[News] MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro, Built on TSMC 2nm, Reportedly Hits Record $220, Closing In on Qualcomm

The 2nm smartphone chip race is heating up. MediaTek today unveiled its next-generation flagship Dimensity 9600 Pro, built on TSMC’s 2nm process. According to TaiSounds, the chipmaker’s entry into Google’s TPU supply chain has added to its pricing clout, with the chip reportedly commanding up to $220—a record high for a MediaTek flagship.

That puts MediaTek closer than ever to Qualcomm at the high end, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is reportedly priced at $240–$260.

The price surge extends beyond MediaTek and Qualcomm. According to TaiSounds, Apple’s 2nm A20 Pro, which also adopts WMCM packaging, reportedly costs around $260—signaling that $200+ could become the new baseline for 2nm smartphone chips.

Executives cited by TechNews added that smartphones powered by the Dimensity 9600 Pro will begin launching this September, with availability in Taiwan expected as early as October.

2nm and Memory Costs Add Pricing Pressure

Citing JinChuan Hsu, MediaTek Vice President and Wireless Communications Business Group General Manager, TaiSounds notes that the higher cost of 2nm manufacturing, coupled with rising memory costs, is forcing significant pricing adjustments.

However, according to TechNews, MediaTek has introduced several technologies to reduce memory footprint, helping cushion the impact of rising chip and memory costs on handset prices. Nikkei, citing Hsu, adds that the chipmaker is working with customers to cut memory footprint without sacrificing performance, helping ease pressure from rising costs.

MediaTek also addressed concerns that the Dimensity 9600 Pro’s support for 30B-parameter Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) models could significantly increase smartphone memory demands. The company, cited by TechNews, said the chip typically keeps only around 3B parameters resident, dynamically loading additional parameters into memory as needed for video or specific tasks—meaning handset makers do not need to add extra memory capacity.

Key Specs in Focus

At the same time, MediaTek is positioning on-device agentic AI as a key differentiator for its new flagship. The Dimensity 9600 Pro combines a dual-NPU architecture with an Agentic AI Engine designed to enable smartphones to perceive, reason and act locally. Its second-generation Super Efficient NPU cuts power consumption by 40% for always-on AI, while the NPU 1090 delivers 51% higher LLM prefill performance and 55% more token generation per watt, according to MediaTek.

The chip also pairs those AI upgrades with a larger 34.5MB cache, while adding support for LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage for the first time, further boosting memory bandwidth and overall performance.

On the other hand, MediaTek also releases the 3nm Dimensity 9600 M aimed at the more mainstream flagship segment. According to TechNews, MediaTek said final device pricing will depend on smartphone makers’ product strategies, with the 9600 Pro targeting maximum performance and premium Pro models, while the 9600 M is designed for standard and Plus variants.

Read more

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