MediaTek unveiled its flagship smartphone processor, the Dimensity 9600 Pro, on September 15th, along with the companion Dimensity 9600M model.

On the device side, vivo has confirmed its X500 Pro series will debut the Dimensity 9600 Pro globally. Meanwhile, OPPO's Find series product lead, Zhuo Shijie, confirmed on the same day that the Find X10 Pro Max will also feature the chip. According to the current release schedule, the vivo X500 series and OPPO Find X10 series are set to launch on September 21st and 22nd, respectively.

As MediaTek's first 2nm flagship mobile processor, the Dimensity 9600 Pro utilizes TSMC's 2nm process technology. It also introduces a design-technology co-optimization initiative developed jointly by MediaTek and TSMC, aimed at improving the alignment between chip architecture and manufacturing processes.

In terms of CPU configuration, the Dimensity 9600 Pro adopts a "2+3+3" all-large-core architecture, consisting of two C2-Ultra cores with a maximum clock speed of 4.55GHz and six C2-Pro cores. The chip is equipped with a total of 34.5MB of L2, L3, and system-level cache, and supports LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 storage.

According to MediaTek's lab tests, compared to the previous generation, the Dimensity 9600 Pro delivers up to 17% and 15% improvements in single-core and multi-core CPU performance, respectively, while reducing power consumption by 61% under peak multi-core workloads. The new G2-Ultra NX GPU offers up to a 27% boost in peak performance, a 24% reduction in power draw at peak performance, and up to 18% higher ray-tracing capability, supporting game frame rates of up to 185 fps.

On-device AI is another key focus of this upgrade. The Dimensity 9600 Pro features a dual-NPU architecture that separates large model inference from low-power AI tasks requiring continuous operation. The NPU 1090 improves large model pre-fill performance by 51%, enhances token generation efficiency per unit of power by up to 55%, and supports running mixture-of-experts models with up to 30 billion parameters on-device.

For imaging, the Dimensity 9600 Pro is equipped with the Imagiq 1290 image signal processor, which strengthens coordination between the ISP and NPU. It supports NPU-driven 60fps motion capture, 4K 240fps native slow-motion video, 4K 120fps Log video, and up to 17 stops of dynamic range.

Prior to MediaTek, Samsung had already adopted the 2nm Exynos 2600 in select versions of the Galaxy S26 series, and Apple also released its A20 Pro built on a 2nm process. The key difference is that MediaTek supplies its chip platform to multiple smartphone vendors, extending the 2nm competition into the general-purpose chip market for Android flagships.

With vivo and OPPO confirming their adoption plans, the Dimensity 9600 Pro has secured its first wave of device support. Both manufacturers are set to unveil their new phones within a week, which will clarify the chip's market positioning, device pricing, and actual supply volume for MediaTek's 2nm processor.