MediaTek signs its first contract with a phone manufacturer for its powerful Dimensity 9400 AP

MediaTek's Dimensity 9300 SoC has an unusual configuration. With four Cortex-X4 Prime CPU cores and four Cortex-A720 Performance CPU cores, the octa-core chipset is not equipped with any low-power Efficiency cores. While there have been concerns about the chipset overheating, the component has been used inside the Vivo x100 Pro without any issues. A report out of China says that the Dimensity 9300 application processor (AP) has already earned $1 billion in revenue for MediaTek.

The Dimensity 9400 chipset, expected to be introduced later this year, also will sport a unique configuration that is expected to include one Cortex-X5 Prime CPU core, four Cortex-X4 Prime CPU cores, and four Cortex-A720 performance CPU cores. Once again, MediaTek's chip designers are eschewing a low-power efficiency core to create a powerful chipset that just might overtake the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 AP which is also due to be introduced later in 2024.

According to China Times (via Wccftech), MediaTek has already signed one phone manufacturer for the Dimensity 9400 SoC and that is Vivo. Apparently, the company is happy with how the Vivo x100 Pro runs equipped with the Dimensity 9300 under the hood.

China Times says that the Dimensity 9400 runs 20% "better" than the Dimensity 9300 which is a vague comment that really doesn't tell us where the new silicon is outperforming its predecessor. One thing that seems certain, the Dimensity 9400 will be priced lower than its rival Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset which could help drive some business to MediaTek.

However, as you might expect with a chip that is all performance and power the Dimensity 9400 AP has been of overheating and under-performing during testing. But the Dimensity 9300 also suffered from similar rumors last year and still has managed to be a big success for MediaTek. It will be interesting to see which phone manufacturers decide to pack the Dimensity 9400 into their smartphones this year and next.