Chinese chipset maker, Spreadtrum announced its first 16nm 64-bit octa-core LTE processor at the MWC 2016. Currently in mass production stage, the Spreadtrum SC9860 which is targeted at mid-range and premium 4G smartphones, will arrive in one or more mobile devices by the second quarter of the year (Q2 2016).
Arranged in 64-bit architecture, the Spreadtrum SC9860 is manufactured using the TSMC 16nm FFC processes which is superior to in power efficiency to those of the 20nm and 28nm processes. It packs 8 x Cortex A53 cores clocked at >2.0GHz with Mali T880 GPU for a powerful graphics performance.
The SoC is embedded with a LTE Cat.7 modem which supports two-way carrier aggregation and hybrid TDD/FDD networks and integrates three ISPs that support up to 26MP cameras, dual camera setups, real 3D capture, and real-time rear/front camera capture/record.
The Spreadtrum SC9860 comes embedded with a SensorHub that provides a complete user sensing and sensor fusion solution. It also supports up to (2560 x 1600 pixels) WQXGA displays and integrates HEVC hardware support for Ultra HD 4K2K video record and playback.
Commenting on the announcement in the company’s release, Chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum communications, Dr. Leo Li said;
“SC9860 is Spreadtrum’s first step forward to 4G SoC single chip, targeting medium and premium smart phone chip markets. This chipset demonstrates our significant technology breakthrough.
Backed by TSMC’s advanced technology and strategic support, we were an early adopter of its 16nm FFC process for our commercial cellular baseband product. The successful release of SC9860 proves Spreadtrum as an all-round player and underscores our leading position in global smart phone chip market. And Spreadtrum is on the way to continuously strengthening the R&D capabilities in handset chip design.
This time, Spreadtrum SC9860 positions for medium and premium 4G smart phone markets. In the future, by collaborating with our customers and partners, we will design more innovative products with higher performance and smoother user experience.”
