MediaTek launches 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro with 61% lower multi-core power

MediaTek announced the Dimensity 9600 Pro on September 15, 2026, a flagship smartphone system-on-chip built on a 2nm process node, and reported a 61% reduction in multi-core power consumption. The announcement, issued from Hsinchu, Taiwan, also introduced a companion chip, the Dimensity 9600M.

In its announcement, MediaTek described itself as the world’s number one provider of mobile chipsets and said it was the first company to announce reaching the 2nm threshold. JC Hsu, corporate senior vice president at MediaTek and general manager of the Wireless Communications Business Unit, said AI is central to the smartphone experience and that devices need greater performance, efficiency, and intelligence to keep pace with rapidly evolving user demands. “The Dimensity 9600 Pro meets these demands with a Native AI architecture and dual improvement in performance and power efficiency to deliver new agentic AI experiences,” Hsu said.

The 2nm adoption follows a September 16, 2025 announcement in which MediaTek said it was among the first companies to partner with TSMC on the foundry’s enhanced N2P process and had taped out its flagship SoC, with volume production expected in late 2026. That release stated that N2P users could expect as much as an 18% increase in performance at the same power, an approximately 36% power reduction at the same speed, and a 1.2x increase in logic density compared with the current-generation N3E process. It also described TSMC’s 2nm technology as the first to adopt a nanosheet transistor structure.

CPU and Compute Architecture

The Dimensity 9600 Pro uses a 2+3+3 All Big Core CPU design: two C2-Ultra cores with clock speeds up to 4.55GHz, three C2-Pro big cores at 4.35GHz, and three more C2-Pro big cores at 3.1GHz. MediaTek reported up to 17% higher single-core performance and up to 15% higher multi-core performance compared with the previous generation, alongside the 61% reduction in multi-core power consumption. A footnote in the announcement states that the performance metrics were achieved through demo device testing in MediaTek’s labs.

The chip’s AI Computing Fusion Architecture links the CPU and NPU, supported by a 34.5MB cache and, for the first time according to the company, LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage. An upgraded Dimensity Scheduling Engine coordinates hardware and software to allocate computing, power, and memory resources, an approach MediaTek said helps smartphone manufacturers deliver fast, power-efficient systems that keep multiple applications running in the background.

On-Device AI Hardware

The Dimensity 9600 Pro carries a dual-NPU architecture and an Agentic AI Engine designed for on-device AI that perceives, reasons, and acts. MediaTek said its second-generation Super Efficient NPU reduces power consumption by 40% for always-on AI, while the NPU 1090 delivers 51% higher LLM prefill performance and 55% higher token generation per watt, supporting on-device models with up to 30B parameters. According to the company, this hardware enables agentic capabilities such as smart analysis of on-device data, proactive assistance, and personalized responses that learn user preferences and act like a digital twin.

Gaming and Imaging Subsystems

The G2-Ultra NX GPU delivers up to 27% higher peak performance, 24% lower power consumption at peak performance, and 18% faster raytracing, according to MediaTek, with on-device gaming supported at up to 185fps. A new Dimensity Neural Graphics Architecture combines GPU and AI computing, and MediaTek HyperEngine optimizes gameplay.

For imaging, the Dimensity 9600 Pro pairs an Imagiq 1290 image signal processor with a new Dimensity AI Imaging Fusion Architecture that combines ISP and NPU capabilities for computational photography and content creation. The platform supports NPU-powered 60fps motion capture and introduces 4K240 native direct-output ultra-slow-motion video to the Dimensity line, alongside 4K60 AI True Color Tone, 4K120 cinematic log recording, and 17EV imaging.

Dimensity 9600M and Availability

MediaTek said the Dimensity 9600M will make flagship-level performance and power efficiency accessible to more users. The 9600M uses the Agentic AI Engine and Dimensity Scheduling Engine; its NPU supports always-on perception and real-time AI-enhanced imaging, and its ISP supports professional-quality imaging with real-time tracking, the company said. MediaTek HyperEngine enables gameplay at up to 185fps on the 9600M.

MediaTek said the first smartphones powered by the Dimensity 9600 Pro and Dimensity 9600M are “expected to launch this quarter.”