MediaTek Launches Dimensity 9600 Pro, First 2nm Phone Chip With 61% Power Cut

The flagship smartphone chip race reached a new milestone on September 15, 2026, when MediaTek unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro, its first flagship mobile system on chip manufactured on TSMC's 2 nanometre process. The Hsinchu, Taiwan based company said the new silicon delivers a 61 percent reduction in multi core power consumption compared with the previous generation, a claim that underscores how aggressively chip designers are chasing efficiency as on device artificial intelligence workloads grow.

MediaTek announced the chip from its headquarters, describing itself as the first company to announce reaching the 2nm process threshold. The Dimensity 9600 Pro arrives ahead of Qualcomm's expected Snapdragon announcement later this month, and it follows Apple's 2nm A20 Pro chip, which Android Central reported on September 15 has already launched inside the iPhone 18 Pro series.

The chip is built around a 2+3+3 all big core CPU design that abandons small efficiency cores entirely. It pairs two Arm C2 Ultra cores clocked at up to 4.55GHz with three C2 Pro cores at 4.35GHz and three more C2 Pro cores at 3.1GHz. MediaTek says this configuration yields up to 17 percent higher single core performance and up to 15 percent higher multi core performance than the Dimensity 9500, while cutting multi core power by 61 percent at matching peak performance.

Beyond the CPU, the Dimensity 9600 Pro introduces a dual neural processing unit architecture, support for LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage for the first time in a mobile chip, and a new G2 Ultra NX GPU. MediaTek also introduced the Dimensity 9600M, built on TSMC's 3nm process, to address a broader portion of the flagship smartphone market. First smartphones are expected to launch this quarter.

Key Facts

MediaTek Press Room reported on September 15 that the Dimensity 9600 Pro uses a 2+3+3 All Big Core CPU with two C2 Ultra cores up to 4.55GHz, three C2 Pro big cores at 4.35GHz, and three C2 Pro big cores at 3.1GHz. The company claims up to 17 percent higher single core performance, up to 15 percent higher multi core performance, and 61 percent lower multi core power versus the previous generation. Gizmochina reported on September 15 that the chip contains more than 33 billion transistors.

Gizmochina also reported on September 15 that the move from 3nm to 2nm delivers a 14 percent performance bump and a 23 percent cut in power consumption at the chip level before CPU architecture changes. The chip uses 16MB of L3 cache for a total of 34.5MB, which MediaTek says is 21 percent more L2 cache than the Dimensity 9500. Geekbench 6.4 scores show 4,276 single core and 12,650 multi core, compared with 3,666 and 11,014 for the Dimensity 9500.

GSMArena reported on September 15 that the GPU is a Mali G2 Ultra NX with support for gaming at up to 185 frames per second, 27 percent higher peak performance, 18 percent faster ray tracing, and 24 percent lower power at peak. The chip supports both LPDDR5X and LPDDR6 memory, with LPDDR6 delivering 33 percent higher performance but also costing more, as well as UFS 5.0 storage that doubles the sequential read and write speeds of dual channel UFS 4.0. The ISP taps into the NPU, supports sensors up to 200MP, and records 8K video at 60 frames per second with VVC (H.266) decoding.

The dual NPU setup pairs the tenth generation NPU 1090 with a second generation Super Efficient NPU. MediaTek Press Room reported on September 15 that the low power NPU cuts always on AI power by 40 percent, while the NPU 1090 delivers 51 percent higher LLM prefill performance and 55 percent higher token generation per watt. Android Central reported on September 15 that the chip supports AI models with up to 30 billion parameters directly on the device. MediaTek also introduced the Dimensity 9600M on TSMC's 3nm process, which EconoTimes reported on September 15 targets a wider portion of the flagship market.

Analysis

MediaTek's 61 percent multi core power reduction claim is the headline, but the more important shift is architectural. The chip abandons small efficiency cores in favor of a 2+3+3 all big core layout, a design choice that would have been impractical before TSMC's 2nm node. By moving to 2nm, MediaTek gets a 23 percent power cut at the chip level before any CPU changes, according to Gizmochina, and then layers on a 37 percent power reduction on the ultra large cores.

The bigger picture here is that MediaTek is no longer competing only on price or core counts. The dual NPU architecture, support for 30 billion parameter models on device, and the first ever LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0 support in a smartphone chip place the Dimensity 9600 Pro in direct competition with Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon line. Android Central reported on September 15 that MediaTek beat Qualcomm to the 2nm punch, with Qualcomm expected to announce its answer at Snapdragon Summit later this month. EconoTimes reported on September 15 that MediaTek's market capitalization surpassed Qualcomm's earlier this year.

The AI focus is not just about running chatbots on a phone. The second generation Super Efficient NPU cuts always on AI power by 40 percent, which enables features like continuous voice assistants and real time translation without a noticeable battery penalty. The NPU 1090 delivers 55 percent better token generation per watt. MediaTek's JC Hsu, corporate senior vice president, said in a statement that AI is central to the smartphone experience and that the Dimensity 9600 Pro meets these demands with a Native AI architecture. That framing positions the chip as a platform for agentic AI.

Still, the numbers come from MediaTek lab demo device testing, as the company disclosed. Independent benchmarks will be needed to verify the 61 percent power reduction and the Geekbench scores. Hsu said MediaTek is working with smartphone manufacturers to reduce the impact of rising component costs as surging AI demand places additional pressure on global supply chains. He expects higher handset prices and advanced AI capabilities to create opportunities for MediaTek to expand its flagship market share, according to EconoTimes.

Why It Matters

The Dimensity 9600 Pro matters because it sets a new baseline for flagship smartphone chips. With 2nm manufacturing, a 2+3+3 all big core CPU, LPDDR6 memory, and UFS 5.0 storage, the chip raises expectations for what a premium phone can do. Competitors will now be measured against its 61 percent multi core power reduction, its 30 billion parameter on device AI support, and its 185 frames per second gaming capability.

The launch also matters for TSMC, which manufactures the chip on its 2nm process. MediaTek is the first company to announce reaching the 2nm threshold for a mobile processor, according to its press release, and the chip's more than 33 billion transistors demonstrate the density and efficiency gains of the new node. For Arm, the chip's use of C2 Ultra and C2 Pro cores and the Mali G2 Ultra NX GPU is a showcase for its next generation designs, which GSMArena reported on September 15 are being used for the first time in a mobile chip.

Beyond smartphones, MediaTek is extending its AI semiconductor business into data centers and custom chips. EconoTimes reported on September 15 that the company's first AI accelerator developed for a major U.S. cloud service provider is expected to enter mass production during the fourth quarter. MediaTek raised $3.9 billion through a convertible bond offering last month, with Nvidia investing $3.5 billion and Alphabet also participating.

Next Up

The first smartphones powered by the Dimensity 9600 Pro and the Dimensity 9600M are expected to launch this quarter. The key numbers indicate that the first device will be the vivo X500 Pro series on September 21, 2026, followed by the OPPO Find X10 Pro Max on September 22. MediaTek has not confirmed those dates, but the company said first devices will arrive soon.

Qualcomm is set to announce its next flagship Snapdragon chipsets later this month, according to Android Central, and Apple's 2nm A20 Pro is already in the iPhone 18 Pro series. The competitive response will determine whether MediaTek's early 2nm lead translates into sustained flagship market share.