MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 is rumored to feature ARM’s new CPU architecture, codenamed ‘BlackHawk’, higher IPC than A17 Pro and Qualcomm Oyron

The Dimensity 9400 is scheduled to be announced later this year, and one of the most significant differences between it and chipsets like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and A17 Pro is that MediaTek won’t rely on custom cores for its next SoC. Instead, ARM’s current CPU designs will be used, which may give the impression that the Dimensity 9400 is at a distinct disadvantage. However, a tipster claims that MediaTek and ARM are collaborating to use the latter’s ‘BlackHawk’ architecture in the upcoming silicon, potentially offering better instructions per clock (IPC) performance than competing current-generation chips.

Dimensity 9400 may feature an optimized version of ARM’s Cortex-X5 to deliver unmatched single-core performance

Rumor has it that, like the Dimensity 9300, MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 will not have efficiency cores, giving it an advantage in multithreaded workloads. However, with the addition of the Cortex-X5, which uses ARM’s new BlackHawk architecture, the Weibo Digital Chat Station tipster claims internal testing is promising. While the leaker doesn’t share performance metrics, he does mention that the IPC is superior to Apple’s A17 Pro and the Qualcomm Nuvia, with the latter likely being the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

The Dimensity 9400 is said to feature the largest die size for a smartphone, measuring 150mm² and containing 30 billion transistors. This size advantage could give MediaTek plenty of room to incorporate a larger cache and other improvements, putting the SoC a league above its competition. However, a rumor was doing the rounds earlier claiming that the Cortex-X5 faced high power consumption and overheating issues. It’s possible that MediaTek and ARM have addressed these issues, but we have to monitor several benchmarks to know the truth.

With the exception of Google and Apple, every other smartphone manufacturer has partnered with MediaTek, with Vivo reportedly being the Dimensity 9400’s first customer. It’s likely that the Chinese company has witnessed first-hand what this chipset is capable of and has decided to secure the first shipment for use in its future flagships. Looking at how impressive the Dimensity 9300 is, we have high hopes for the Dimensity 9400 and for MediaTek to deliver on all fronts, raising the bar on the competition.

News Source: Digital Chat Station