If in general, a smartphone that is pegged in the range of Rs. 15,000/-, uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC. However,  Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is using the MediaTek Helio G90T.

This of course raises curiosity among some users. Why does Xiaomi use MediaTek’s SoC? Is the SoC really worth considering?

Helio G90T was developed by MediaTek to follow in the footsteps of Qualcomm who launched a mid-range gaming special SoC. This SoC has excellent performance that will not lose when compared to Snapdragon 712.

I even believe that this gaming-specific SoC from MediaTek is even more powerful than Snapdragon 712. Moreover, based on information Gizmochina, Helio G90T can beat Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G (a higher version of Snapdragon 712).

In more detail, Helio G90T uses big.LITTLE configuration which combines two ARM Cortex-A76 with six ARM Cortex-A55 in its core processing sector.

This configuration is calculated to be higher than the configuration used by Snapdragon 712 where the processing sector still relies on the Kryo 360 which is built based on ARM Cortex-A75 (gold) and ARM Cortex-A55 (silver).

As a comparison, ARM itself claims that Cortex-A76 has a 25 percent increase in integer performance, 35 percent floating point and up to 90 percent memory bandwidth compared to Cortex-A75.

This capability is strengthened by the presence of an ARM graphics processor that can work up to 800 MHz. The graphics processor used by the Helio G90T has a clock speed higher than the Qualcomm Adreno 616 (up to 750 MHz) owned by Snapdragon 712.

The Helio G90T also offers higher camera support than the Snapdragon 712. Technically, the Helio G90T supports a single 64 MP camera or a 24 MP dual camera while Snapdragon 712 is only 32 MP (single camera) or 20 MP (dual camera).

Helio G90T also supports RAM with a larger capacity. When Snapdragon 712 only supports 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, this MediaTek SoC can support up to 10GB of LPDDR4X RAM usage.

What is unfortunate is that the Helio G90T has a slower modem for the downlink sector because it still uses Cat LTE. 12 which can only work up to 600 Mbps. Unlike the Snapdragon 712 which has used Cat LTE. 15 with speeds reaching 800 Mbps.

Screen support also becomes one of the disadvantages because the Helio G90T only supports Full HD + screen (2400 x 1080 pixels) while Snapdragon 712 supports Quad HD + screen (3360 x 1440 pixels).

With its 12nm fabrication technology, the Helio G90T will be less efficient than the Snapdragon 712 which has 10nm fabrication.

MediaTek Helio G90T Vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 Comparison Table

Aspect MediaTek Helio G90T Qualcomm Snapdragon 712
The CPU 2 ARM Cortex-A76 (up to 2.05 GHz) + 6 ARM Cortex-A55 (up to 2.0 GHz) 8 Qualcomm Kryo 360 (up to 2.3 GHz)
The GPU Mali-G76 3EEMC4 Arm (up to 800 MHz) Qualcomm Adreno 616 (up to 750 MHz)
Camera 64 MP (Single) / 24 MP (Double) 32 MP (Single) / 20 MP (Double)
Screen Full HD + (2,400 x 1,080 pixels) Quad HD + (3,360 × 1,440 pixels)
Connectivity Bluetooth 5, LTE Cat. 12 (DL) / Cat. 13 (UL) Bluetooth 5, LTE Cat. 15 (DL) / Cat. 13 (UL)
RAM support LPDDR4X up to 10 GB LPDDR4X up to 8 GB
Fabrication 12 nm 10 nm