OK, so by now we all know that S4 Krait processors compare to the ARM Cortex A-15 architecture and its dual core stands up to the current Tegra T3 quad core.

And that it's built using a 28 nm manufacturing process for higher power savings.

But questions remain about the GPU - what to expect? do benchmarks tell the story? - and that big screen - power hog or power princess?

I found these answers so interesting that I thought we might enjoy a thread just for new technologies -

http://www.qualcomm.com/media/blog/2012/02/23/qualcomm-introduces-brite-and-gridview-snapdragon




Translation - better picture, less power.

 

Block diagram of the Qualcomm S4 -



Note that world modem. The HTC Rezound, S3 on Verizon CDMA + LTE, needed a separate MDM9600 LTE modem chip.

The S4 has that built in, again, saving power.

Full technical details on the modem can be found here -

Sprint 800 MHz LTE Set For Launch In 2014 - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates - Page 6

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Next, take a gander at the block below the GPU - audio and video acceleration, and a multimedia processor below that.

Translation - for media, the GPU isn't involved like on earlier technologies, there's a dedicated core for that.

That is exactly the approach used in the TI OMAP processor that makes the Galaxy Nexus media performance so popular.

So when it comes to discussing hw graphics acceleration, there's far more to the story and the glory than the GPU.

 

Must be implementation specific. I looked in the One X forum for people using the Tegra 3. Some reported some flickering, but it seemed app-specific (I saw it centered on the camera app, with different descriptions of the flickering problem, and others not seeing it at all on that), plus those may have been solved by this week's update.

But as for video, one of my friends has the One X (T3) and said this -

Updates for the Tegra One X, emphasis mine:

I think we'll have to wait for feedback from the One S or ATT One X (S4) users to get an impression if the Transformer Prime (Tegra) issue you describe applies to the S4.

In any case, I've not seen those complaints yet for the Tegra One X.

 

NVIDIA's Tegra 3: A Compelling Low-Power-Consumption Embedded Vision Story | www.embedded-vision.com

Yep, Image Sense is a separate chip and software.

The Tegra 3, like the S4 and TI OMAP 4, uses cores separate from GPU to handle video multimedia.

 

The Image Sense chip makes raw video and stills, something that real digital cameras do, and then it post-processes the raw data into compressed formats after that. That is why it runs so fast and a big part of the reason that the end quality is high.

We can't access the raw image stores at all, but if someone comes up with a hack to allow it, phones with Image Sense will rule the phone camera market, hands down, I should think.

 

By the way, a few years ago the block diagrams available to the public from some suppliers were far more rewarding.

 

The Tegra diagram is less informative that way, I agree. The only way to get a handle on the T3 is to use the link above, download the two linked white papers by nVidia, realize that more than a bit of them are marketing statements, not white paper material, edit them down, look for actual design documents...

You see where I didn't go.

For the GNex pre-release, I went through 1300 pages of OMAP design documentation to get my own curiosity satisfied on how that processor managed its clocks.

Harder to do as they are about marketing here and very secretive.

I think that the S4 and T3 are both quite good. I prefer the S4 because it reduces parts count with the built in modem block, and because I know that HTC has excellent experience providing kernel software that works with Qualcomm S3 dual cores.

Plus - I like the asynchronous clocking of S4, ARM Cortex chips lack that.

 

Holy smokes. Anandtech checked out the ATT HTC One X powered by the S4 - this is the power and graphics thread, let's see what they found at AnandTech - The HTC One X for AT&T Review

Engadget today claimed 5 minutes under 10 hours for continous video.

And the LTEvo battery has an 11% higher mAh rating.

Color me rather impressed.

 

If all things are equal in ours, yes, equivalent to 3000 to 3300 mAh on another - except for call time - the Maxx is just killing it there.

 

Well, I think we need to remember a few things about GPS/GLONASS - it's processor intensive and needs a radio transceiver, just like anything else.

The GPS firmware is baked in to the S4, so it has an advantage there. That leaves the radio itself - if the chip for that surpasses earlier offerings with a similar process manufacturing reduction, then the LTEvo is going to come out ahead.

Only a test will tell, but I think I'll keep an open mind on the ongoing need for GPS to be a power hog.

BTW - what constitutes a fair GPS test? I think that driving around isn't the answer. The math gets done no matter what, and we can't standardize to that. I think we need to see a few measures. One, a stationary unit with full sky view on a clear day, running GPS Status until dead. Two, a test rig that oscillates sky view with full obstruction so that we can see the power drain effects of tower assist and signal re-acquisition.

That would tend to show ideal and lower-end nominal use cases and would be fair, imo.

When I get my hands on an LTEvo, I can easily do the 1st test here in the desert using my Evo and 3vo as comparisons. I'll have to think of a way to automate the second test.

~~~~~~~~

As for equivalent to a 3000~3300 mAh battery - I think that if we were to think in terms of earlier silicon tech, then the word "analogous" might be appropriate - or equivalent if thought of in context.

Getting heads around power demand vs supply isn't always the easiest thing for everyone to get into.

So, within context of this conversation, I'll stand by my answer.

Agreed though - an actual 3300 mAh battery in this phone... well, if wishes were horses, right?

 

Note - I saw a pretty good comment by NeoteriX at the Anandtech review, that we can't always count on CDMA efficiency to match GSM. That's absolutely true and I forgot about that.

Also, on the radio technology used in the HTC Rezound, when using LTE the CDMA radio is also always on.

So, we still have stuff to verify for the LTEvo, but I don't think that I'm going to withdraw my excitement just yet.