This week, MediaTek announced its Dimensity 9400, the company’s newest flagship chipset for smartphone computing.
MediaTek’s Dimenstiy 9400 flagship SoC. Image used courtesy of MediaTek
With this new SoC, MediaTek acknowledges that mobile devices are no longer just communication tools; they now serve as platforms for real-time AI processing, high-definition content creation, and gaming with console-level graphics. MediaTek designed the Dimensity 9400 so that power efficiency is just as important as raw performance.
MediaTek’s Finbarr Moynihan presenting the Dimnesity 9400.
All About Circuits spoke to Finbarr Moynihan, GM and VP of global marketing at MediaTek, to learn about the new chip firsthand.
Dimensity 9400’s Performance-Focused Architecture
From an architectural view, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 builds off the wins of the Dimenstiy 9300 by introducing a second-generation All Big Core design. At the heart of this architecture is a powerful Arm Cortex-X925 core clocked at 3.62 GHz, which works in tandem with three additional Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores. This design allows the SoC to achieve significant performance improvements compared to the previous generation, with a reported 35% faster single-threaded performance and 28% faster sustained multi-threaded performance.
Block diagram of the Dimensity 9400 SoC. Image used courtesy of MediaTek
The Dimensity 9400 features an all-Arm v9.2 architecture, offering several advantages in single-core tasks. It includes an expanded on-chip cache, with 100% more L2 cache and 50% more L3 cache than its predecessor, enhancing data accessibility and throughput.
“We’re taking a big step forward by going to N3E,” Moynihan said.
According to the company, the shift toward TSMC’s N3E process technology has reduced the Dimenstiy 9400’s power usage by 40% compared to the Dimensity 9300. The result is better energy consumption management under peak loads, longer battery life, extended gaming sessions, and AI-driven processes.
Advanced AI Capabilities With Agentic AI
MediaTek is positioning the Dimensity 9400 as a trailblazer in mobile AI, specifically with its integration of the new Dimensity Agentic AI Engine (DAE).
“AI has always been big a big focus for us,” Moynihan said. “The first couple of years were focused on computational photography. Last year, the focus was on running large language models (LLMs) on the device. But now, the next era is agentic AI.”
Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to autonomously perform goal-oriented tasks by making decisions and interacting with their environment without direct human intervention. Unlike traditional AI, which follows pre-programmed instructions, agentic AI emphasizes adaptive behavior, allowing it to reason, plan, and learn from its surroundings to achieve specific objectives.
The Dimensity Agentic AI Engine (DAE). Image used courtesy of MediaTek
MediaTek’s DAE marks a shift from traditional AI toward “agentic AI” applications, which enable the SoC to perform goal-oriented tasks autonomously without direct user input. The system is built to support tasks that involve decision-making, environmental interactions, and adaptive learning. MediaTek designed the Dimensity 9400 to cohesively interface with third-party AI agents and applications, with the hopes of fostering a robust ecosystem for agentic AI development.
The Dimensity 9400 also integrates an 8th-generation neural processing unit (NPU) to optimize AI compute power for on-device LLM operations. MediaTek reports a 50% boost in tokens per second and 80% faster LLM prompt processing than the Dimensity 9300. This AI subsystem supports complex applications such as on-device video generation and low-rank adaptation (LoRA) training, the latter of which MediaTek claims is an industry first for mobile devices.
GPU and Gaming Enhancements
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 brings significant advancements in gaming performance over previous generations. The 12-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU powers the graphical capabilities of the SoC, providing up to 41% faster peak performance than the Dimensity 9300. This improvement translates to smoother frame rates and more immersive gaming experiences, particularly for graphically demanding titles.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC.
Raytracing technology, powered by the Immortalis-G925, now performs 40% faster, enabling more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in mobile games. Additionally, MediaTek’s inclusion of opacity micromaps (OMM) provides realistic transparency effects and enhances visual fidelity.
To further optimize the gaming experience, MediaTek introduced the MediaTek Adaptive Gaming Technology (MAGT) 3.0 and a new frame rate conversion system. These technologies streamline the gaming experience, particularly in scenarios with variable frame rates, by dynamically adjusting the frame output to avoid stutter or lag. The chipset also incorporates co-developed MediaTek and Arm Super Resolution (ASR) technology, which upscales gaming visuals for better picture quality without sacrificing performance or efficiency.
Connectivity and Future-Ready Technologies
Finally, connectivity advancements are central to the Dimensity 9400’s feature set. The chipset supports a refreshed 3GPP Release 17 5G modem reaching 7 Gbps on sub-6 GHz frequencies. It also introduces MediaTek’s AI UAC 3.0 and AI Network Suite 2.0, which improve network performance by 30% and 15%, respectively, in challenging signal conditions.
MediaTek’s UltraSave 4.0 technology reduces power consumption by 18% for 5G and Wi-Fi operations to extend battery life even during continuous high-speed data transfers. The Wi-Fi 7 module in the Dimensity 9400 provides 7.3 Gbps data rates and features MediaTek Xtra Range 3.0, which extends Wi-Fi coverage by up to 30 meters. Notably, the chipset also supports phone-to-phone direct Bluetooth connections up to 1.5 kilometers.
High Computing for Smartphones
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 is a prime example of the growing complexity and capability of mobile SoCs in an era where smartphones are expected to handle tasks traditionally reserved for more powerful computing devices. With advancements like agentic AI, on-device learning, and increasingly sophisticated multimedia processing, the boundaries between mobile devices and larger computing platforms will continue to blur. MediaTek states that the first smartphones powered by the Dimensity 9400 will be available in Q4 of 2024.
