MediaTek Helio G70 Vs Helio G80 Vs Helio G90 In-depth SoCs ...

In the Q3 of 2019, MediaTek released its gaming series ‘G’ SoC with Helio G90 and Helio G90T. In Q1 2020, two more SoCs joined the family named Helio G70 and Helio G80 to provide competition to the gaming SoC market including Snapdragon 6xx series and the Snapdragon 7xx series. For now, instead of comparing MediaTek SoCs to Qualcomm ones, we will be comparing the whole G series with each other. So, let’s begin the contest between MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90:

Also Read: Helio G90 vs G90T vs Kirin 810 vs Exynos 7904 Comparison

What's Inside

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• Specs Sheet Comparison
• When Each of the Three SoCs Were Released?
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – Process Comparison
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – CPU Comparison
  • Winner: MediaTek Helio G90
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – GPU Comparison
  • Winner: MediaTek Helio G90
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – AnTuTu Benchmark Comparison
  • Winner: MediaTek Helio G90
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – AI Comparison
  • Winner: MediaTek Helio G90
• MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – Connectivity
  • Winner: MediaTek Helio G90
• What’s the Price Difference Between the Three SoCs?
  • Winner: Tie
• Our Verdict
  • Helio G70 (0 points) | Helio G80 (0 points) | Helio G90 (5 points) | Tie (2 point)
  • Overall Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

Specs Sheet Comparison

SoC	MediaTek Helio G70	MediaTek Helio G80	MediaTek Helio G90/G90T
Process	12nm	12nm	12nm
CPU	2x ARM Cortex A75 @2.0GHz 6x ARM Cortex A55 @1.7GHz	2x ARM Cortex A75 @2.0GHz 6x ARM Cortex A55 @1.8GHz	2x ARM Cortex A76 @2.0GHz (@2.05GHz in G90T) 6x ARM Cortex A55 @2.0GHz
GPU	Mali-G52 MC2 @820MHz	Mali-G52 MC2 @950MHz	Mali-G76 3EEMC4 @720MHz (800MHz in G90T)
AI	No dedicated APU	No dedicated APU	2x MediaTek APU @750MHz
Memory	1 x LPDDR3 @933MHz, up to 4GB 2 x LPDDR4X @1800MHz, up to 8GB eMMC 5.1	1 x LPDDR3 @933MHz, up to 4GB 2 x LPDDR4X @1800MHz, up to 8GB eMMC 5.1	2 x LPDDR4 @2300MHz, up to 10GB eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1
Camera	25MP @30fps 16MP + 16MP @30 fps 48MP 4-cell @17 fps	25MP @30fps 16MP + 16MP @30 fps 48MP 4-cell @17 fps	48MP @30fps 24MP + 16MP @30 fps 64MP 4-cell @22.5 fps (only in G90T)
Display	FHD+ @60Hz	FHD+ @60Hz	FHD+ @60Hz (@90Hz in G90T)
Modem	Cat-7, 2xCA	Cat-7, 2xCA	Cat-12, 3xCA
Connectivity	1x1 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS+GLONASS+Beidou+Galileo	1x1 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS+GLONASS+Beidou+Galileo	1x1 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS+GLONASS+Beidou+Galileo
Phones	Realme X3	TBA	Redmi Note 8 Pro

When Each of the Three SoCs Were Released?

Starting numerically with the Helio G70, it was released this year on January 14 as MediaTek’s first SoC of 2020. It is called the slightly low-end version of the G90

In second place is the Helio G80, which is the latest inductee to the G-series, introduced most recently, on February 3, 2020. It is a mid-end gaming SoC as marked by MediaTek itself.

Last but not least is the Helio G90 along with G90T which was released back in 2019 on July 30th.

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – Process Comparison

Starting the comparison from the most important aspect which is the manufacturing process, all three SoCs are based on the 12nm process. Since the process is the same, the changes in the performance will solely depend on the frequency and cores of the CPU, GPU, and AI.

To be honest, using the 12nm process is completely fine in Q1 of 2020, however, Qualcomm might be ahead as it’s using 7nm, 8nm, 10nm, and 11nm process in the new entries of Snapdragon 6xx and 7xx series. However, if the goal of MediaTek is to provide better-priced gaming phones then 12nm won’t hurt anyone as long as we see a good price difference between all those gaming phones based on Qualcomm SoCs and the MediaTek SoCs. If the goal is not the price, then the 12nm process might be quite old for the year 2020.

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – CPU Comparison

Each of the three SoCs similar to the same 12nm process has the same dual-cluster design (2+6) on the octa-core architecture. The difference can be seen in the cores used and the frequencies set.

Helio G70 is the lowest among the three with two Cortex A75 high-performance cores running @2.0GHz and six Cortex A55 power-efficient cores running @1.7GHz.

Helio G80 is the slightly improved version of the G80 with a slight difference in the frequency of the Cortex A55 cores. Similar to G70, it has two Cortex A75 high-performance cores running @2.0GHz meanwhile, there are six Cortex A55 power-efficient cores however, there’s the frequency increase of 100MHz making them run @1.8GHz.

Despite its release in 2019, the Helio G90 is the most powerful of them all, with an updated Cortex A76 architecture. It has two Cortex A76 high-performance cores running @2.0GHz and six Cortex A55 power-efficient cores running at @2.0GHz.

Also Read: MediaTek Helio G90 vs Helio G90T In-Depth Comparison

Thanks to the updated and much powerful Cortex A76 and increased lower cores frequency, Helio G90 is the winner here. There will be a negligible CPU performance difference (less than 10%)  between the G70 and G80, but the difference between these two SoCs and G90 is quite large. Just to give you the idea, the Cortex A76 core 25% and 35% increases in integer and floating-point performance, and the memory bandwidth increased 90% relative to the A75.

Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – GPU Comparison

The Helio G70 and Helio G80 use the same GPU which is ARM’s Mali-G52 MC2. The CPU performance between both SoCs might be small, but that’s not the case with the GPU section and that’s because of the large frequency difference. Helio G70 GPU has a frequency of 830MHz, meanwhile, the new G80 has a frequency of 950MHz, that’s around 130MHz increase. So, if you are concerned with the gaming, you might select G80 over G70. However, if not, then both SoCs are fine and the selection will be done looking at the price-over-performance aspect of the phone.

At last, the Helio G90 uses a much powerful high-end GPU which is the 10 cores Mali-G76 3EEMC4 running at @720MHz. It’s the same GPU used in Huawei Kirin 980 SoC. In comparison with its previous iteration, the Mali-G72 MP3 offers twice the performance per cluster and according to ARM, it offers improvements in the machine learning efficiency and a bigger tile buffer for 16x anti-aliasing.

All three of them have HyperEngine Game Technology incorporated.

Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – AnTuTu Benchmark Comparison

Currently, the Helio G70 and G80 smartphones haven’t arrived yet and so are the official AnTuTu scoring. But we do have the Helio G90 AnTuTu scores (around 230,000 points) and the G90T on Redmi Note 8 Pro (around 280,000 points).

So based on that, Helio G80 will have an AnTuTu score of around 200,000 points and Helio G70 around 190,000 points.

Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – AI Comparison

Targeted as low and mid-end gaming SoCs, Helio G70 and Helio G80 don’t have an APU hence no AI capabilities are found in these two SoCs. However, they do have MTK’s NeuroPilot support and AI camera.

However, Helio G90 is quite known for its dual MediaTek APU running @750MHz which outperforms that of Snapdragon 710. So, it does have an AI camera and features such as Intelligent resource management.

Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 – Connectivity

First talking about the 4G networking, G70 and G80 run on the same modem which Cat-7, 2xCA. However, Helio G90 has a much better modem which is Cat-12, 3xCA offering better upload and download speeds and incredible signal strength (4×4 MIMO). It’s Gigabit-class connectivity.

All three have WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, and four positioned GPS+GLONASS+Beidou+Galileo. Dual WiFi antennas are also supported.

Other features common are CorePilot,  NeuroPilot,  Pump Express,  Tiny Sensor Hub, Integrated VoW,  and HyperEngine Game Technology.

Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

What’s the Price Difference Between the Three SoCs?

All three SoCs have been targeted for budget-friendly gaming smartphones. However, we do see three more categories in that. First are the under $150 gaming phones which feature the Helio G70 and the upcoming Realme C3. Then comes the under $200 phones featuring G80. Last but not least, are under $250 phones which include Redmi Note 8 Pro featuring Helio G90 and G90T.

Also Read: Snapdragon 765 vs MediaTek Helio G90T – Is There a Difference At All?

To be honest, there shouldn’t be a large price difference between Helio G70 and G80. However, if there is, then the preferred choice would be Helio G70 based on a price-over-performance ratio. Selecting a winner in the price section between these three SoCs is quite difficult since only Redmi Note 8 Pro is the phone with G90T and there’s no phone featuring G70 and G80 at the moment. Moreover, given the fact that the price mostly depends on the manufacturer such as the price of a Realme phone is slightly lower than the one by Redmi phone featuring the same SoC.

Winner: Tie

Our Verdict

Though MediaTek Helio G90 might be the most powerful SoC in the three SoCs and the winner here, however, one can’t deny the price difference these SoCs bring. Thanks to these SoCs and MediaTek, mobile gaming will reach the rumored under $150 price tag starting with Realme C3 (Helio G70). So, each SoC here is a winner.

Thanks to MediaTek, we might see the under $150 gaming smartphones, bringing mobile gaming at entry-level and of course at the best price.

However, we do see the 12nm process as the disadvantage here in 2020.

Helio G70 (0 points) | Helio G80 (0 points) | Helio G90 (5 points) | Tie (2 point)

Overall Winner: MediaTek Helio G90

We hoped you loved our MediaTek Helio G70 vs Helio G80 vs Helio G90 SoCs comparison. Want to know anything about these SoCs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, don’t forget to rate the comparison down below.

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