Dimensity 9300 chip rumored to run hot (Update: MediaTek refutes rumor)

Update, September 12, 2023 (11:28 AM ET): MediaTek has issued a statement to Android Authority in rebuttal to the rumor described below. Here is the statement from a MediaTek spokesperson:

The rumor started by Android Headlines about MediaTek’s yet-to-be-announced chipset is completely false and has no source or basis in fact.

Evan Blass is one of the most notorious leakers in the tech world and has a fairly good track record when it comes to accuracy. However, he has certainly been wrong in the past and might be wrong about this. We’ll know more as we get closer to the inevitable launch of the Dimensity 9300.

Original article, September 11, 2023 (05:29 AM ET): MediaTek launches a new flagship smartphone chipset every year, and the company is expected to up the ante with the Dimensity 9300 in Q4 2023. However, it seems like this cutting-edge design might have an unintended side effect.

In an article for Android Headlines, veteran leaker Evan Blass has claimed that the Dimensity 9300 “is said to literally be running too hot to operate at its advertised frequencies.”

Blass asserted that the issue is due to the chipset’s eclectic design. Leaker Digital Chat Station previously claimed that the Dimensity 9300 lacks little CPU cores. Instead, it’s believed that the chipset will pack four heavy Cortex-X4 cores and four medium Cortex-A720 cores. This seems more in line with a Windows on Arm chip than a smartphone processor.

What could MediaTek do if this is true?

The leaker suggested that MediaTek could either reduce the chip’s speeds to keep things cool or offer alternative chips to customers. Although it stands to reason that the latter approach wouldn’t fly with many brands wanting a brand-new flagship chipset.

We’re guessing MediaTek would also be working with partners to fine-tune performance if the Dimensity 9300 is heating up more than normal. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen OEMs tune software in the name of battery life and/or heating.

For example, OPPO usually runs its flagship phones at more conservative speeds by default compared to rival handsets. We’ve also seen a more drastic approach by OnePlus, as the OnePlus 9 Pro throttled an extensive list of popular apps by default. It only allowed these apps to run on little CPU cores, while less prominent apps and benchmark apps were allowed to run on the big CPU cores. However, overheating would still be a concern in performance mode or with specific apps if OEMs took these approaches.

We’ve asked MediaTek for comment regarding Dimensity 9300 overheating claims and will update the article if/when the company gets back to us. We hope this claim isn’t true as MediaTek’s flagship SoCs have made a ton of progress in the last few years and are the only real alternatives to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series in the high-end Android space.