MediaTek just announced the Dimensity 9600 Proits new top-of-the-range chip that arrives manufactured in the process of 2 nanometers from TSMCsomething that makes it one of the first mobile processors to make that leap, along with Samsung's Exynos 2600 and Apple's A20 Pro. The Taiwanese company has been demonstrating for years that its high-end Dimensity chips are not only a cheap alternative to Qualcomm, but in several areas they are on its heels. And with this release, it seems that the intention is clear: stand up to the future Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 before this one has even come out.
In the section of performancethe 9600 Pro has an octa-core CPU with two C2-Ultra cores at 4.55 GHz, three C2-Pro cores at 4.35 GHz and another three at 3.1 GHz, along with a 21% larger L2 cache. MediaTek promises improvements of 17% in single-core power and 15% in multi-core compared to its previous generation. These are good numbers on paper, although it's worth remembering that Qualcomm has already confirmed that its next chip will arrive with a 5 GHz CPU and a new cache architecture, so the real fight will be decided when both are on the table.
GPU and artificial intelligence, the terrain where the battle is fought
The chip releases the Arm Mali-G2 Ultra NX GPUwith which MediaTek ensures 27% more peak performance and an 18% improvement in ray tracing. It also incorporates direct synchronization between GPU and NPU for neural rendering, something very similar to what Qualcomm proposes with its Adreno Neural Fusion technology. Everything indicates that the next course of high-end mobile phones will depend more and more on the AI superscaling to improve graphics in games, more than traditional brute force.
Regarding artificial intelligence, MediaTek talks about a dual-NPU architecture designed for constant background tasks, like the AI agents that Google is trying to promote with Gemini. Double the processing INT4 compared to Dimensity 9500promises 40% faster token generation speed and adds support for models with up to 30 billion parameters. They are striking numbers, although until they are tested on a daily basis it is advisable to take them with some caution, as is usually the case with any marketing figure.
Camera, connectivity and first mobiles
The photographic section also receives attention: 4K video recording at 240 fpsdouble that of the current competition, plus HDR with up to 17 stops of dynamic range and subject tracking at 60 fps. The official website also mentions 8K at 60 fps, although at another point it only talks about playback at that resolution, so there is some confusion about whether it really records in 8K or not.
Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.2, a 5G Advanced modem of more than 7.4 Gbps and triple SIM with triple active. It is also the first mobile chip with VVC hardware decoding (H.266)which should translate into better streaming quality with less data consumption.
The series is expected vivo X500which will be presented next week in China, will be the first to mount this chip. Do you think MediaTek is really in a position to overtake Qualcomm in the high-end, or will it continue to be the “alternative” for those looking for power without paying the price of a Snapdragon?
