When Apple announced their 64-bit Apple A7 SoC with support for NVMe in 2013, they put a 10-year gap between their SoCs and those from the Android side of the fence. So for the past decade, Android chip makers have been trying to close this gap. One of the companies at the forefront of this fightback is Taiwanese giant, MediaTek. In this article, we are going to be looking at the Dimensity 9200+ vs. Apple A17 Pro. Has MediaTek done enough to catch up with Apple or have they surpassed Apple? Let’s find out.
The Dimensity 9200+ was announced in May 2022. It is both a MediaTek and an Android flagship. The Dimensity 9200+ is a very capable flagship SoC, yet its adoption by smartphone manufacturers remains relatively low. The reluctance by smartphone makers to adopt this SoC could be chalked up to MediaTek’s relatively recent entry into the flagship segment. Nevertheless, this SoC can be found in flagship devices like the Xiaomi 13T Pro, Xiaomi Redmi K60 Extreme Edition, Vivo X90S, and Vivo iQOO Neo 8 Pro.
The Apple A17 Pro is Apple’s current flagship. It was announced in September of 2023 and it is the fastest SoC in the smartphone space with a clock speed of 3.78GHz. This SoC can be found on the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Having set the stage, let us get into the Dimensity 9200+ Vs. Apple A17 Pro comparison.
Dimensity 9200+ vs. Apple A17 Pro: Pure Performance
It is always going to be a tough task to try to compare Apple’s SoCs against those from the Android side. This is because they use vastly different architectures and software. However, this is where benchmarks come to the rescue. Benchmark tests simulate real-life performance and help us understand how well an SoC would perform in real life.
Note: Dimensity 9200+ on the left and Apple A17 Pro specs on the right.
| CPUs | 1x Cortex X3 (3.35GHz) + 3x Cortex A715 (3.0GHz) + 4x Cortex A510 (2.0 GHz) | 2x Performance Cores (3.7GHz) + 4x Power Efficiency Cores (2.02GHz) |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 8 | 6 |
| Clock Speed | 3.35GHz | 3.7GHz |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | ARMv9 (??) |
| L1 Cache | – | 256KB |
| L2 Cache | 1MB | 16MB |
| L3 Cache | 8MB | – |
| Process Node | 4nm TSMC | 3nm TSMC |
| Transistor Count | 17 Billion | 19 billion |
| TDP | 8 W | 8W |
On AnTuTu 10, both SoCs are tied for performance. This is because the Apple A17 Pro scores a total of 1,563,983, while the Dimensity 9200+ comes close with a total score of 1,538,721. On Geekbench 6 however, the A17 Pro scores around 7238. This score is 35% better than the 5655 scored by the Dimensity 9200+. This is a tight one, and should be penciled down as a tie (in this author’s opinion).
AnTuTu 10
Note: The Dimensity 9200+ scores are on the left, while those of the A17 Pro are on the right.
| CPU | 366984 | 373,446 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | 560561 | 579,682 |
| Memory | 300579 | 283,791 |
| UX | 296924 | 341,416 |
| Total Score | 1,538,721 | 1,563,983 |
GeekBench 6
| Single-Core Score | 2121 | 2902 |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Core Score | 5655 | 7238 |
Gaming on the Dimensity 9200+ vs Apple A17 Pro
The Dimensity 9200+ is armed with an ARM Mali G715 Immortalis MP11 GPU while the A17 Pro uses the Apple Bionic GPU (6-core). On 3DMark’s Wildlife Performance, the 9200+ has the better GPU.
3D Mark
| Graphics Test | 71 FPS | 59 FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 11938 | 10,007 |
It could be seen from the scores above that the Dimensity 9200+ has the better GPU. However, the A17 Pro is optimized to play triple-A console-level titles. A feat for which Dimensity 9200+ is not optimized. This one for me is also a draw.
RAM and Storage
For RAM, the Dimensity 9200+ uses the better and faster LPDDR5X (4266MHz) processor. The Apple A17 Pro, on the other hand, has to make do with an LPDDR5 (3200MHz) RAM. That being said, iOS on the A17 Pro optimizes iPhones for very smooth operations, and as a result, using a slightly slower RAM wouldn’t matter at all in real-life use.
The Dimensity 9200+ supports UFS 4.0 storage whilst the A17 Pro, as expected, supports Apple’s NVMe storage.
Cameras and Video
Even though we are not entirely sure about the maximum camera resolution supported by the A17 Pro, we can tentatively put it at 48MP. This falls a very long way behind the impressive 320MP support enjoyed by the Dimensity 9200+.
For video, the A17 Pro can record and playback video resolutions of up to 4K HDR at 60fps. The Dimensity 9200+ on the other hand can shoot up to 8K video at a decent 24fps. Now even though Android OEMs have caught up in photography, there’s still a lot of work to be done before they can beat Apple at video.
Connectivity
Both SoCs support 2G to 5G networks as well as Bluetooth 5.3. That’s where the similarities end as the Dimensity 9200+ supports a better WiFi 7 as well as faster upload and download speeds. The A17 Pro tries to equalize this by having satellite connectivity for emergency SOS.
Battery
For battery life, heating, and efficiency, the A17 Pro will easily take this one. This is because it is built on a cutting-edge 3nm TSMC process whilst the Dimensity 9200+ is built on an older 4nm TSMC process.
Conclusion
This is the closest that an Android SoC has come to pushing Apple and it will only get closer in the coming years. Both SoCs are neck to neck here and it’ll be up to you, the user to pick based on your personal preferences.
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