Forward-looking: As Samsung works on the next generation of wearables, the company has announced the new Exynos W920. Based on Samsung's 5nm EUV process node, the Exynos chip will feature two Arm Cortex CPU cores and an Arm Mali GPU, improving CPU performance by 20% and graphics performance by as much as 900% over its predecessor.

The Samsung Exynos W920 is the industry's first 5nm processor for wearables, packing two Arm Cortex-A55 cores and an Arm Mali-G68 GPU to power the next generation of devices using qHD displays (960×540). Moreover, it will come with a built-in 4G LTE Cat 4 modem and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) L1, offering the connectivity and tracking capacities these devices need.

"Wearables like smartwatches are no longer just a cool gadget to have. They're now a growing part of our lifestyles to keep you fit, safe and alert," said Harry Cho, VP of System LSI marketing at Samsung. "With the Exynos W920, future wearables will be able to run applications with visually appealing user interfaces and more responsive user experiences while keeping you connected on the go with fast LTE."

Unlike its predecessors, the Exynos W920 will include a dedicated Arm Cortex-M55 to handle the low-power display, reducing power consumption when always-on-display is enabled.

To fit inside wearables, Samsung had to consider size when designing the Exynos W920, creating the smallest package currently available in the market, allowing device manufacturers to create thinner and more compact designs or use the extra space for a large battery.

The chip's reduced dimensions were achieved using the fan-out panel level packaging (FO-PLP) technique and a system-in-package-embedded package on package (SiP-ePoP) configuration. With this, the power management IC (PMIC), LPDDR4 memory and the embedded multimedia card (eMMC) are all enveloped in the same package.

Made in partnership with Google, the Exynos W920 supports a new unified wearable platform that will debut in the next generation Galaxy Watch. The Galaxy Watch 4 is expected to make an appearance later this week at the Galaxy Unpacked event.

Masthead credit: Samer Khodeir