TL;DR: MediaTek unveiled the Dimensity 9600 Pro on Sept. 15, 2026 in Taipei as its first phone chip built on TSMC's 2-nanometre process, paired with a 3-nanometre Dimensity 9600M for wider flagships.

MediaTek moved to the front of Android silicon on Tuesday, revealing a flagship smartphone processor produced with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s most advanced manufacturing technology and aimed at running more generative artificial intelligence directly on handsets. According to Reuters, the Taiwanese company presented the Dimensity 9600 Pro as its first mobile processor built on TSMC's cutting-edge 2-nanometre process, alongside a second model, the Dimensity 9600M, made on TSMC's 3-nanometre process for a broader part of the flagship market.

The announcement, made Sept. 15, 2026 in Taipei, positions MediaTek more directly against U.S. rival Qualcomm in premium phones, where higher-priced devices and on-device AI features offer better margins for chip designers. According to Reuters, first smartphones powered by the two new chips will be launched soon, and the company has previously supplied chips to Chinese smartphone customers such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

According to The Verge, Oppo has already said its Find X10 Pro Max will use the 9600 Pro, as will Vivo's X500 Pro. That early hardware commitment gives the launch an immediate path into shipping phones, rather than leaving the chip as a laboratory milestone.

Two chips, two process nodes

The product strategy splits the flagship line in two. The Dimensity 9600 Pro sits at the top on the new 2nm node, while the Dimensity 9600M extends flagship-level features to more users on 3nm.

According to the official MediaTek press announcement, the first smartphones powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro and Dimensity 9600M are expected to launch this quarter. The company described the 9600M as an upcoming chipset intended to make flagship performance and power efficiency accessible to more users, using the latest Agentic AI Engine and Dimensity Scheduling Engine for intelligent, responsive operation.

For buyers in the United States, the distinction matters because process node and tiering often determine which phones get the longest on-device AI support, the fastest cameras and the most efficient gaming. A 2nm flagship can headline ultra-premium devices, while a 3nm flagship-class part can bring many of the same AI, imaging and connectivity features to phones priced below the very top.

CPU built for speed and lower power

At the heart of the Pro model is a fourth-generation All Big Core CPU in a 2+3+3 layout, with no small efficiency cores in the traditional sense. According to the official MediaTek press announcement, the design pairs two C2-Ultra cores with clock speeds up to 4.55GHz, three C2-Pro big cores at 4.35GHz, and three C2-Pro big cores at 3.1GHz.

MediaTek said users will see up to 17% higher single-core performance and up to 15% higher multi-core performance compared with the previous generation, alongside a 61% reduction in multi-core power consumption. According to Engadget, the company framed the same 2+3+3 design as delivering more speed while cutting multi-core power use by 61 percent.

That combination of higher throughput and sharply lower power is central to the pitch for agentic phones that keep assistants, transcription, translation and camera enhancements running in the background. Lower multi-core draw can extend battery life during multitasking, video editing and extended gaming, while higher single-core headroom helps everyday responsiveness for app launches and web rendering.

AI moves on-device with dual NPUs

The 9600 Pro includes a dedicated AI processor, known as a neural processing unit, intended to handle more complex generative-AI applications on the phone itself without sending data to the cloud. According to Reuters, MediaTek said the NPU delivered a 51% improvement over the previous generation in processing a user's prompt before an AI model begins generating a response, without giving further details on the test setup.

According to the official MediaTek press announcement, the chip uses a dual-NPU architecture and Agentic AI Engine designed to let smartphones perceive, reason and act more intelligently while keeping AI experiences secure. Its second-generation Super Efficient NPU reduces power consumption by 40% for always-on AI, while the NPU 1090 delivers 51% higher large-language-model prefill performance and 55% higher token generation per watt, with support for on-device models up to 30B parameters.

The company described capabilities such as smart analysis of on-device data, proactive assistance, and personalized responses that learn preferences and act like a digital twin. An AI Computing Fusion Architecture brings CPU and NPU together, supported by a larger 34.5MB cache and, for the first time in the Dimensity line, LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage. Its upgraded Dimensity Scheduling Engine coordinates hardware and software to allocate computing, power and memory resources across background tasks.

Graphics, memory and storage take a step up

For gaming, MediaTek integrated the G2-Ultra NX GPU and a new Neural Graphics Architecture that combines GPU and AI computing. According to the official MediaTek press announcement, the GPU delivers up to 27% higher peak performance, 24% lower power consumption at peak performance, and 18% faster ray tracing, supporting console-grade gaming on-device at up to 185 frames per second.

According to Engadget, the same graphics figures translate to higher peak gaming performance with lower power draw and faster ray tracing at peak speeds. MediaTek HyperEngine further optimizes gameplay for smoother, high-resolution output.

Memory and storage move forward in parallel. The Pro is the first in the family to support LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage, paired with the enlarged cache and scheduling improvements to keep multiple applications running smoothly. For consumers, that can mean faster game loading, quicker 4K video handling and more stable multitasking when AI features run alongside cameras and browsers.

Cameras target creators and slow motion

Imaging is another flagship battleground, and MediaTek paired its Imagiq 1290 image signal processor with a new AI Imaging Fusion Architecture that combines ISP and NPU capabilities. According to the official MediaTek press announcement, the platform supports NPU-powered 60fps motion capture and introduces 4K240 native direct-output ultra-slow-motion video to the Dimensity platform.

The same imaging block lists 4K60 AI True Color Tone, 4K120 cinematic log and 17EV imaging for photos and video across shooting scenarios. According to The Verge, the chip packs Arm's new G2-Ultra NX GPU, supports 4K at 240fps slow-motion video, and has two NPUs for more efficient AI processing.

For U.S. shoppers who film youth sports, travel or product video, native 4K slow motion and high-frame-rate motion capture reduce reliance on external cameras. AI tone mapping and cinematic log options are aimed at creators who edit on phones or upload directly to social platforms.

Premium push, pricing pressure and AI expansion

The launch comes as MediaTek tries to increase its share of flagship phones while component costs rise across an AI-driven supply chain. According to Reuters, JC Hsu, corporate senior vice president at MediaTek, said the company was working with handset makers on ways to limit the effect of higher component costs on consumers as the AI boom strains supply chains.

Hsu still saw opportunity as advanced hardware and new AI features normalize higher price tags. "As the overall market moves to higher prices, I believe there is still room for us to increase our share of the flagship segment," Hsu said, according to Reuters. The report noted that Apple's new foldable iPhone, announced last week, will retail for as much as $3,199 in the United States for the highest-storage model, illustrating how far top-end pricing has moved.

MediaTek's market value surpassed that of Qualcomm earlier this year, according to Reuters, underscoring investor interest in its mobile and AI roadmap. Beyond phones, MediaTek, one of the world's largest designers of smartphone chips, has been expanding into data-center and custom-chip products as technology companies pour billions into AI infrastructure.

Its first AI accelerator designed for a major U.S. cloud service provider is expected to enter mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Reuters. MediaTek raised $3.9 billion last month through a convertible bond sale, with Nvidia investing $3.5 billion in the offering, while Alphabet, a long-term MediaTek partner in AI infrastructure, also participated.

What happens next will be decided by shipping phones. With Oppo and Vivo already tied to the Pro and additional launches expected this quarter, reviewers will soon be able to test whether the claimed efficiency, on-device AI and camera gains hold up in daily use.

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