[News] MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 Might Use TSMC’s N3P instead of 2nm, Giving Samsung an Advantage

Following MediaTek’s launch of its flagship mobile processor, Dimensity 9400, more details about the Taiwanese IC design firm’s next hit, the Dimensity 9500, have already surfaced. According to South Korea media outlet SamMobile, the chipset is likely to be manufactured using TSMC’s N3P node, instead of the 2nm process previously suggested.

Citing remarks from a popular Chinese tipster, the report reveals more specifications of Mediatek’s Dimensity 9500. It will reportedly include two Cortex-X930 prime cores and six Cortex-A730 high-performance cores, with a clock speed exceeding 4GHz and support for Scalable Matrix Extension (SME).

Notably, the report, citing the tipster, notes that while N3P may not be as power-efficient as TSMC’s 2nm process, it is still an improvement over the N3E process used for the Dimensity 9400.

On the other hand, the SamMobile report indicates that Samsung may take advantage of MediaTek’s choice, as its next-gen flagship mobile processor, the Exynos 2600, is expected to be fabricated on Samsung Foundry’s 2nm process.

Since MediaTek launched the Dimensity 9400 in October, 2024, the Dimensity 9500 is expected to debut around October 2025, which coincides with the potential launch of Samsung’s Exynos 2600, the report adds.

According to the report, Samsung’s Exynos 2600 is expected to make debut in products including Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and the S26 series.

Though the yield rates of Samsung’s 2nm still raise concerns, tech giants like Apple, NVIDIA and Broadcom are reportedly thinking about delaying the adoption of TSMC’s 2nm node or second-sourcing, as high costs and limited production capacity remain an issue.

Read more

• [News] Samsung Reportedly Considering Partnership with TSMC to Jointly Produce Exynos 2500
• [News] Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 to Use TSMC’s N3P as Samsung Reportedly Lost Orders

(Photo credit: MediaTek)