MediaTek Dimensity 900 launched: Mid-range 5G gets even better

MediaTek was reportedly the biggest smartphone chipmaker in the world in 2020, edging out Qualcomm. A large part of its recent success has been due to its growing range of Dimensity 5G silicon, and the firm has now announced the Dimensity 900 as the latest member of this family.

The Dimensity 900 is a 6nm chipset, much like the latest Dimensity 1200 flagship SoC. You’re getting an octa-core CPU, featuring two new Cortex-A78 cores (at up to 2.4GHz) and six Cortex-A55 cores (at up to 2GHz). So it’s not quite like the four heavyweight CPU cores we see in flagship processors. Furthermore, the Cortex-A78 is only a mild upgrade over the Cortex-A77, but we’re nevertheless glad to see the latest CPU here.

MediaTek’s latest processor also sports an Arm Mali-G68 MC4 GPU, which is essentially the same GPU as the Mali-G78 used in flagships but with far fewer cores (anything with six or less cores gets the G68 designation). So those looking for a good gaming experience on a budget will want to keep an eye on benchmarks/reviews for devices running this chipset.

What else does the Dimensity 900 offer?

Moving over to connectivity, you can expect sub-6GHz 5G (still no mmWave here) with peak download speeds of 2.77Gbps. Other connectivity features include 5G+5G dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities.

In terms of camera functionality, the MediaTek Dimensity 900 offers support for 108MP single cameras, 20MP+20MP dual cameras, up to four concurrent cameras, 4K HDR, and 4K/30fps recording.

Other notable features include a third-generation APU for machine learning, a maximum display resolution of 2,520 x 1,080, a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, HDR10+ support, and support for the AV1 codec.

Expect the first phones with the MediaTek Dimensity 900 to launch “in the global market” in Q2 2021, the chipmaker noted. So that means you can expect devices within the next few weeks.