TL; DR
- Dimensity 9600M uses the same 3nm process and core setup as the Dimensity 9500.
- The CPU, Mali-G1 Ultra GPU and APU 990 remain unchanged.
- MediaTek has added newer AI features, including the Agentic AI Engine and Dimensity Scheduling Engine.
- vivo X500 and OPPO Find X10 are among the first phones expected to use the chip.
MediaTek has introduced the Dimensity 9600M, but the name makes it sound newer than the hardware actually is. Underneath, this is very close to the Dimensity 9500 that launched last year.
The 9600M uses the same TSMC 3nm process, the same CPU cores, the same Mali-G1 Ultra MC12 GPU and the same APU 990. MediaTek’s main change comes on the software side, with newer AI features borrowed from the Dimensity 9600 Pro. So, what exactly has changed? Let’s find out.
The Same 9500 Hardware
The CPU setup is unchanged. There’s one Arm C1-Ultra core running at up to 4.21GHz, three C1-Premium cores and four C1-Pro cores. The cache configuration remains the same too.
The Mali-G1 Ultra MC12 GPU also carries over. This means there isn’t a new GPU architecture or a major jump in graphics performance compared with the Dimensity 9500.
The modem supports 5G-CA and 4G-CA, while Wi-Fi 7 support is also included. Storage and memory support remains at LPDDR5X-10667 and UFS 4.1. In other words, most of what matters inside the chip will look familiar to anyone who has used a Dimensity 9500 phone.
ALSO READ: First Look at the OPPO Find X10 and X10 Pro Max Launching on September 22
AI Is Where MediaTek Has Made Changes
The 9600M gets MediaTek’s Agentic AI Engine and Dimensity Scheduling Engine. These are designed to improve on-device AI processing and help manage AI workloads directly on the phone.
The important detail is that the underlying APU 990 hasn’t changed. The newer Dimensity 9600 Pro has a different AI setup, so the 9600M doesn’t get the same hardware. This makes the 9600M an interesting mix: familiar flagship hardware paired with newer software features.
9600M vs 9600 Pro
The difference between the two is quite significant. The Dimensity 9600 Pro uses TSMC’s 2nm process, a newer CPU design with clock speeds reaching 4.55GHz, Mali-G2 Ultra NX graphics, LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0. The 9600M stays on 3nm with the older C1 CPU setup, Mali-G1 Ultra MC12, LPDDR5X and UFS 4.1.
ALSO READ: MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro Announced With 2nm Design and Major AI Upgrades
First Phones with Dimensity 9600M
The vivo X500 and OPPO Find X10 are among the first phones expected to use the Dimensity 9600M.
That could make the chip useful for manufacturers looking to build phones around proven hardware while still adding MediaTek’s newer software features, without increasing the price too much. The Dimensity 9600M is therefore less of a new generation and more of a new name around an existing platform.
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