MediaTek's upcoming Dimensity 9600 series chipset is turning out to be quite powerful. Reliable tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) just dropped a post on Weibo, revealing that the upcoming Dimensity 9600 Pro processor will have a peak frequency of 5GHz. Yes, you read that right. This will put the Dimensity 9600 Pro in the desktop-class territory for a mobile chipset.
Dimensity 9600 Pro is Likely Built on TSMC's 2nm Node
According to DCS, the CPU architecture will see a major change on the Dimensity 9600 Pro. It's expected to feature a 2+3+3 core configuration with two ultra-large prime cores leading the charge on heavy CPU tasks. This dual ultra-core architecture will be a first for Dimensity and it will depart from its single prime-core design used in Dimensity 9500 and past chips.
Now, high clock speeds close to 5GHz are no joke on fan-less and passively cooled devices like smartphones. It obviously raises concerns about thermals and battery drain. When a Weibo user asked about power consumption, DCS replied that TSMC's N2P (2nm) process node promises a 25% to 30% reduction in power draw. He also noted that this claim still requires verification.
Image Credit: Weibo / Gizmochina
Image Credit: Weibo / Gizmochina
If the claim turns out to be true, the Dimensity 9600 Pro will see a massive jump in CPU performance. We already know that MediaTek is still behind Qualcomm and Apple when it comes to CPU performance despite using Arm's new C1-series cores.
Apart from that, MediaTek is reportedly going for a tiered product strategy for the Dimensity 9600 series. Rumors suggest that the standard Dimensity 9600 may use an enhanced 3nm node, while the Pro and Pro Max variants will be fabricated on the 2nm node.
On the AI front, MediaTek has been working with Google on its TPU development, so we might see better on-device AI capabilities and better power efficiency. As for which phones will pack this chip, leaks indicate that the Vivo X500 series and Oppo Find X10 lineup may go for the Pro and Pro Max chips.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is highly anticipated and it may launch by Q3 2026. That said, due to the global DRAM shortage pushing memory prices through the roof, be prepared to pay higher prices for flagship phones this year.
-356w.webp "Infinix Note 60 Pro front and back in Mocha Brown")
