Samsung Electronics Launches Next-Generation Wearable Processor... Equipped in Galaxy Watch4

Samsung Electronics' wearable device processor 'Exynos W920' released on the 10th. (Photo by Samsung Electronics)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics on the 10th launched the industry's first 5-nanometer (nm; 1 nm is one billionth of a meter) process-based processor for wearable devices. Considering the increasing functions embedded in wearable devices, this is the first wearable device processor to apply the latest extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, delivering enhanced performance and power efficiency. This product will be equipped in the Galaxy Watch 4 series, which will be unveiled on the 11th.

Samsung Electronics announced the release of the wearable device processor ‘Exynos W920’ on the same day. Previously, application processors (AP) for wearables were manufactured using a 10-nanometer process, but this product is the industry's first to be produced based on a 5-nanometer process. By using EUV equipment to reduce circuit line widths and applying advanced processes, the processor's performance and power efficiency are significantly improved.

At the same time, Samsung Electronics applied cutting-edge packaging technology to create an ultra-compact package suitable for wearable devices. Since wearable devices have more size constraints than smartphones, packaging technology that minimizes semiconductor size is crucial. Samsung Electronics applied fan-out wafer-level packaging (FO-WLP), a technology that reduces chip size by using a rectangular panel redistribution layer (RDL) instead of a printed circuit board (PCB) for semiconductors, and advanced packaging technology (SIP-ePOP) that integrates the AP, DRAM, NAND flash, and power management IC (PMIC) into a single package. This enabled the processor, PMIC, mobile DRAM (LPDDR4X), and eMMC memory to be implemented in an ultra-compact package optimized for wearable devices.

Samsung Electronics also equipped the Exynos W920 with ARM, a British semiconductor company’s low-power ‘Cortex-A55’ CPU core and ‘Mali-G68’ graphics processing unit (GPU) core, boosting central processing unit (CPU) performance by about 20% and graphics performance by up to 10 times compared to previous products. When installed in a smartwatch, this allows for 3D watch faces and smooth screen transitions. Additionally, the low-power display ‘Cortex-M55’ minimizes power consumption required for the processor to drive the display in Always On Display (AOD) mode.

The Exynos W920 is expected to be equipped in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series, which will be announced at the Unpacked event on the 11th. According to Strategy Analytics (SA), Samsung’s wearable device sales are expected to increase significantly from 7.5 million units in 2018 to 13.6 million units this year.

With the launch of the Exynos W920, Samsung Electronics’ 5-nanometer process-based Exynos processor product portfolio has expanded from smartphones to wearables. Samsung first introduced the 5-nanometer process in November last year with the mid-range mobile processor ‘Exynos 1080’ and applied it to the premium processor ‘Exynos 2100’ in January. Samsung continues to strengthen the Exynos lineup across mobile, wearable, Internet of Things (IoT), and automotive processors.

Jangho Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business Division, said, "Next-generation wearable devices equipped with the Exynos W920 will provide seamless LTE communication as well as visually outstanding interfaces and fast user experiences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.