Rumors are circulating that the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and Dimensity 9500 chipsets could potentially match or even surpass Apple's M4 in single-core performance. This could represent a significant shift in the mobile processor landscape.
Apple has long dominated single-core performance benchmarks, but these new chipsets from Qualcomm and MediaTek may change that. According to tipster Digital Chat Station, both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and Dimensity 9500 will support ARM's Scalable Matrix Extension (SME), which could allow them to handle complex workloads more efficiently.
In addition, both SoCs are rumored to be mass-produced using TSMC's 3nm 'N3P' process. Qualcomm is reportedly exclusively using TSMC for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, while MediaTek will also utilize TSMC's improved 3nm technology for the Dimensity 9500.
Potential Performance Gains
The rumor mill suggests that both chipsets will operate at high frequencies:
- The Dimensity 9500’s performance cores are said to function at 4.00GHz.
- The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2’s Oryon cores are rumored to reach 5.00GHz.
This potential performance, especially with the SME support, is predicted to allow both chipsets to score around 4,000 points in the Geekbench 6 single-core test, which is the territory of the Apple M4 and even beyond what the M4 Max obtained.
It's crucial to take these claims with a grain of salt, as real-world performance may vary. More information will be needed to verify these claims when both chipsets are released.
