Qualcomm began charging insane premiums for its Snapdragon 8 Elite last year because of the company’s switch to its in-house Oryon cores, making the Dimensity 9400 the obvious pick for phone makers that wanted to generate higher margins. For 2025, history repeats itself because the Dimensity 9500 price per unit estimates are here, and it is more than 50 percent cheaper than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which was reported to cost as much as $280.
At a price range of $180-$200, the Dimensity 9500 will be the obvious choice for Android smartphone manufacturers to save costs, but its drawbacks cannot be ignored
On X, Abhishek Yadav has returned with the pricing estimates of the Dimensity 9500 after it provided the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s figures. With its $180-$200 range, MediaTek’s flagship SoC is up to 55 percent cheaper than the only other option available for Android smartphone makers out there. Of course, it is important to note that these prices are dependent on various factors, including terms set by MediaTek and its partners, meaning that discounted prices will not be offered to everyone.
As for why the Dimensity 9500 is cheaper than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it sticks with ARM’s CPU and GPU designs, allowing it to save costs while Qualcomm’s has gone ‘all in’ with its in-house Oryon cores to give its flagship SoC the edge in a multitude of benchmarks. While MediaTek’s approach is not terrible, it is a double-edged sword because continued reliance on ARM’s designs will mean that the company is leaving a ton of performance on the table by not transitioning to custom cores.
During a court battle with Qualcomm and ARM, the San Diego firm said it set out to acquire Nuvia for $1.4 billion so it could better compete with Apple by offering custom cores. Assuming MediaTek’s partners prioritize higher margins rather than toppling its competitors, the Dimensity 9500 is the perfect choice for them, but going forward, the Taiwanese fabless semiconductor manufacturer needs to contemplate developing its own cores to even the playing field with Qualcomm.
Mass-produced on the same lithography does not give the Dimensity 9500 the same edge, as it relies on ARM’s CPU and GPU designs
In an in-depth Geekbench 6 comparison, it was found that the Dimensity 9500’s engineering had the worst performance per watt metrics when compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and A19 Pro. What this means is that the SoC obtained the lowest multi-core scores in benchmarking applications while also having a high power draw, which is not the most ideal of combinations, especially when fabricated on TSMC’s advanced 3nm N3P lithography.
Also, a preview of the OnePlus 15’s gaming performance equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 showed comparisons with the Dimensity 9500, and smartphones featuring the latter got notably hotter. In short, MediaTek leveraging ARM’s CPU and GPU designs definitely helps it to save costs, but at the expense of being the slowest flagship chipset in the group.
News Source: Abhishek Yadav
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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