MediaTek is a heavyweight in the smartphone chip market. The latter is, however, largely dominated by the American Qualcomm which, according to the latest estimates from the Counterpoint firm, alone garnered 40% of revenues linked to the sector in the second quarter of 2023, followed by Apple (33%). The Taiwanese firm, with 16% of the market, is increasing its entry-level/mid-range chips (the classic Helio), and a little more advanced, under the name Dimensity. To complete them, MediaTek formalizes its chipset the best equipped, the Dimensity 9300.
Intended to compete with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, recently announced across the Atlantic and already included in the first smartphones (the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro), the Dimensity 9300 chip succeeds a Dimensity 9200, notably present in the Vivo X90 Pro. Engraved in 4 nm, it is based on four Cortex-X4 cores at 3.25 GHz and four Cortex-A720 at 2 GHz, promising performance up to 40% higher than that of the Dimensity 9200, but also more energy efficiency (33% energy savings). The brand of course promises a more efficient GPU, and has opted for the Immortalis-G720, also promising increased performance (+46%) and energy savings, while offering the essential compatibility with ray tracing , also offered by the competition.
A chip focused on AI (and folding smartphones)
The Dimensity 9300 is compatible with many of the components of high-end mobiles, such as WQHD screens up to 180 Hz, video capture up to 8K at 30 fps, wifi 7 and even Bluetooth 5.4. It can even, within folding terminals, support two screens turned on simultaneously. But like its rivals, it is its potential in terms of artificial intelligence that MediaTek intends to highlight. Its ISP (image processor) not only allows the capture of 18-bit raw images, but appears to be equipped with an intelligent semantic video analysis engine: in concrete terms, it must recognize 16 types of scenes to adjust the rendering of images. MediaTek announces that its chip includes an APU, that is to say a processing unit, authorizing the use of generative AI within the smartphone.
All of this will be available to discover in the first devices by the first half of 2023. Several manufacturers have already announced their intention to use the Dimensity 9300 in their products: Vivo, with its X100, the announcement of which is planned in China on November 13, but also Oppo, within future Find X.