MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro launched: 2nm process, Mali-G2 Ultra NX GPU, 2x AI performance

MediaTek finally unveils its flagship processor for 2026, made to take on Apple's A20 Pro chip.

MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro

New flagship processor challenger

MediaTek has unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro, the company's first chipset built on a 2nm process and the first to incorporate Arm's next-generation CPU and GPU architectures. 

The new chip delivers broad performance gains, with particular emphasis on AI processing capability.

The CPU configuration has been restructured, now featuring two Ultra-class cores instead of one, at the expense of a Pro-class core. 

The setup consists of two Arm C2-Ultra cores paired with six C2-Pro cores, in a 2 + 3 + 3 arrangement; clock speeds have not yet been disclosed. 

MediaTek reports the CPU delivers 17% higher single-core performance with 37% better efficiency, while multi-core performance is up 15% with efficiency gains of 61%.

Graphics are handled by a Mali-G2 Ultra NX GPU, which MediaTek says supports gaming at frame rates above 185fps. The company cites a 27% increase in peak performance, an 18% improvement in ray-tracing speed, and a 24% gain in power efficiency, along with neural graphics rendering for enhanced super-resolution output.

The chipset includes 16MB of L3 cache and 10MB of SoC-level cache. It supports both LPDDR5X and the newer LPDDR6 memory, which is rated 33% faster but comes at a higher cost, alongside UFS 5.0 storage.

On the AI front, the integrated NPU 1090 doubles the INT4 performance of its predecessor, the NPU 990 found in the Dimensity 9500. MediaTek also claims a 55% improvement in token-generation efficiency per watt and a 51% increase in prompt pre-fill speed, aided by a dedicated hardware compression engine for KV cache handling.

The Dimensity 9600 Pro also allows the image signal processor to draw directly on the NPU for photo and video processing. It supports camera sensors up to 200MP and video recording at up to 8K resolution and 60fps, while its video decoding engine adds support for the VVC (H.266) codec.

At least one smartphone featuring the Dimensity 9600 Pro has already been announced, with additional devices expected to follow. MediaTek has not indicated whether or when a standard, non-Pro Dimensity 9600 might arrive.

MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro key specs, features:

• First 2nm chip from MediaTek, using Arm's newest CPU and GPU designs
• 2x Ultra cores + 6x Pro cores
• Up to 17% faster single-core, 37% more efficient power draw
• 15% faster, 61% more power-efficient on Multi-Core
• Mali-G2 Ultra NX GPU
• Supports 185+ fps gaming, 27% faster, 18% quicker ray tracing, 24% more efficient
• AI upgrade (NPU 1090): 2x faster AI math (INT4), 55% better power efficiency, 51% faster prompt processing
• Supports LPDDR5X and newer, faster LPDDR6 RAM
• Supports UFS 5.0
• Up to 200MP sensors, 8K video at 60fps, AI-assisted photo/video processing
• New video codec support: VVC (H.266)

At least one smartphone featuring the Dimensity 9600 Pro has already been announced (OPPO Find X10 Pro), with additional devices expected to follow. MediaTek has not indicated whether or when a standard, non-Pro Dimensity 9600 might arrive.

What do you guys think?

Source: MediaTek