Dimensity 900: A Strong Mid-Range Challenger

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Yesterday, MediaTek officially announced the latest member of the Dimensity family – the Dimensity 900. Its arrival is expected to fill the market gap between the Dimensity 1000 series and the Dimensity 800 series, and it will engage in fierce competition with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 780G level new generation mid-range 5G mobile platform. So, how powerful is this chip? Is it worth our attention?

Upgraded 6nm Process Technology

MediaTek has not yet adopted the top-tier flagship 5nm process, and the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 can only barely cope with the onslaught from Snapdragon 870 and Samsung Exynos 1080, so we naturally cannot expect the Dimensity 900 to use the most advanced 5nm process.

In fact, TSMC’s 6nm EUV is also good, with an 8% reduction in power consumption compared to the 7nm process, and theoretically, it should not lag too far behind Samsung’s 5nm. The fact that it can be used for mid-range chip manufacturing is already quite sincere.

Upgraded Cortex-A78 Architecture

The Cortex-A78 is a flagship CPU IP core released by ARM in mid-last year, and it is currently the standard for flagship mobile platforms. This time, MediaTek has also assigned it to the Dimensity 900, adopting a dual-cluster architecture scheme with 2 Cortex-A78 big cores and 6 Cortex-A55 small cores, which should have a better energy efficiency ratio than the 4+4 combination.

However, the main frequency of the Dimensity 900’s big cores is only 2.4GHz, so its theoretical CPU performance will not be much stronger than that of the Dimensity 820 and Dimensity 1000+ (the fewer big cores will also affect its multi-core performance).

Upgraded Mali-G68 GPU

The GPU of the Dimensity 900 has been upgraded to Mali-G68, which completely inherits the core, architecture, and features of Mali-G78, and also supports global clock domains and FMA engine technologies. However, MediaTek only paired 4 computing cores with the Dimensity 900, and Mali-G68MP4 is certainly stronger than the Mali-G57MC5 integrated in the Dimensity 820, but obviously still not as good as the Mali-G77MC9 integrated in the Dimensity 1000 series, which, although one generation older in GPU architecture, has more computing cores.

The Dimensity 900 continues to support the latest HyperEngine gaming engine, including advanced features like uninterrupted calls 3.0, dual SIM game calls, 5G high-speed rail mode, and super hotspot gaming mode.

Support for UFS3.1 and LPDDR5

The biggest feature of the Dimensity 900 is also reflected in the improvements in storage. It not only supports UFS3.1 flash memory (of course, it can also use UFS2.1, depending on the cost control of the phone manufacturers), but also introduces support for LPDDR5 memory in the mid-range processor field for the first time. Although it only supports dual-channel LPDDR5, which is not as good as the flagship Snapdragon 888 that supports four-channel LPDDR5, its competitors in a similar position are still using dual-channel LPDDR4X, so the strength comparison is self-evident.

Other Regular Upgrades

In terms of networking, the Dimensity 900 supports Sub-6G full-band, 5G dual-carrier aggregation (120MHz spectrum bandwidth), NSA/SA networking, FDD/TDD duplex, dual SIM full network access, 5G dual SIM dual standby, dual SIM VoNR, 5G UltraSave power-saving technology, and also supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, directly aligning with the Dimensity 1000 series.

In terms of imaging, the Dimensity 900 integrates the Imagiq 5.0 DSP image processor and multi-core ISP, supporting hardware-level 4K HDR video (4K/30fps) recording engine, and real-time picture quality enhancement for HDR10+ video playback, combined with 3D noise reduction (3DNR) and multi-frame noise reduction (MFNR) technologies, it can support up to a 108MP quad-camera combination.

In terms of AI, the Dimensity 900 integrates APU3.0, but the official has not specified the number of APU cores. For reference, the Dimensity 1000 series has a six-core APU3.0 with 2 big cores + 3 small cores + 1 micro core, theoretically the Dimensity 900’s core count will be reduced.

A Highly Competitive Mid-Range Newcomer

As the 12th member of the Dimensity family, MediaTek has high hopes for the Dimensity 900. With 6nm process, A78 big cores, Mali-G68 GPU derived from Mali-G78, UFS3.1, LPDDR5, 4K HDR video recording, 108MP camera, 5G full network access, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and other features that originally belonged to flagship or quasi-flagship levels, they have all been packed into the Dimensity 900. Moreover, there is a possibility that MediaTek will collaborate with a smartphone brand to launch a customized Dimensity 920 (further increasing the main frequency and adding GPU computing cores).

From the existing parameters, the Dimensity 900 should be on par with the Snapdragon 780G. As for the actual performance differences, we will have to wait until the smartphones equipped with Dimensity 900 are mass-produced.

According to statistics from research firm Counterpoint, in 2020, MediaTek captured 32% of the mobile chip market share, surpassing competitors like Qualcomm to become the champion. Counterpoint predicts that in 2021, MediaTek will maintain its leading advantage, and its market share is expected to further increase to 37%.

The emergence of the Dimensity 900 will undoubtedly help MediaTek further consolidate its position in the mid-range market, forming a tight blockade with the Dimensity 700, Dimensity 800, and Dimensity 1000. After the release of the Dimensity 2000 in the second half of the year, it will complete the last piece of the puzzle for MediaTek in the high-end flagship market.

As consumers, we naturally look forward to “Brother Fa” launching more well-reputed mobile platforms, making the competition in the mobile chip market even more intense, so that we can ultimately enjoy more benefits.

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