AMLogic S905Y5. Review and Comparison VS all SoCs

Today we present the comparison and analysis of the new AMLogic S905Y5 SoC vs. the rest of SoCs in the market. A very interesting processor manufactured in 12 nm.

The AMLogic S905Y5 SoC is the little brother of the S905X5M. This is a Quad Core with ARM Cortex-A55 cores and a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU for graphics. In the video section, it stands out for supporting native decoding of codecs such as AV1 with 4K@60fps support and is compatible with HDR10. As system, we have Android 14 by default, depending on the assembler we have Chromecast 4K and depending on the assembler DRM certificates to view paid platforms such as Netflix, Max, Prime Video and the like.

Let’s see how it performs against other manufacturers such as Amlogic, Allwinner, Nvidia or Rockchip.

• You can see our Best Android TV models to compare with other similar devices.

AMLogic S905Y5 Specifications

The new AMLogic S905Y5 SoC is manufactured in 12 nm and features four ARM Cortex-A55 cores with speed up to 1.7 GHz and mid-range Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. It has native connection for HDMI 2.1a that reaches up to 4K@60fps video resolutions compatible with codecs up to AV1, it is SOC does not have AI PQ support. As ports we have only USB 2.0, Ethernet 100 and eMMC 5.1 storage.

• CPU: Quad Core 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.5 GHz (64bit)
• GPU: Mali-G31 MP2
• Process: 12 nm
• System: Android 14 (32bit)
• Memory: DDR4 / Support eMMC 5.2
• Ports: HDMI 2.1a / 2x USB 2.0 / TF
• Max Network: Wifi 6 / BT 5 / Ethernet 100
• Video Decode: Engine AVE-10 / AV1 / HDR10 / 4K@60 / No AI PQ
• Possible Certificates: DRM / Netflix / Dolby / DTS

Comparison of S905X5, S905X5M and S905Y5

CPU

In the AMLogic S905Y5 we have four ARM Cortex-A55 cores, capable of reaching 2.5 GHz, a higher speed than its predecessors. The manufacturing process is 12 nm, something old, which places it in the mid-range of performance.

GPU, VPU and Multimedia

For the graphics section there is a simple Mali-G31 MP2 GPU that can support Vulkan, but it depends on the firmware. We have support for AV1 codec and it supports Dolby audio format and HDR 10 with resolutions up to 4K@60fps. HDMI 2.1a video output is supported. This SoC allows support for DRM services for paid streaming, it is compatible with Netflix on Hailstorm compliant assemblers.

• Render: The system supports Android user environment in FullHD resolution.
• Support Certificates: DRM / Netflix / Dolby / DTS
• HDMI: Game mode / Auto refresh change.

Android System

The system that we find the device by default is based on Android 14 (API 34), the kernel that controls the system is the kernel 5.15.170, a fairly modern version.

• Firmware: Compatible only with 32 bit apps due to firmware limitations, ABI armeabi-v8a is not supported

Performance test

We run several performance tests with the AMLogic S905Y5 SoC and compare it against processors such as Nvidia Tegra, Mediatek, Rockchip, Amlogic and previous generation Allwinner processors.

Test Hardware

For testing we use the new Tanix TX5 with the Quad Core Amlogic S905Y5 processor. In this Box with 2/4 GB of DDR4 RAM and 16/32/64 GB of eMMc storage. Compatible with 4K HDR content and as usual in Chinese low cost TV-Boxes it does not have DRM certificates for streaming platforms.

• The Tanix TX5 can be purchased on AliExpress only for $39 with shipping included.

Geekbench

This test that gives us some high values in raw power, we can see the CPU performance in mono core and multi core thanks to its tests. As we can see, the results are below the old AMLogic S905X4 in mono core and multi core.

3DMark

This quintessential graphics performance test with a pretty solid continuity in terms of results, which helps us when comparing GPU performance historically. As we can see, the ARM Mali-G31 MP2 GPU performs similarly to the S905X4.

PCMark

This test allows us to get an idea of the power of this chip in terms of desktop apps, performing tasks such as browsing, video editing, handling text or audio files. The result is influenced by the overall hardware components. As we can see, the data leaves it at about the same level as the S905X4.

VPU and Sound

We test video playback on the AMLogic S905Y5, we check the formats supported by the integrated VPU. As we can see, the results are good with h.265, VP9 and AV1 codecs up to 4K@60fps resolutions. We have good performance with 10bit color formats, we also have HDR10 support, Dolby Audio. This is a SoC that offers good image quality but does not stand out.

• HDR: Supported Dolby Vision / HDR10 / HLG.
• Sound: Supports Dolby / DTS sound.
• HDMI: Game Mode / Auto Framerate / HDMI-CEC

Video and audio test results

• SW = does not have hardware acceleration and may have some occasional skipping on very large files.

Conclusions about the AMLogic S905Y5

The new AMLogic S905Y5 SoC, as we see in our tests, is quite disappointing. The performance of the SoC is sufficient to use streaming apps and supports Android 14, but it is even better than an S905X4. The 12 nm process is already old and does not improve performance at all.

We have good results in terms of video playback because of its dedicated AVE-10 processor which as we have seen supports AV1 codec up to 4K@60fps HDR resolutions. In assemblers devices for the international market we will have DRM, Dolby and DTS certificates and we can have support for Netflix with its official app, in cheap Chinese TV-Boxes this is not possible.

After testing the AMLogic S905Y5 we have found that we are facing an uninteresting SOC and it is better to go for the S905X5M or the old S905X4. We do not expect EmuELEC support in the short term.