MediaTek's First 2 nm Chip Will Be Even More Powerful Than Expected

MediaTek is finalizing the development of the new Dimensity 9600, the chip that will arrive in the second half of the year, representing the new flagship of the Dimensity line. A new report anticipates some key features of the new SoC.

The Latest on the New MediaTek Chip

The MediaTek Dimensity 9600 SoC, as already widely confirmed, will utilize TSMC's N2P manufacturing process and will therefore be one of the first 2 nm chips to hit the market. This new node will offer a significant leap forward in terms of power and/or efficiency.

MediaTek seems intent on leveraging the greater efficiency of the node to further boost power with a new CPU configuration. According to initial rumors, the chip will have an eight-core CPU but will adopt a different architecture compared to the Dimensity 9500, with the introduction of two "prime" cores (the 9500 has only one) to handle the heaviest workloads.

For MediaTek's new SoC, there should be a 2+3+3 configuration replacing the 1+3+4 configuration of the 9500. The introduction of a high-power core in place of a less powerful one is expected to be compensated by the greater efficiency of the manufacturing process.

A similar layout, according to early leaks, should also be adopted by Qualcomm with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 6, coming in two variants (a base and a Pro). However, Qualcomm uses proprietary Oryon cores while MediaTek is expected to use ARM Cortex-C2 cores. More details will emerge in the second half of the year, close to the chip's debut.