Samsung Exynos 1480: CPU Performance and Xclipse 530 in Real Tests

Samsung Exynos 1480 is a 4nm mid-range mobile processor used in the Galaxy A55 5G, Galaxy M56 5G, and Galaxy F56 5G. The main difference from the Exynos 1380 is the Xclipse 530 GPU based on AMD RDNA architecture instead of Mali-G68. The CPU includes four Cortex-A78 cores with a frequency of up to 2.75 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores up to 2.0 GHz.

Cortex-A78 cores already noticeably lag behind the new Cortex-A7xx cores in single-threaded tasks, but the four performance cores provide the Exynos 1480 with commendable multi-threaded results.

Exynos 1480 in Real Smartphones: Benchmark Results

The results of the three smartphones are almost identical: 730-735 thousand points in AnTuTu, around 1,150 points in single-threaded Geekbench 6, and approximately 3,500 in multi-threaded tests.

The slight variance shows that different smartphones using the Exynos 1480 operate at roughly the same level. Individual results may differ due to firmware, temperature, memory configuration, and benchmark version.

CPU: Four Cortex-A78 Cores Help in Multi-Threaded Tasks

The four Cortex-A78 cores help the Exynos 1480 achieve around 3,500 points in Geekbench 6 Multi-Core-here, the configuration with four performance cores works in its favor.

In single-threaded tests, the advantage already disappears. The Cortex-A78 cores fall behind the new Cortex-A7xx in instructions per cycle: around 1,150 points in Geekbench 6 Single-Core is already considered low by modern standards.

This is particularly noticeable in heavy emulations, individual games, and other tasks that do not utilize multiple cores well. In multitasking scenarios, the weak single-thread performance is less noticeable due to the presence of four Cortex-A78 cores.

Xclipse 530: Transition from Mali to AMD RDNA

The graphics in the Exynos 1480 are handled by the Xclipse 530 based on AMD RDNA architecture. Compared to the Mali-G68 in the Exynos 1380, the new GPU has significantly improved 3D performance.

Samsung claimed a graphical performance increase of up to 53% compared to the previous generation.

Graphics Tests of Galaxy A55 with Exynos 1480

In the regular 3DMark Wild Life, the Xclipse 530 scores around 3,900 points and shows 23 FPS. In the more demanding Wild Life Extreme, the result drops to 982 points and 5 FPS, indicating the limited headroom of the Xclipse 530 in complex graphics.

Stability at 98% means that in Wild Life, the performance of the Galaxy A55 hardly decreases during prolonged workloads.

Exynos 1380 vs 1480 vs 1580: GPU Gain in 3DMark

The Galaxy A55 is approximately 38% faster than the Galaxy A54 in Wild Life. This is lower than Samsung's claimed 53%, but the gain is still significant for a single generation.

The Exynos 1580 with the Xclipse 540 is about a quarter faster than the Exynos 1480. In the context of the next generation, the advantage of the Xclipse 530 appears significantly modest.

Games: Main Focus is Medium Settings

Most mobile games on the Xclipse 530 can be played at medium settings, while less demanding titles can be run with higher graphics quality.

In demanding games, choices must be made between image quality and frame rate. The Exynos 1480 is not a gaming SoC, but it significantly surpasses previous mid-range Exynos processors in terms of graphical performance.

Heating and Stability

Temperatures and throttling depend not only on the SoC itself but also on the cooling system of the specific smartphone.

Under prolonged CPU load, performance drops more sharply than in graphical tests. The Galaxy M56 and F56 use vapor chambers designed for more efficient heat dissipation during extended workloads.

Camera, AI, and Connectivity

The ISP of the Exynos 1480 supports sensors with resolutions up to 200 MP, and the integrated NPU is responsible for neural computing tasks.

According to Samsung, the performance of the NPU has increased about fourfold compared to the previous generation. This figure refers to the internal performance metrics of the platform and does not imply a fourfold acceleration in all AI functions of the smartphone.

The Exynos 1480 supports 5G sub-6 GHz and mmWave, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Conclusion: Exynos 1480 Excels in Graphics Rather than CPU

Cortex-A78 cores already noticeably lag behind newer cores in single-thread performance. Meanwhile, the Xclipse 530 still scores around 3,900 points in 3DMark Wild Life and hardly loses performance during prolonged GPU workloads.

In the Galaxy A55, the Xclipse 530 is about 38% faster in graphics than the Exynos 1380 in Wild Life. Therefore, the Exynos 1480 stands out primarily for its graphics, while its CPU performance is already noticeably behind newer solutions.

For browsing, applications, and most mobile games, the capabilities of the Exynos 1480 are adequate, but in demanding games and single-thread tasks, its age becomes apparent.

Since the Galaxy A55, M56, and F56 exhibit similar performance, the choice between them should be based on the display, cameras, battery, cooling, and price.