Qualcomm Kryo is a series of custom or semi-custom ARM-based CPUs included in the Snapdragon line of SoCs. These CPUs implement the ARMv8-A 64-bit instruction set, and serve as the successor to the previous 32-bit Krait CPUs. It is first introduced in Snapdragon 820 and has been featured in subsequent upper-range Snapdragon SoCs ever since. In 2017, Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 636 and Snapdragon 660, which are the first mid-range Snapdragon SoCs to include Kryo CPUs. In 2018, Kryo marks its debut on an entry-level SoC, the Snapdragon 632.
Kryo
First announced in September 2015 and used in the Snapdragon 820 SoC. The Kryo cores can be used in both parts of the big.LITTLE configuration, where two dual-core clusters run at different clock frequency, similar to how both Cortex-A53 clusters work in the Snapdragon 615. The Kryo in the 820/821 is an in-house custom ARMv8.0-A design and not based on an ARM Cortex design.
The Kryo 2xx Series CPUs is not a derivative of the original Kryo microarchitecture, but rather is a semi-custom design licensed under ARM’s Built on ARM Cortex Technology license. The Kryo 2xx Series CPUs is derivative of the ARM'sCortex-A73 for the Performance/Gold cluster and Cortex-A53 for the Efficiency/Silver cluster in a big.LITTLE arrangement.
Kryo 280
The Kryo 280 CPU was announced along with the Snapdragon 835Mobile Platform in November 2016. Compared to the original Kryo the new Kryo 280 core has improved integerinstructions per clock but lower floating point instructions per clock. However overall the 835 was praised by reviewers for offering significant performance and efficiency advantage compared to the 820 and Exynos 8895 largely due to improvements in CPU scheduling and DVFS systems.
The Kryo 260 CPU was announced along with the Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform for mid-range smartphone in May 2017. The Kryo 260 cores are also used in the Snapdragon 636 and Snapdragon 665.
Kryo 250 CPU was introduced in the Snapdragon 632 Mobile Platform, announced in June 2018. Also built on a 14 nm process, it is similar to Kryo 260, with a few differences in the size for L2 cache. Qualcomm claims it has an increased performance of 40% compared to the Snapdragon 628, which only uses Cortex-A53 cores. Kryo 250 is also the first in the series to be used on an entry-level platform.
Kryo 240 CPU was introduced in the Snapdragon 460 Mobile Platform, announced beginning 2020. Built on 11 nm process, uses Cortex-A73 and Cortex-A53 cores with big.LITTLE architecture. Qualcomm claims this CPU have an increased performance of 70% compared to previous generation, which only uses Cortex-A53 cores. Kryo 240 is to be used on an entry-level platform.
11 nm LPP process, first in Snapdragon 4-series line
Kryo 3xx Series
The Kryo 3xx Series CPUs features semi-custom Gold and Silver cores derivative of Arm'sCortex-A75 and Cortex-A55 respectively, arranged in configurations with DynamIQ. These are Qualcomm's first CPUs to support ARMv8.2-A and DynamIQ. DynamIQ allows for more flexibility in CPU configuration including the amounts of cores/cache in each CPU clusters.
Kryo 385
The Kryo 385 core was announced as a part of the Snapdragon 845 in December 2017. Qualcomm expected 25–30% increased performance in task run on the high-performance cores, and 15% increase on efficiency cores, relative to the Snapdragon 835. Testing found significant advantages in performance and efficiency compared with the Exynos 8895 and 9810. The Kryo 385 is also used in the Snapdragon 850.
4x256KB L2 cache for Gold and 4x128KB L2 cache for Silver
2MB L3 in DSU @ 1478MHz and 3MB system cache
Samsung 10nm LPP Process
CPU die size: 11.39mm²
Gold core+L2 die size: 1.57mm²
Silver core+L2 die size: ~0.53mm²
Kryo 360
The Kryo 360 is Qualcomm's upper mid-range semi-custom core. It was introduced in Snapdragon 710, announced in May 2018. The Kryo 360 is also used in the Snapdragon 670 and 712.
The Kryo 4xx Series CPUs features semi-custom Gold Prime/Gold and Silver cores derivative of ARM's Cortex-A76 and Cortex-A55 respectively, arranged in configurations with DynamIQ. Qualcomm reveal their semi-custom Cortex-A76 have larger out-of-order execution window and data prefetchers more optimised in floating point workloads.
Kryo 495
The Kryo 495 CPU was announced with the Snapdragon 8cx on 6 December 2018. Qualcomm claims the 8cx is 60% more efficient than the Snapdragon 850.
The Kryo 485 CPU was announced with the Snapdragon 855 on 5 December 2018. Qualcomm claim up to 45% increase in performance compared to 845's Kryo 385. Testing found the 855 outperformed the 845 by 51% in SPECint2006, 61% in SPECfp2006 and 39% in power efficiency. The 855 also is significantly more efficient than the Exynos 9820.
256KB L2 cache for Gold and 128KB L2 cache for Silver cores
1MB system level cache
Samsung 8nm LPP Process
Kryo 465
The kryo 465 CPU is Qualcomm's upper mid-range semi-custom core.It was introduced in january 2020 in Snapdragon 720G processor, which came with hardware support for NAVIC.
256KB L2 cache for Gold and 64KB L2 cache for Silver cores
1MB system level cache
Samsung 11nm LPP Process
Kryo 5xx Series
The Kryo 5xx Series CPUs features semi-custom Prime/Gold and Silver cores derivative of ARM's Cortex-A77 and Cortex-A55 respectively, arranged in configurations with DynamIQ.
Kryo 585
The Kryo 585 CPU was announced with the Snapdragon 865 on 4 December 2019. Qualcomm claim up to 25% increase in performance and 25% more efficient compared to 855's Kryo 485.
