Qualcomm and MediaTek narrowed the technological gap with Apple Silicon by leveraging TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process for the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400, but the lack of SME, or Scalable Matrix Extension, meant that both chipsets were still leaving performance on the table. Thankfully, a tipster notes that next year, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and the Dimensity 9500 will support this architecture, allowing both SoCs to be on par with Apple’s current-generation technology in tackling complex workloads, resulting in a 20 percent performance bump in both single-core and multi-core workloads.
Qualcomm could mass produce the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 by using Samsung and TSMC foundries; Dimensity 9500 may use just one supply chain partner
This year, Apple’s M4 was revealed to support the ARMv9 architecture, enabling it to run complex workloads more efficiently, which was likely why the chipset obtained close to 4,000 points in Geekbench 6’s single-core test. The M4 Max that is found in Apple’s top-end MacBook Pro models can now achieve this performance threshold without the use of additional cooling, and these exact results could be obtained by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and Dimensity 9500 next year.
It is unclear why the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 were left out with no SME support, but it could be due to the adoption of the older ARMv8 architecture. Regardless, the tipster Jukanlosreve has stated on X that Qualcomm’s next year flagship SoC will adopt Samsung’s 2nm GAA process, also known as ‘SF2,’ while dual-sourcing from TSMC for its 3nm N3P node.
Remember that Qualcomm will ever place orders with Samsung only if the latter can improve its yields, which it has struggled with, at least with its first and second-generation 3nm GAA process. As for MediaTek, there is no word on whether the Taiwanese fabless semiconductor firm will adopt the same business practices as Qualcomm, but given its allegiance with TSMC, we doubt it will introduce Samsung. However, this move can become a costly mistake as wafers manufactured on advanced lithography are not getting any cheaper.
So far, there is immense scarcity surrounding the specification details of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and the Dimensity 9500, but it was mentioned in a previous rumor that Qualcomm’s 2025 chipset was tested with its performance cores running at 5.00GHz, with its CPU cluster remaining unchanged from the Snapdragon 8 Elite. When we learn more about these chipsets, we will provide routine updates, so stay tuned.
News Source: Jukanlosreve
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