Chinese Smartphone Brands Embrace 3nm Chip Competition
Chinese smartphone brand Vivo is set to officially unveil its latest flagship device, the Vivo X200, on October 1st, powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chip. This launch follows the recent introduction of Apple's A18 and A18 Pro chips in the iPhone 16 series, marking the beginning of a competitive landscape among the top three SoC manufacturers: Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek, all of which are releasing 3nm flagship chips in 2024.
Amid uncertainties surrounding the recovery of the non-Apple smartphone market, brands are optimistic that these next-generation processors will catalyze a new wave of upgrades. Both Qualcomm and MediaTek are anticipated to launch their new chips in October, generating significant market momentum.
In 2023, Apple's A17 Pro stood out as the only chip utilizing TSMC's 3nm process. However, by the second half of 2024, Apple's A18 Pro will no longer hold the title of the sole 3nm mobile application processor on the market.
Qualcomm has officially announced the launch of its Snapdragon 8 Gen4 flagship chip at the Snapdragon Summit 2024 on October 21st. The Vivo X200, alongside the OPPO Find X8/Pro series, will debut with the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 in October, establishing a competitive landscape for high-end devices equipped with these advanced chips.
The announcement has sparked considerable market excitement, as both Apple and Android's top-tier smartphones enter the era of 3nm chip competition. The Dimensity 9400, featured in the Vivo flagship, is the first Android smartphone chip to utilize TSMC's second-generation 3nm technology. This process not only enhances chip performance but also reduces power consumption, extends battery life, and manages heat effectively.
The Dimensity 9400 boasts a powerful multicore architecture, featuring a 3.63GHz Cortex-X925 super core, three 2.8GHz Cortex-X4 super cores, and four 2.1GHz Cortex-A7 large cores. It integrates the Mali-G925-Immortalis MC12 GPU, supporting hardware-level ray tracing technology with a 20% performance boost over its predecessor, while delivering approximately 30% greater GPU performance compared to competing products and reducing power consumption by about 40%. MediaTek has designed a new ray tracing technology specifically for the Dimensity 9400, enhancing detail in gaming and video rendering scenarios.
On the other hand, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen4 chip, also utilizing TSMC's 3nm (N3E) process, includes two 4.32GHz super cores and six 3.53GHz large cores, with the Adreno 830 GPU. Rumors suggest that the Snapdragon 8 Gen4 CPU for Samsung Galaxy S25 series devices may exceed 4.32GHz, setting a new record for 5G smartphone chip frequencies. The Snapdragon 8 Gen4 has garnered attention for its transition away from Arm architecture to Qualcomm's custom Oryon CPU architecture.
The Oryon architecture is led by Gerard Williams III, a former chief CPU architect at Apple, who played a pivotal role in designing chips from A7 to A14. With this experienced team now at Qualcomm, the technical prowess of the Snapdragon 8 Gen4 is expected to be significantly enhanced.
