MediaTek has officially introduced the Dimensity 9600M, a new smartphone chipset designed to bring several flagship software and artificial intelligence capabilities to a broader range of high-end phones. The chip uses the same core hardware configuration as the Dimensity 9500, but adds MediaTek’s latest Agentic AI Engine and Dimensity Scheduling Engine.

MediaTek says the first Dimensity 9600M phones are expected to arrive later this quarter. The vivo X500 and Oppo Find X10 are expected to be among the first devices using the new platform, although the company has not provided launch details for those phones in the available announcement.

Dimensity 9600M hardware specifications

The Dimensity 9600M is manufactured using TSMC’s 3nm N3P process. Its CPU uses an all-large-core design comprising one Arm C1-Ultra core running at up to 4.21GHz, three C1-Premium cores and four C1-Pro cores. The processor includes 16MB of L3 cache and 10MB of system-level cache.

Graphics are handled by an Arm Mali-G1 Ultra MC12 GPU, while MediaTek’s NPU 990 provides support for generative AI and agentic AI workloads. The platform supports LPDDR5X memory at up to 10,667Mbps and UFS 4.1 storage using a four-lane interface.

  • 3nm manufacturing process
  • Eight-core CPU with a maximum frequency of 4.21GHz
  • Arm Mali-G1 Ultra MC12 graphics
  • MediaTek NPU 990 for AI processing
  • LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.1 storage support

AI, connectivity and camera support

The main distinction from the existing hardware design is the addition of MediaTek’s newer software and AI features. The Agentic AI Engine is intended for agentic AI tasks, while the Dimensity Scheduling Engine manages workload distribution across the chip’s computing resources.

For wireless connectivity, the chipset supports 5G with sub-6GHz operation, carrier aggregation and both FDD and TDD modes. It also includes Wi-Fi 7 with triple-band, triple-concurrency support and advertised speeds of up to 7.3Gbps. Bluetooth 6.0 is supported through a dual Bluetooth engine, with speeds of up to 12Mbps.

The imaging pipeline supports camera sensors up to 320 megapixels. Compatible phones can record 8K video at 60 frames per second, 4K video at 120fps with electronic image stabilisation, and 4K60 video in cinematic mode.

Display and device implications

The Dimensity 9600M supports WQHD+ displays with refresh rates up to 180Hz. It also includes tri-port MIPI support for tri-fold displays, giving phone makers flexibility for more complex screen designs.

Because its primary components match those of the Dimensity 9500, the 9600M appears positioned as a platform that extends an existing flagship hardware design while making newer AI capabilities available in additional devices. Its real-world differences will depend on how manufacturers implement MediaTek’s AI and scheduling features in their phones.