A first look at MediaTek’s upcoming flagship chip hints at serious firepower and bold architectural shifts, just months before its expected launch.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 has quietly made its first appearance on Geekbench’s OpenCL benchmark, signaling a fresh leap in the company’s mobile ambitions. For a chip that’s been making the rounds in rumor mills, this is the first time we’re seeing something official-ish. And it’s turning heads.
Cortex-X930 and That 3.23 GHz Boost Core Are Real
Until now, the Cortex-X930 was whispered about. Now it’s clocked—literally.
This latest Geekbench listing reveals that MediaTek is indeed using a single Cortex-X930 prime core running at 3.23 GHz. It’s backed by three 3.03 GHz cores (probably Cortex-A7xx) and four efficiency cores at 2.23 GHz. So yeah, still an octa-core setup—1+3+4—but there’s a shift in the naming and tuning.
One sentence isn’t enough for this: the new naming scheme for CPU clusters—Travis, Alto, and Gelas—is more than just branding fluff. It hints at differentiated handling of workloads, power balancing, and possibly a smarter big.LITTLE configuration.
It’s still in its sampling phase though, according to leaker Digital Chat Station, meaning these clocks might not survive final tuning.
A New GPU Class and Major AI Muscle
The GPU spotted here is new. We’re talking about the Mali-G1-Ultra MC12, a name that hasn’t appeared in public benchmarking until now.
What’s interesting is that earlier leaks had hinted at the use of an Immortalis-Drage GPU. It’s possible we’re seeing a variant here or perhaps a different internal codename for the same underlying architecture. Either way, the message is clear: this chip isn’t just faster—it’s smarter and leaner.
That Immortalis-Drage piece, by the way, is said to push ray tracing ahead while trimming power use. Add in support for LPDDR5x RAM at 10667Mbps and quad-channel UFS 4.1 storage, and the whole platform is starting to sound flagship-grade.
Topline Specs Are Blistering—If They Hold
Leaked specs are always a gamble, but these numbers are too juicy to ignore. According to sources familiar with the chip’s roadmap, here’s what the Dimensity 9500 might pack:
1 x Cortex-X930 @ 3.23 GHz + 3 x 3.03 GHz + 4 x 2.23 GHz
Mali-G1-Ultra MC12 GPU
16MB L3 cache, 10MB system-level cache
Upgraded NPU 9.0 with 100 TOPS of AI compute
Support for Android 16, LPDDR5x RAM, UFS 4.1
The benchmark score? Geekbench 6 single-core numbers are expected to hit over 3900, while multi-core could climb beyond 11000—putting it neck-and-neck with Apple’s M-class mobile chips.
If these figures prove accurate in commercial devices, MediaTek might finally shake off the “value flagship” label and step squarely into top-tier territory.
Here’s how it might compare on paper:
| Feature | MediaTek Dimensity 9500 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Apple A17 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Core | Cortex-X930 @ 3.23 GHz | Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz | 1 x Custom Core |
| GPU | Mali-G1-Ultra MC12 | Adreno 750 | Apple GPU |
| L3 Cache | 16MB | 12MB | 8MB |
| AI Compute | 100 TOPS | ~90 TOPS | ~35 TOPS |
| RAM Support | LPDDR5x @ 10667Mbps | LPDDR5x | LPDDR5 |
| Storage | UFS 4.1 (quad-channel) | UFS 4.0 | NVMe |
September Could Be MediaTek’s Make-Or-Break Month
Timing is everything. And this time, MediaTek isn’t playing catch-up.
The Dimensity 9500 is expected to launch in early September 2025. That’s weeks before Qualcomm drops its Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 on September 23. The leak pipeline suggests that OPPO and vivo are locked in to debut phones with the 9500 at launch.
MediaTek’s early jump could matter more than ever, especially as Android OEMs struggle to differentiate in a market drowning in specs and sameness.
Too Early to Celebrate, But Hard to Ignore
Yes, it’s still in testing. And yes, frequencies and specs might change. But make no mistake—this chip is shaping up to be a monster.
Previous Dimensity models always had the speed, but they often lacked the ecosystem polish or marketing muscle. This time feels different. The combination of next-gen CPU cores, a fresh GPU line, LPDDR5x RAM support, upgraded AI, and a reported 100 TOPS means this isn’t just an incremental update.
Still, the proof will be in the phones. Geekbench numbers can impress, but real-world thermals, gaming performance, and camera AI matter more. And with Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 looming large, MediaTek’s margin for error is razor-thin.
But for now? The Dimensity 9500 has officially entered the chat. And it’s not whispering.
