Dimensity 9500s vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: Which “Affordable Flagship” Chip Wins?
The war for dominance in the high-end smartphone market has just entered a new phase. Following the September debut of its premium Dimensity 9500, MediaTek has officially unveiled the Dimensity 9500s, a chipset designed to offer flagship-grade performance at a more accessible price point.
This release places MediaTek on a direct collision course with Qualcomm, which announced its own sub-flagship contender, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, in November. Both chips target the lucrative “affordable flagship” segment, but a deep dive into their architectures reveals distinct strategies from the two semiconductor giants.
Lithography and Architecture
Both contenders rely on TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm manufacturing ecosystem, but Qualcomm appears to have a slight manufacturing edge. While the MediaTek Dimensity 9500s utilizes the N3E process node, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is built on the more refined N3P node. Theoretically, this affords the Snapdragon chip marginal gains in both performance density and power efficiency.
CPU Face-Off: “All Big Core” vs. Custom Oryon
MediaTek continues its aggressive “All Big Core” strategy with the Dimensity 9500s, utilizing an octa-core setup that abandons low-power efficiency cores entirely. The configuration includes:
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1x Cortex-X925 prime core clocked at 3.73 GHz
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3x Cortex-X4 performance cores at 3.30 GHz
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4x Cortex-A720 cores at 2.0 GHz
However, MediaTek’s approach involves mixing generations. While the prime core is the latest X925, the supporting cores are from the previous generation (X4 and A720), a likely cost-saving measure to distinguish it from the standard Dimensity 9500.
In the opposing corner, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 utilizes Qualcomm’s custom silicon with a “2+6” configuration:
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2x Oryon (3rd Gen) prime cores at 3.8 GHz
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6x Oryon (3rd Gen) performance cores at 3.32 GHz
The Verdict: On paper, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 holds the advantage. It utilizes the same cutting-edge architecture as the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite, merely downclocked. MediaTek’s decision to use older secondary cores may result in the Snapdragon taking the lead in raw CPU benchmarks.
Graphics and Gaming
For graphical processing, MediaTek employs the Immortalis-G925 MP12 GPU. While specific frequency details remain under wraps, it is expected to deliver solid ray-tracing performance, though potentially scaled back compared to the GPU found in the full-fat Dimensity 9400/9500 series.
Qualcomm counters with the Adreno 829 GPU. Armed with the full Snapdragon Elite Gaming suite and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, the Adreno architecture has historically maintained a strong reputation for driver stability and sustained peak performance. Real-world benchmarks will be required to see if MediaTek can close the gap.
AI and Imaging
Both chipsets are heavily invested in the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) arms race.
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MediaTek: The 9500s features a robust NPU capable of handling multimodal models and “agentic AI,” focusing on generative tasks and photography enhancements.
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Qualcomm: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 utilizes the Hexagon NPU, which also emphasizes agentic AI that adapts to user behavior for personalized recommendations.
In the camera department, MediaTek’s 18-bit Imagiq ISP impresses with 8K video recording at 60fps and support for 320MP sensors. Qualcomm’s 20-bit Triple AI ISP matches the 320MP support but technically tops out at 4K/120fps for high-framerate work, though it includes proprietary features like the “Bokeh Engine” and “Truepic” capture.
Connectivity: Speed vs. Versatility
Connectivity offers a mixed bag of wins for both sides.
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5G: Qualcomm takes the lead with support for the newer 3GPP Release 18 standard and theoretical download speeds of up to 10 Gbps. MediaTek supports Release 17 and tops out at 7 Gbps.
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Wi-Fi: MediaTek strikes back with superior Wi-Fi throughput, offering peak speeds of 6.5 Gbps compared to Qualcomm’s 5.8 Gbps.
Market Outlook
The first device to sport the MediaTek Dimensity 9500s is expected to be the Redmi Turbo 5 Max, slated for launch later this month.
While the spec sheet suggests the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 has a raw hardware advantage—particularly in CPU architecture and 5G speeds—the ultimate winner will likely be determined by pricing. If MediaTek can offer the 9500s at a significantly lower cost to manufacturers, it may well become the default choice for 2026’s value champions.
