Chip designer MediaTek struck gold with the Dimensity 9300 application processor (AP) as the powerful chipset features four Cortex-X4 performance cores with a clock speed of up to 3.25GHz, and four Cortex-A720 efficiency-performance cores running up to 2.0GHz. Note the absence of any low-power efficiency cores such as the Cortex-A520. Even though some worried about overheating, the Dimensity 9300 AP has been powering the Vivo X100 series.
The new chipset will also feature a unique configuration reportedly consisting of one Cortex-X5 super CPU core running up to 3.4GHz, three Cortex-X4 super CPU cores with a clock speed as high as 2.96GHz, and four Cortex-A720 efficiency-performance CPU cores running as fast as 2.27GHz. Earlier this year there had been concern that the Cortex-X5 was consuming high level of power at higher clock speeds resulting in lower multi-core benchmark scores.
The increased size of the die and the huge number of transistors could give the chip an advantage over rival processors like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in areas such as AI. The Dimensity 9400 SoC also gives phone manufacturers a cheaper alternative to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 which is expected to be the recipient of a huge price hike.
MediaTek is the world’s largest supplier of application processors to smartphone manufacturers. Without owning any fabs, it is one of TSMC’s largest customers.