Mediatek Dimensity 9400 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 likely to launch soon

MediaTek and Qualcomm are gearing up to release their latest flagship chipsets, the Dimensity 9400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, respectively. MediaTek, the Taiwanese fabless semiconductor manufacturer, is reportedly set to unveil its Dimensity 9400 in October too.

This new system on a chip (SoC) will be produced using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, similar to Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This advanced manufacturing process promises significant improvements in both performance and efficiency.

Dimensity 9400 Features (Expected)

MediaTek’s CEO, Rick Tsai, has expressed strong confidence in the Dimensity 9400, predicting it will boost the company’s annual revenue by 50 percent. Unlike its predecessor, the Dimensity 9300, the 9400 is rumored to forgo power-efficient cores entirely, instead focusing on performance cores to maximize single-core and multi-core performance. This is achieved through ARM’s ‘BlackHawk’ CPU architecture.

The Dimensity 9400 is also expected to feature MediaTek’s largest die to date, measuring 150mm² and incorporating 30 billion transistors. This substantial increase in transistors and die size is expected to enhance the chipset’s cache and Neural Processing Unit, significantly boosting on-device generative AI capabilities.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Features (Expected)

Qualcomm has confirmed that it will also release its next-generation flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, in October. This SoC will be featured in many high-end Android smartphones next year.

According to a leak from Digital Chat Station, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will offer significant GPU improvements, surpassing the already impressive Adreno 750 found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The Adreno 750 outperforms the GPU in Apple’s A17 Pro used in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, suggesting that Qualcomm’s new chipset will continue to lead in GPU performance.

Despite previous rumors suggesting extremely high clock speeds for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, recent information indicates that the chipset will also be more power-efficient than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This efficiency is attributed to the TSMC’s 3nm node, which will be used in the production of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

Qualcomm previously utilized TSMC’s N4P 4nm technology for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will likely be built on the more advanced N3E 3nm process nodes. This new process is expected to support a 2 + 6 design, possibly without efficiency cores, allowing Qualcomm to maintain high-core performance with clock speeds potentially ranging from 4GHz to 4.26GHz.

The Snapdragon 8 series is the most widely adopted mobile chipset globally, aside from those used by brands like Apple and Google. According to social media leaker Yogesh Brar, the Xiaomi 15 lineup is likely to be the first smartphone series to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, highlighting the chipset’s anticipated impact on the market.