In November, Samsung Electronics won a total of 29 'CES Innovation Awards® 2025' ahead of the world's largest and most influential technology event, 'CES 2025'. One of the products that was honored was the Exynos W1000, a wearable processor that acts as the brain of a smartwatch. Based on the cutting-edge 3-nanometer process, the Exynos W1000 achieves excellent speed and power efficiency. In this second installment of our CES Innovation Awards interview series, we spoke to Hyoungseok Moon (Task Leader of the AP Development Team) and Kyojin Hwang (Staff Engineer of the Product Technology Team) to get a better understanding of the many behind-the-scenes innovations that went into making the Exynos W1000 a reality.
Q. For those who might not be familiar with the product, can you give us a brief introduction to the Exynos W1000?
Hyoungseok Moon: The Exynos W series is a wearable processor lineup for smartwatches that is characterized by its reduced size compared to smartphone processors while improving power efficiency. For the Exynos W1000, which is a CES Innovation Awards 2025 Honoree, we adopted a big.LITTLE structure for the first time as a wearable processor while enhancing CPU specifications and introducing a separate AOD (Always-on Display) engine to implement colorful watch faces with high power efficiency. The Exynos W1000 is also Samsung System LSI's first product utilizing the latest 3-nanometer process technology, enabling reduced chip size and improved power consumption.
Q. What makes developing a wearable processor challenging compared to mobile processors?
Hyoungseok Moon: When developing a wearable processor, the focus needs to be on minimizing power consumption. However, consumers' expectations for smartwatch features become more sophisticated, and there’s also an increasing demand for high performance. So the biggest challenge is to balance these two demands and deliver a chip that can deliver high performance levels for a long time while keeping power consumption to a minimum.
Q. You mentioned that low power consumption is a crucial requirement for wearable processors. What efforts have you made to achieve this?
Hyoungseok Moon: The Exynos W1000 represents the full embodiment of Samsung’s low-power design expertise. First, we utilized a 3-nanometer process technology specialized for wearable products and various low-power design methodologies. It was designed for low power consumption as a priority, tailored to the actual usage scenarios of the product. Then we applied dynamic voltage frequency scaling (DVFS) technology to each function including the modem, which allows every element of the chip to operate at lower voltage levels. We also applied technology to efficiently cut power supply to any circuits that are not currently being used, maximizing battery life.
Q. What are the advantages of reducing chip size in smartwatches?
Kyojin Hwang: Smartwatches are much smaller than smartphones, so minimizing the chip size itself is essential to secure more space for the battery. By applying the advanced 3-nanometer technology, we were able to integrate high-performance circuits into a small space while ensuring low-power operation. Additionally, by applying Fan-Out Panel Level Packaging (FOPLP) and embedded Package on Package (ePoP) technology, we were able to reduce the overall height while incorporating the processor, power management IC, and memory chip into a single package. Reducing the chip's area and height in this way isn’t just beneficial for securing more space for battery. It also increases flexibility in smartwatch design process itself.
Q. Please explain in more detail about the FOPLP and ePoP packaging methods applied to the Exynos W1000.
Kyojin Hwang: Unlike the Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) method, which uses a circular wafer, the FOPLP method applied to the Exynos W1000 produces packages based on a rectangular panel, enhancing productivity. In addition, while the previous version used substrates to enable electrical connections between the bottom and top packages, the Exynos W1000's FOPLP method utilizes a redistribution layer (RDL) on the panel itself. This allows for a reduction in the overall package height.
As for ePOP, this refers to a technology where a memory package composed of an embedded multimedia card (eMMC), DRAM, and a controller is stacked on top of the processor and power management integrated circuit (PMIC) using a POP (Package on Package) structure. Stacking packages on top of each other in this way effectively reduces the mounting space by combining two packages into one.
Q. From a performance perspective, what benefits does the Exynos W1000 offer users?
Hyoungseok Moon: As the first wearable processor to feature a big.LITTLE structure with a total of five cores, app launch times have been improved up to 2.7 times compared to the Exynos W1000’s predecessor, ensuring smoother execution of various functions. I feel proud whenever I see reviews mentioning that the product's stuttering has been reduced. We’re also proud of the newly-introduced AOD engine, which allows users to display beautiful watch faces with low power consumption on their wrist at all times.
Q. As smartwatches evolve beyond simple gadgets into productivity tools and fashion statements, the Exynos W1000 recently won the CES Innovation Awards in the Fashion Tech category. How does it contribute to these trends?
Hyoungseok Moon: The Exynos W1000 enhances the smartwatch’s role in fashion and functionality. It allows users to personalize watch faces to match their mood or style while benefiting from health features like exercise tracking and sleep monitoring. By integrating complex circuits into a thin package, the Exynos W1000 contributes to a more compact design, enabling stylish watch faces with improved performance and display capabilities. Additionally, it enhances the practicality of smartwatches by reducing power consumption, making them ideal personal accessories for both everyday use and special occasions such as workouts or travel.
Q. Did your team face any notable difficulties or unique challenges during the development of the Exynos W1000?
Hyoungseok Moon: There are always challenges associated with applying new technologies, but thanks to the collaboration of many people from various departments, we were able to overcome these challenges and achieve this positive result, the CES Innovation Award. As it had been a while since the previous release, it was difficult to properly implement the improved circuit design technology that had been developed during that time. Due to the small and thin package, there were instances where we lost or damaged it during repetitive evaluation experiments, causing frustration and disappointment. However, through experimentation and simulation with many colleagues, we were able to identify the root causes and find solutions, as well as make some improvements to the development environment.
Kyojin Hwang: For the Exynos W1000, minimizing warpage, or overall distortion, was crucial. Making this even more difficult was the fact that the packaging size of the Exynos W1000 was larger than the previous generation, but we had to achieve a lower height than before. Solving this required numerous tests and the introduction of new processes to control for warpage. I will never forget the exhilaration we felt as a team when we finally achieved the target value after countless adjustments.
Q. What role do you expect smartwatches to play for consumers in the future?
Hyoungseok Moon: Smartwatches are becoming the most intimate technology companions, alongside smartphones. While smartphones deliver extensive information and connectivity, smartwatches serve as personal wellness companions, helping users manage their well-being. Our goal is to continuously monitor consumer usage patterns and demands to not only fulfill the current need for compact, energy-efficient devices but also to innovate and prepare for future advancements.
Kyojin Hwang: I believe that smartwatches are becoming essential accessories for people who strive for a smart life, including health monitoring, heart rate measurement, and GPS functions. In the future, by utilizing artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time translation technologies, I believe they will provide more personalized services, becoming essential items that enable users to live smarter lives.
We've explored the development story behind the Exynos W1000, the core component of smartwatches. The Exynos W1000, which is a CES Innovation Award 2025 Honoree will be showcased at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States from January 7th-10th, 2025.
Global
