.g., accessing 1 GB in the Lenovo Tab 2 A8-50), Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n are integrated in the SoC.

The performance is situated in the entry level of 2015 and often similar to the Kirin 910T (see benchmark below).

HiSilicon Kirin 659

The HiSilicon Kirin 659 is an ARM-based octa-core SoC for mid-range smartphones and tablets. It was announced mid 2017 and features eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores. Four cores can be clocked with up to 1.7 GHz (power saving cores) and four with up to 2.36 GHz (performance cores). The difference to the older Kirin 650 and Kirin 655 SoCs is the higher clock speed of the performance cores (2.35 versus 2.1 and 2.0 GHz). The slightly older Kirin 658 is very similar. The 659 is in our benchmarks around 4% faster than the 658 and offers a better LTE radio (Cat. 13).

Furthermore, a ARM Mali-T830 MP2 graphics card (at >=900 MHz), a 64-Bit LPDDR3 memory controller and a dual-sim capable LTE Cat. 6 (max. 300 MBit/s and GSM, WCDMA, UMTS, HSPA+) radio are integrated in the SoC. The processor performance can be compared with the older Kirin 930 and therefore sufficient for daily usage as browsing and non demanding apps. High-end SoCs with Cortex-A57 or A72 cores however should be noticeably faster. The SoC is produced in a modern 16nm FinFET process and is therefore very power efficient.

JLQ JR510

The JLQ JR510 is a lower mainstream SoC for (Android-based) smartphones and tablets by JLQ, a joint venture with Qualcomm and several Chinese companies.

The JLQ JR510 integrates eight ARM Cortex-A55 cores (similar to the Snapdragon 439) in two Clusters. 4 higher-clocked cores with up to 2 GHz and four power saving cores with up to 1.5 GHz.

The integrated graphics card is not an Adreno, but a ARM Mali G52MP1 (single cluster). Displays can be with resolutions up to 1080p/60Hz, for 720p 90 Hz is possible.

The JR510 also includes an AI accelerator with a theoretical performance of up to 1.23 TOPS. For connectivity, the SoC supports 4G (Cat4 / 7), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, FM and GNSS.