The best smartphones in the world coming out over the next year or so will use one of two different processors, and MediaTek has introduced its entry into the race on September 22, called the Dimensity 9500.
The chip features an all-new big-core design, console-level ray-tracing, and an efficient yet powerful NPU with double the AI performance over previous generations. It’s built using the cutting-edge third generation 3nm process at TSMC’s foundry, and introduces us to ARM’s latest C1 CPU cluster.
This consists of a single, 4.21GHz ARM C1 Ultra core, three 3.5GHz ARM C1 Pro cores, and four 2.7GHz ARM C1 Pro cores, returning 32% higher single core performance and 37% lower power consumption over the Dimensity 9400.
From the GPU to the AI
MediaTek has also chosen the new ARM Mali-G1 Ultra GPU, making it capable of 120fps ray traced gameplay, and twice the overall ray tracing unit performance from the previous chip. MediaTek expects a 33% jump in performance and a 42% increase in efficiency.
For AI, MediaTek has built the NPU 990, its most powerful NPU to date, with a new generative AI Engine for reduced bandwidth use, lower power consumption, and improved on-device AI processing. It supports always-on small models with a 40% decrease in energy consumption.
There’s also the MediaTek Imagiq 1190 ISP for up to 200-megapixel images and 4K 60fps portrait video, NPU-assisted focusing, and RAW-domain pre-processing, along with the first four-lane UFS 4.1 memory for double the read/write speeds, plus the Dimensity 9500 will be the first Android processor to support 1 nit ultra dark screens.
First phones coming soon
MediaTek’s corporate senior vice president JC Hsu said:
As AI becomes part of everyday life, consumers want devices that feel smarter, faster, and more personal without sacrificing battery life. The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 delivers exactly that: Breakthrough on-device AI, top-tier performance and efficiency, and a full suite of premium experiences that our partners can bring to users around the world.
The first phones with the Dimensity 9500 will arrive before the end of the year, and MediaTek expects the initial devices to launch in Europe around October, with Oppo and Vivo leading the way. In related news, expect to learn more about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the other top phone processor to know about, over the next few days.
