Hardwired
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all issues {hardware}, together with telephones, audio merchandise, storage servers, and networking gear.
I get to make use of over 75 telephones in a given yr, and an amazing majority of these units are powered by Qualcomm. Curiously sufficient, the telephones I used essentially the most in 2025 featured the Dimensity 9400, and it goes to indicate the quantity of progress MediaTek made over the past two years.
Qualcomm remains to be in a dominant place within the high-end class, however MediaTek netted vital design wins, notably the Vivo X200 Professional and Discover X8 Professional. These are two of the very best camera-centric telephones accessible right now, and so they’re each powered by the Dimensity 9400.
Although MediaTek is utilizing common Arm cores — Qualcomm switched to a customized design this yr — there actually is not a lot of a distinction. The X200 Professional takes the very best photographs of any cellphone I used till now, and it does an amazing job in demanding video games. It holds up extremely properly in mundane conditions as properly, and I did not see any variations when utilizing on-device AI utilities.
With MediaTek additionally shifting to the 3nm node, there is not any distinction in effectivity both, and if something, I received higher battery life out of the X200 Professional than Qualcomm-based units with an identical battery measurement. That is not to say that Qualcomm is lagging behind; the 8 Elite is clearly one of many quickest cell platforms accessible right now, and it is good to see MediaTek providing an alternate.
It is clear that Chinese language producers wish to use each MediaTek and Qualcomm designs of their telephones; whereas the X200 Professional has the Dimensity 9400, Vivo’s X200 Extremely is powered by Qualcomm, and the identical is true of the Discover X8 Extremely as properly. Nonetheless, these units are restricted to China, and that continues to be annoying.
What I am attempting to say is that MediaTek is someway in a position to catch as much as Qualcomm within the high-end class, and that is nice information for the trade as a complete. With Samsung failing to make floor with Exynos and Huawei severely hobbled by commerce restrictions, there’s a distinct dearth of rivalry in terms of cell platforms, and it is good to see MediaTek using its momentum to rival Qualcomm on this space.
MediaTek is making first rate inroads into the U.S. as properly, one thing it has struggled to do prior to now. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 tablets are powered by the Dimensity 9300+, and whereas these units will not promote in as many numbers because the model’s telephones, the truth that the producer is utilizing MediaTek-based designs globally is a large endorsement.
That stated, MediaTek nonetheless would not have a foothold with foldables — all of the foldables I utilized in 2025 are powered by Qualcomm. We might get to see Chinese language producers utilizing next-gen Dimensity platforms, however which may be just a few years away. It is evident that MediaTek needs to proceed making headway within the high-end and shore up its lead within the mid-range classes within the interim.
One other limiting issue prior to now was that telephones powered by MediaTek would take longer to get software program updates, however that simply is not the case now. My Vivo X100 Professional made the swap to Android 15 concurrently Qualcomm-based rivals, and MediaTek is working carefully with main manufacturers to make sure it gives the requisite drivers to roll out updates quicker.
Finally, it is good to see there are two nice selections of platforms for Android flagships, and I need MediaTek to proceed its momentum with the Dimensity 9500.