MediaTek and TSMC working closely on next 3nm chip – hints at rapid development of Dimensity 9400 processor
It looks like the upcoming Dimensity 9400 chipset will be based on the 3nm manufacturing process, given that MediaTek and TSMC are working closely together to develop the new 3nm chip, according to director of the Taiwanese semiconductor designer Rik Tsai. Although the CEO of MediaTek did not reveal the name of the new advanced chip, analysts expect it to be the Dimensity 9400, which reportedly gets 32 percent more energy efficiency compared to the previous generation's silicon.
Optimizing the efficiency of the upcoming chipset will be one of the main things these two companies are working on, because it, like this year's Dimensity 9300, should have only large cores, that is, those dedicated to performance. Comparing 2024 to 2023, Tsai says in the latest report to the Economic News Daily that the coming year will be significantly better thanks to the artificial intelligence boom. With chips focused on this category, the coming year should result in a positive outcome, he expects.
Earlier, analysts pointed out that Dimensity 9300 is currently the most powerful chipset for smartphones on the market, which will result in an increased number of its orders, which will then lead to MediaTek's global market share increasing to 35 percent, threatening the dominance of the American company Qualcomm.
Rumors indicate that the Dimensity 9400 will not only be the Taiwanese company's first 3nm chip, but it will reportedly be manufactured on the more advanced TSMC N3E manufacturing process, compared to the N3B variant currently used by Apple for its A17 Pro and M3 processors.
MediaTekIn terms of the upcoming chip's architecture, insiders expect MediaTek to keep a similar CPU cluster to this year's model, offering a Cortex-X5 CPU core paired with an as-yet-unknown configuration of other cores to deliver better multi-core performance.
However, Tsai did not elaborate on how the close cooperation with the TSMC factory will actually improve the next chipset, but it should be noted that Qualcomm has potentially established the same kind of partnership for its upcoming mobile processor. That would certainly improve the smartphone chip market, and analysts expect both companies to introduce their best silicon yet in 2024.