MediaTek Inc. launched its most advanced smartphone chip, bringing cutting-edge AI capabilities to Android devices as the industry seeks to revitalize a sluggish market.
The Taiwanese chipmaker’s new Dimensity 9400 processor, unveiled Wednesday, uses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s 3-nanometer technology – the same process employed in Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones. This marks the first time this advanced manufacturing node has been applied to Android phone chips.
MediaTek, the world’s largest smartphone chip supplier by shipments, says the new processor integrates “agentic AI” capabilities, offering enhanced computing power and energy efficiency. The chip can perform complex tasks previously limited to cloud servers, such as solving equations from images and transforming photos into videos.
Key smartphone clients including Xiaomi Corp., Oppo, and Vivo have tested MediaTek’s latest AI engine. Devices featuring the new chip are expected to launch within weeks, according to company executives.
The move comes as rival Qualcomm Inc. prepares to release its own advanced AI chipset in late October, also using TSMC’s 3-nanometer process.
Industry analysts predict on-device generative AI capabilities will feature in 18% of smartphones this year, potentially encouraging more frequent upgrades in a mature market.
