Forget Tensor, Exynos & Snapdragon, Geekbench shows Dimensity 9000 is the true A15 rival
MediaTek and Qualcomm were recently feuding over who powered the most phones in the US in Q4 2021, and regardless of who was right, one thing is clear: MediaTek is making strides and this could be making the big chip makers out there very nervous. And looking at Dimensity 9000's Geekbench 5 scores posted on Twitter by well-regarded leaker Ice Universe, they are right to be worried.
Announced in November 2021, the Dimensity 9000 is MediaTek's most powerful chip ever. It's built on TSMC’s 4nm process, which apparently gives it an edge over the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Samsung Exynos 2200 which are both based on Samsung's 4nm process. It also uses Arm’s new v9 architecture.
We have yet to see a phone powered by the Dimensity 9000, but that could change soon, as Oppo's Find X5 Pro Dimensity Editon will go on sale later this month in China, and Xiaomi has also confirmed that the Redmi K50 Pro Plus will be fueled by the Dimensity 9000.
To give us an idea of the chip's performance, Ice Universe has shared its Geekbench scores. It's apparently a Xiaomi device, probably the Redmi K50 Pro Plus, and managed to get 1,309 points in the single-core test and 4,546 points in the multi-core test.
Alleged Dimensity 9000 Geekbench 5 scores puts it ahead of most rivals
For comparison, the Exynos 2200-powered Galaxy S22 Ultra got 1,157 and 3,307 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. The Google Tensor-fueled Pixel 6 Pro got 1,042 and 2,832 points in the same test.
The only chip that's still ahead of the Dimensity 9000 is Apple's A15 Bionic. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, which sports the chip, hit 1,734 and 4,818 in single and multi-core tests, respectively.
Granted, benchmark scores may not necessarily be indicative of real-world performance but they can be a good starting point for a quick comparison. Otherwise, there is also the question of sustained performance and forged benchmarks, but let's not go there. Earlier leaks had painted a similar picture.
So, based on these raw numbers alone, the Dimensity 9000 may soon become an OEM favorite. It's also apparently cheaper than Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon 8 series processors, which are usually the go-to choice for Android vendors.
Ice Universe has hinted that Dimensity 9000 phones will cost around $500, which would make them a lot more affordable than most best 2022 Android phones around.
Fortunately for Qualcomm, Dimensity 9000 flagships will not come to the US because the chip doesn't support mmWave 5G, but the humbler Dimensity 8000, which is a Snapdragon 888 rival, is not restricted to China.
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