MediaTek's Dimensity 9300 Could Become the Fastest Mobile Chip of 2024

The officially announced MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is shaping up to potentially outpace Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and even the A17 Pro chip found in the iPhone 15 Pro line. This chip is constructed using TSMC's advanced 4nm+ process, representing the third evolution of the 4nm node, which promises significant improvements in CPU, GPU, and AI performance over the previous Dimensity 9200. Notably, the Vivo X90 Pro has already demonstrated the capabilities of the 9200 series.

What's New?

The Dimensity 9300 introduces a distinctive architecture by foregoing efficiency cores. It features four Cortex X4 cores, three of which are clocked at 2.85GHz, and one operating at a higher 3.25GHz. Additionally, there are four Cortex A720 cores running at 2.0GHz, indicating a shift from the standard Cortex A510 cores used in the Dimensity 9200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

MediaTek's strategy aims to leverage the lower power consumption of underclocked ARM A700 series cores compared to the A500 series when operating at full capacity.

The chip boasts an 8MB L3 cache and a 10MB system level cache, an upgrade from its predecessor. A significant enhancement is the incorporation of the ARM Immortalis G720 12-core GPU, bringing hardware-level ray tracing akin to the latest iPhone. The chip also supports LPDDR5T RAM at 9600 Mbps and UFS 4.0 MCQ.

In terms of AI processing, the new APU 790, supporting INT4 and hardware compression, marks a substantial leap forward, with the Dimensity 9300 housing a remarkable 22.7 billion transistors, surpassing Apple's A17 Pro 19 billion transistor count.

Implications

Despite the remarkable specifications, MediaTek's focus is on generative AI, asserting a 45% reduction in power consumption and an 8x performance boost on the APU 790. This optimisation is designed for on-device generative AI tasks, capable of handling 7 billion LLM operations at 20 tokens per second, which is comparable to Qualcomm's reported capability on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Moreover, devices with 16GB RAM can run a 13 billion LLM, and those with 24GB RAM can manage up to 33 billion parameters, albeit at a slower processing rate.

On the GPU front, the addition of an extra core results in a 23% increase in peak performance and a 46% improvement in ray-traced applications, translating to enhanced gaming visuals. Additionally, the new GPU offers significant memory bandwidth savings and supports higher anti-aliasing standards for superior graphics without compromising performance.

This GPU advancement enables support for refresh rates up to 180Hz or 4K at 120Hz and includes dual active panels for foldables, complementing Google's Ultra HDR display format introduced with Android 14.

From a CPU perspective, the Dimensity 9300 is expected to reduce power consumption by 10-15% compared to the 9200 while delivering 15% more performance or consuming 33% less power at the same performance level. However, the push for higher peak performance may impact battery life and device thermals. In benchmark tests, the Dimensity 9300 is poised to take the lead in multicore performance.

The chip also integrates a new imaging engine working alongside the APU, capable of up to 16 layers of object segmentation, enhancing portrait mode for video and stills. It offers always-on HDR capture at 4K with software-driven bokeh and depth effects.

A dual lossless zoom engine preserves detail in high-resolution images, and a dedicated OIS engine within the ISP ensures stability without taxing the sensors.

Security features include a secure boot mechanism, an isolated enclave, and ARM's V9 memory tagging extension to help developers mitigate memory-level vulnerabilities in applications. The chip also supports Wi-Fi 7 and 5G on sub-6Ghz bands, with up to 7Gbps downlink speeds.

All signs point to a promising future for the Dimensity 9300, which is expected to debut in the Vivo X100 series, a likely contender for the title of camera powerhouse.