After directly challenging Qualcomm for the throne of the fastest Android processor, MediaTek released a faster version of its premium chip. The new Dimensity 9400+ is essentially an overclocked version of last year’s 9400, with some additional firmware tweaks for even more efficient computing on the go.
Not one to ignore the current AI hype, MediaTek was quick to highlight 20% faster performance from its in-house NPU 890 AI accelerator, supporting the most popular large language models (LLMs). Besides that, the prime core in the CPU cluster, an ARM Cortex-X925, got a boost from 3.62 GHz to 3.73 GHz, a rather small overclock, granted, but it is not like the previous chip was lacking in the performance department.
| MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | MediaTek Dimensity 9400 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Samsung Exynos 2400 | Google Tensor G4 | Apple A18 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime core | 1x Cortex-X925 @ 3.73 GHz | 2x Oryon @ 4.32 GHz | 1x Cortex-X925 @ 3.62 GHz | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.2 GHz | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.2 GHz | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.1 GHz | 2x Apple Everest @ 4.05 GHz |
| Performance core | 3x Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz | 4x Oryon @ 3.53 GHz | 3x Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz | 2x Cortex-A720 @ 3.0 GHz 2x Cortex-A720 @ 2.8 GHz |
3x Cortex A720 @ 3.15 GHz 2x Cortex A720 @ 2.96 GHz |
2x Cortex A720 @ 2.9 GHz 3x Cortex A720 @ 2.6 GHz |
3x Cortex-A720 @ 2.6 GHz | |
| Efficiency core | 4x Cortex-A720 @ 2.4 GHz | 4x Cortex-A720 @ 2.4 GHz | 2x Cortex-A720 @ 2.0 GHz | 2x Cortex-A520 @ 2.3 GHz | 4x Cortex-A520 @ 1.95 GHz | 4x Cortex-A520 @ 1.92 GHz | 4x Apple Sawtooth @ 2.42 GHz | |
| RAM | LPDDR5x-10667 4x 16-bit @ 5333 MHz (85.4 GB/s) |
LPDDR5x-10667 5333 MHz (85.4 GB/s) |
LPDDR5x-10667 4x 16-bit @ 5333 MHz (85.4 GB/s) |
LPDDR5X-9600 4x 16-bit @ 4800 (76,8 GB/s) |
LPDDR5x-9600 4x 16-bit @ 4800 MHz (76.8 GB/s) |
LPDDR5x-8533 4x 16-bit @ 4266 MHz (68.2 GB/s) |
LPDDR5x 4x 16-bit |
LPDDR5x-7500 4x 16-bit @ 3750 MHz (60 GB/s) |
| GPU | 12x ARM Immortalis-G925 | Adreno 830 | 12x ARM Immortalis-G925 | Adreno 825 | Adreno 750 (2774 GFLOPS) |
AMD RDNA3 (3406 GFLOPS) |
7x ARM Mali-G715 | 6x Apple GPU (2227 GFLOPS) |
| 5G modem | MediaTek (7/3.5 Gbps) |
Snapdragon X80 (10/3.5 Gbps) |
MediaTek (7/3.5 Gbps) |
Snapdragon X85 (4.3 Gbps) |
Snapdragon X75 (10/3.5 Gbps) |
External Exynos 5153 (12/3.67 Gbps) |
External Exynos 5400c | External Snapdragon X71 (10/3.5 Gbps) |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 |
FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 UWB |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 |
FastConnect 7900 Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 UWB |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 |
Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.3 |
External Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Process node | TSMC N3E | TSMC N3E | TSMC N3E | TSMC N4P | TSMC N4P | Samsung 4LPP+ | Samsung 4LPP+ | TSMC N3E |
All the other main computing blocks were kept the same (which is boring, but similar to other “Plus” chips from both MediaTek and its rivals), but MediaTek revealed it did some adjustments and improvements to the firmware for some additional changes, such as improved BeiDou support (China’s alternative to the GPS and Galileo positioning systems), and better Bluetooth range for phone-to-phone connections.
The ARM Immortalis GPU still features a 12-core layout and the same feature set, including ray tracing support and a graphics upscaler for gaming based on AMD’s FSR2 (so without the enhanced quality of the latest FSR4 using AI processing).
All the latest connectivity standards are supported, including Wi-Fi 7 (with multi-link operation for up to 7.3 Gbps speeds), Bluetooth 6.0, and 5G, with the same 7 Gbps maximum downlink using 4 carrier aggregation. Optimizations in AI processing promise better efficiency, for example, when it comes to selecting channels for wireless connections.
Availability
According to MediaTek, the first phones with the Dimensity 9400+ should be launched this month. Tons of rumors are circulating naming the Vivo X200S and Oppo Find X8S as potential candidates to feature the new chip (coincidence or not, both the Vivo X200 Pro and Oppo Find X8 Pro are powered by the original Dimensity 9400), but we will have to wait for the official launches.
