The Dimensity 9400 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 are rumored to be the world’s first 3nm chipsets to power Android flagships, but one tipster claims that MediaTek’s top-end SoC for 2024 will have the edge against Qualcomm in all regards. As for the specifications, the Dimensity 9400 will not feature a Cortex-X5-only configuration, but the lack of efficiency cores suggests that the Taiwanese firm is sticking with the same approach that it did with the Dimensity 9300 this year.
Several Chinese brands to adopt the Dimensity 9400 next year, likely due to its impressive attributes and lower price compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4
The lack of efficiency cores means that the Dimensity 9400 may compromise on efficiency like the Dimensity 9300, but with Digital Chat Station pointing out on Weibo that the silicon will be mass produced on the 3nm process, the improved fabrication means its thermal efficiency may have increased too. It is possible that the Dimensity 9400 may no longer need any efficiency cores thanks to TSMC’s ‘N3E’ manufacturing process, but we have to see how that plays out.
There is no information surrounding the GPU of the upcoming SoC, so it is likely that the tipster is talking about the CPU performance when he compares it against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Qualcomm will switch to its custom Oryon cores next year, with an earlier rumor stating that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will also forego the use of efficiency cores, using just performance cores codenamed ‘Phoenix’ in a ‘2 + 6’ configuration.
With both 3nm chipsets dropping the low-power cores in 2024, it will be an impressive showing between the two in raw multi-core performance, though initial claims state that the Dimensity 9400 will have the upper hand. Another tipster, who goes by the handle Revegnus, says that several Chinese brands will adopt MediaTek’s flagship SoC in their devices, and there could be several reasons for this.
The rumored performance advantage of the Dimensity 9400 could be one reason, paired with its cheaper price compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Since Qualcomm will use custom Oryon cores next year, a company executive has hinted that the switch will make the silicon more expensive than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and this will obviously eat into the margins of many Chinese brands who have to consistently ship millions of smartphones to turn over a profit.
If MediaTek had continued to focus on the low-end and mid-range segment, then these brands would have little choice but to incorporate the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, but times are different, and the firm has realized that it has the potential to take the fight to Qualcomm and Apple. However, as we have stated before on countless occasions, treat this rumor with a pinch of salt and wait for the official benchmark comparisons to show up before jumping to conclusions.
News Source: Digital Chat Station
