Recent rumors from Asia suggest a focus on maximum power for the upcoming flagship processor from MediaTek, the Dimensity 9600.
The information, disseminated by the well-known leaker Digital Chat Station on the platform Weibo, indicates that the Taiwanese company is preparing to introduce an unprecedented hardware architecture on its mobile-market SoCs.
MediaTek Dimensity 9600, the CPU will have two Ultra cores
The leaker’s original message, though using a chicken emoji to refer to the manufacturer in a common pun on Chinese forums, appeared unequivocal. The future Dimensity 9600 will abandon conventions by adopting a CPU core configuration based on the 2+3+3 scheme.
Discarding the traditional differentiation that included energy-efficient cores for battery savings, the new architecture will integrate exclusively high-performance units.
In particular, the processor will boast for the first time two main ARM C2-Ultra cores, accompanied by three ARM C2-Premium cores and a further three ARM C2-Pro cores. This specific arrangement closely mirrors the layout expected for Qualcomm’s future rival, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 by Qualcomm.
The strategy of eliminating low-power cores relies entirely on trust in the progress of the partner foundry. The architecture will be realized using the sophisticated N2P manufacturing process from TSMC.
This advanced technology will guarantee a performance increase between 5% and 10% compared with the previous N2 node, enabling designers to compensate for the absence of smaller cores by relying on the high efficiency of the latest-generation silicon.
What’s new compared to the past and launch window
The current Dimensity 9500 relies on a less extreme configuration, characterized by a single ARM C1-Ultra core clocked at 4.21 GHz and equipped with 2 MB of L2 cache. To this unit are added three ARM C1-Premium cores operating at 3.50 GHz with 1 MB of L2 cache and four ARM C1-Pro cores fixed at 2.70 GHz.
The technological leap towards the Dimensity 9600 will therefore entail the doubling of the Ultra processing units, while replacing the previous iterations with the new C2 architectures, delivering clear benefits for complex processing.
The graphics block will also receive a substantial upgrade. The leaked specs indicate the adoption of ARM’s forthcoming flagship GPU, likely named Mali-G2 Ultra.
This GPU is expected to officially debut in September and will integrate more than ten dedicated cores, providing mandatory native support for ray tracing technology.
All these components will converge in a launch anticipated for the month of September, the period when the very first smartphones equipped with the new CPU will appear on the market.
