Mediak has announced their latest flagship for 2025/26 and it is called the MediaTek Dimensity 9500. The Dimensity 9500 is MediaTek’s attempt to keep up Qualcomm and Apple at the top end of the table because the gap is starting to widen.
Those who have been keeping tab on the market will remember that MediaTek haven’t always been competing at this end of the table. So the fact that they have been very consistent at this end of the table for the last 3 years is very very commendable.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9500 was announced in September of 2025 and it replaces the last year’s Dimensity 9400 and Dimensity 9400 plus. It is a flagship (high end) SoC which should make it’s way onto flagships later this year.
It is built on a 3nm process from TSMC which should bring improvements in performance and battery consumption. This is especially true if you compare to last year’s Dimensity 9400 plus flagship.
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MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Specs
| Section | Specs |
|---|---|
| CPU Cores |
|
| GPU | ARM Mali G1 Ultra MP12 |
| Process | 3nm (TSMC) |
| ISA | ARMv9.3-A |
| RAM | LPDDR5X @5300MHz |
| Storage | UFS 4.1 |
| Display | WQHD @180Hz, HDR10+, MiraVision |
| Camera | Up to 320MP |
| Video | 8K@60fps and 4K@120fps |
| AI Engine | MediaTek NPU 990 |
| Modem | MediaTek 5G Modem (4G LTE Cat 24 and sub-6GHz/mmwave 5G) |
| Bluetooth | v6.0 |
| WiFi | WiFi 7 |
| Geek Bench | 3,635 (single) / 10,941 (multi) |
| AnTuTu | 4,000,000 |
Performance
The Dimensity 9500 uses an octa-core CPU setup with 1x Cortex C1 Ultra prime core running at 4.21GHz, 3x Cortex C1 Premium running at 3.5GHz and then 4x Cortex C1 Pro running at 2.7GHz. This setup is controlled by the new C1-DynamIQ Shared Unit (DSU) which is on board this SoC.
The CPU cores on this SoC are all performance cores and deliver enough more than enough juice for regular to high performance use. The key thing to note is that there are no battery efficiency CPUs on this SoC. Now you don’t have to worry about that, because MediaTek have promised prospective users that there will be no problems with heating and battery consumption. They claim that the C1 Pro CPUs which they’re using as the battery efficiency cores will go easy on battery.
GPU, Graphics and Gaming
For Graphics, there is the all new 12 Core Mali G1 Ultra GPU. It is 20% faster than last year’s Mali G925 GPU and renders games faster too. It is a top of the line flagship GPU too and it is capable of handling everything that’s possible on Android.
RAM and Storage
The Dimensity 9500 implements a top of the line LPDDR5X RAM running at 5300MHz and uses UFS 4.1 for storage.
Benchmarks
Whilst the specs on this SoC all look and sound impressive, we need to quantify its performance by using benchmarks.
I have seen a lot of inflated benchmarks on this SoC, I have what I believe are the right performance test scores. On GeekBench, this SoC scores 3,635 in single core tests and 10,941 in multicore.
On AnTuTu 10, NanoReviews posted that this SoC scores up to 4 million which looks very inflated. They also claimed that this SoC scores 12,000 on GeekBench which is clearly inflated.
Whilst this SoC is clearly very powerful and top of the line, we may have to wait for a while to get the full picture on the benchmark tests.
Camera and Video
The Dimensity 9500 relies on MediaTek’s Imagiq 1190 to process the images and videos from the cameras connected to this SoC. It can support cameras up to 320MP and shoot videos of up to 8K@60fps and 4K@120fps.
Display
This SoC supports displays of up WQHD+ with refresh rates of up to 180Hz. It uses MiraVision technology to process the visuals on the screen.
AI
For AI functions, MediaTek employs the MediaTek NPU 990 which is a top of the line NPU. It is 2 times faster than last year’s NPU 890.
Comms
This SoC supports 5G (sub 6GHz and mmwave), 4G LTE (Cat. 24), WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, GPS and even USB 3.1.
Summary
This is MediaTek’s flagship SoC which outperforms last year’s Dimensity 9400 and the Dimensity 9400 plus which was dropped earlier in 2025.
On paper, it is solid SoC that MediaTek hopes should keep them in touch with Apple and Qualcomm in the flagship race. How it’ll performance in real world use is another matter.
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