These days, there’s plenty of competition among smartphones, but also the chipsets that power them.
On most Android phones, MediaTek and Qualcomm go head-to-head. The Dimensity 9300 has proven to be a worthy Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 rival, delivering top-tier performance on flagship devices.
But the chip market moves fast, so MediaTek will continue to innovate. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 expected later this year, how will the company respond?
With the Dimensity 9400, that’s how. And early signs are very promising – here’s everything you need to know.
MediaTek is set to launch its new flagship chipset, likely named Dimensity 9400, on 9 October 2024. The official teaser, posted on Weibo, hinted at a new generation of MediaTek products.
This would be in line with previous launches, as MediaTek tends to release a major new flagship chip towards the end of each year:
- Dimensity 9000 – Q4 2021
- Dimensity 9200 – Q4 2022
- Dimensity 9300 – Q4 2023
According to a leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo (via GizmoChina), the first phones powered by the MediaTek’s next-generation Dimensity 9400 chip are set to launch ahead of Xiaomi 15 series, which is likely to be the first to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor.
This would mark a rare instance where MediaTek releases its flagship chipset before Qualcomm, which usually leads the market with its flagship chips.
There haven’t been any confirmation regarding which phones will be getting the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 at this stage.
However, looking back at the Dimensity 9300, Vivo or Oppo flagships are among those expected to lead the pack as the first major releases. Digital Chat Station claims (via GizmoChina) that both the Vivo X200 series and the Oppo Find X8 series will be powered by Dimensity 9400 chip.
Naturally, it will take some time for phones with the new chipset to become available. You can expect to see some notable Dimensity 9400 phones arrive within 1-2 months of the chipset itself launching.
According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 are expected to see a similar price increase. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is rumoured to cost between $190/£140 and $240/£180, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is said to still be more affordable.
This means that the phones powered by the Dimensity 9400 are likely to be more expensive than their predecessors.
The Dimensity 9400 isn’t due to be released for a while, but we already have a decent idea of what to expect.
TSMC’s 3nm process
MediaTek has already announced plans for the Dimensity 9400 to mark its first venture onto TSMC’s 3nm node (N3E), a step up from the older 4nm node used for the Dimensity 9300.
This should deliver a noticeable boost to performance, but the specifics are yet to be revealed.
NPU & AI
MediaTek’s CEO, Cai Lixing, has emphasised the achievements of the Dimensity 9300 in an interview with Chinese media. He expressed confidence in the growing trend of AI-enabled mobile phones.
While MediaTek did not explicitly name the chip as the Dimensity 9400, according to the provided chart, it’s anticipated that it will boast an improved NPU (Neural Processing Unit), offering a 20%-50% increase in performance for tasks such as generating AI content from LLMs (Large Language Models).
Additionally, it’s expected to deliver a 15% boost in image generation speed with version 1.5 of the Stable Diffusion model.
New Cortex core CPU
Although the CPU configuration of the Dimensity 9400 hasn’t been officially confirmed, early rumours provide some insights. It’s speculated that the high-performance core will feature a new Cortex-X5 (which has yet to be officially announced).
According to FoneArena, it will use a new Cortex-X5 Prime CPU that MediaTek is yet to announce, replacing the Cortex-X4 found in the Dimensity 9300. The middle and bottom cores are expected to remain the same, consisting of three Cortex-X4 and four low-power Cortex-A720.
And some insights into the Dimensity 9400’s CPU performance have emerged. Geekbench 6 was employed for these tests, revealing a score of 2700 points in the single-core test and 9800 points in the multi-core benchmark.
However, another leaks suggested that the chip scored 2776 and 11739 points in Geekbench 6.1, a slightly never version. Even so, it’s a significant improvement compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in the same test:
In AnTuTu (version 10), another popular benchmark for testing smartphone performance, the Dimensity 9400 reportedly achieved a score of 34,49,366 points, surpassing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which scored 31,33,570 points.
A rumour from Digital Chat Station on Weibo reveals promising details about the Dimensity 9400, suggesting it will offer a significant 30% boost in single-core CPU performance compared to its predecessor, the Dimensity 9300, which was already a strong performer.
The latest Weibo leak on the Oppo Find X8 Pro flagship reveals its performance on the AnTuTu benchmark, running MediaTek’s upcoming Dimensity 9400. The chipset achieved an impressive score of 2,880,558 on AnTuTu 10, surpassing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Apple’s M4, though cross-platform comparisons aren’t officially recommended.
The Dimensity 9400 is once again reported to be built on TSMC’s 3nm N3E process and feature 1 Cortex-X5 core at 3.4 GHz, 3 Cortex-X4 cores at 3.3 GHz, and 4 Cortex-A720 cores at 2.4 GHz.
Upgraded Immortalis GPU
A popular tipster Digital Chat Station reports that MediaTek is set to include the new Immortalis-G925 GPU from Arm, which promises to be the highest-performing and most efficient GPU yet.
Benchmark tests support these claims (via GSMArena), with the GPU scoring 134 fps in the GFX Aztec 1440p off-screen Vulkan benchmark, outperforming the Apple A18 Pro’s 72 fps and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s 95 fps.
This benchmark simulates a high-detail, 3D game-like environment, pushing the GPU’s capabilities without being limited by screen resolution. While these results highlight the chipset’s raw power, its success will ultimately depend on which smartphone manufacturers decide to use it in their 2025 flagship devices.
Moreover, the Dimensity 9400 is reported to be highly energy-efficient, using only 30% of the power required by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s CPU to perform similar tasks. If true, this makes it 35% more efficient than the Dimensity 9300.
Nvidia partnership
In 2023, a report from Asian tech site DigiTimes suggested that MediaTek has collaborated with Nvidia to develop a chipset featuring a GeForce GPU instead of the usual ARM-based Mali and Immortalis ones.
This partnership sets the stage for an intriguing competition against Samsung’s Exynos 2500 (which we may see in the upcoming Galaxy S25 series), which reportedly will incorporate just one Cortex-X5 (alongside Cortex-A730 and A520 forming the remainder of the CPU) and an AMD-based GPU.
That’s all we know so far. If you’re in the market for a new phone, consider our current recommendations for the best phones available.
Additionally, keep an eye out for the best upcoming phones, as some of them will likely use the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
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