You’ve highlighted two of its most forward-looking features for the time. Let’s break them down and add some context:

1. Dedicated AI Unit (Dual-Core NPU)

This was a major selling point for the Exynos 9820 and placed it in direct competition with other AI-focused chips like the Apple A12 Bionic and the HiSilicon Kirin 980.

• What it did: The dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) was designed to handle on-device AI and machine learning tasks much more efficiently than the CPU or GPU.

• Real-World Applications:

  • Camera Enhancements: Intelligent scene recognition to optimize camera settings for food, landscapes, portraits, etc.

  • Vision AI: Faster and more accurate face recognition for unlocking the phone.

  • Performance Optimization: Learning user habits to manage battery life and system performance proactively.

Important Context: While a dedicated NPU was a new and exciting feature at the time, its capabilities were early-generation. AI performance has since become a central battleground in mobile SoCs, with modern NPUs being vastly more powerful.

2. 8K Video Support

The Exynos 9820 was one of the first mobile chipsets to claim support for 8K video encoding/decoding.

• The Spec: It supported 8K video encoding/decoding at 30 frames per second (fps).

• Important Caveat: While the chip was technically capable of this, the implementation on devices like the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 was limited. Samsung did not provide a native 8K video recording mode in their camera app. The primary use of this capability was likely for playback of 8K content, not widespread recording.

Other Key Features of the Exynos 9820:

To give a fuller picture, here are some other notable aspects of this chip:

• CPU: Featured a tri-cluster architecture: 2x custom Exynos M4 cores (for high performance) + 2x Cortex-A75 cores (for balanced performance) + 4x Cortex-A55 cores (for power efficiency).

• GPU: Mali-G76 MP12, which offered a significant graphics performance boost over its predecessor.

• Modem: Integrated 4G LTE modem (Cat.20). It was not a 5G chip. Separate variants like the Exynos 9825 (found in the Note 10) later had a paired 5G modem.

• Manufacturing Process: 8nm LPP (Low-Power Plus), which helped with power efficiency.

Summary

You are absolutely right. The Samsung Exynos 9820 was a landmark chip that embraced two key trends for future flagship smartphones:

1. On-Device AI: By integrating a dedicated NPU, it accelerated a shift towards smarter, more context-aware applications.

2. High-Resolution Media: Its support for 8K laid the groundwork for the ultra-high-resolution video that would become standard in later flagships.

It was a powerful and forward-thinking SoC that represented the state of the art for Android flagships in early 2019.