Mediatek had recently announced it’s new Dimensity chipsets. The first one is Dimensity 1100 and the other is Dimensity 1200. Both chipsets come with quad ARM Cortex A78 extreme performance cores and quad ARM Cortex A55 efficiency cores. But they have different core configurations. They will be listed further on. The new chipsets are fabricated on TSMC’s 6nm process. If you had to choose between the new Snapdragon 870 and the Dimenity 1100 and 1200 series, I would prefer the Mediatek chips instead as the Snapdragon 870 still uses the old A77 cores.
Let’s take a look at how the different Mediatek Dimensity chips differ from each other
Dimensity 1100 specs:
Fabrication: TSMC 6nm
CPU cores– ARM Cortex-A series
4x Cortex-A78 Power cores clocked up to 2.6GHz.
4x Cortex-A55 Efficiency cores clocked up to 2.0GHz.
GPU: ARM Mali G77 MC9 nine-core GPU
RAM: 4xLPDDR4x at 2133MHz
Storage: 2-lane UFS 3.1
Dimensity 1200 specs:
Fabrication: TSMC 6nm
CPU: ARM Cortex-A series
1x Ultra-Core Cortex-A78 clocked up to 3.0GHz
3x Cortex-A78 Super Cores clocked up to 2.6GHz
4x Cortex-A55 power-efficiency cores clocked up to 2.0GHz
GPU: ARM Mali G77 MC9 nine-core GPU
RAM: 4xLPDDR4x at 2133MHz
Storage: 2-lane UFS 3.1
As we can see from the main specifications, both chips are fabricated using the 6nm process. They also have 4 ARM Cortex A78 cores, but as we can see in the first chip, the Dimensity 1100, all 4 Cortex A78 cores are at a fixed frequency of 2.6GHz, whereas in the Dimensity 1200, only the first core is overclocked to a staggering 3.0GHz whereas the remaining 3 A78 cores have the same clock of 2.6GHz. In both chips, you can see that the efficiency A55 cores are set at 2.0GHz. The Snapdragon series has the efficiency A55 cores of all their chips set at 1.8GHz, including the flagships.
Key Features of Dimensity 1100, 1200 5G chipsets
Connectivity: The Dimensity 1200 and 1100 pack a highly integrated 5G modem with MediaTek’s 5G UltraSave technology for big power savings. Both chipsets support every connectivity generation from 2G to 5G, in addition to supporting the latest connectivity features including 5G standalone and non-standalone architectures, 5G carrier aggregation (2CC) across frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD), dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), True Dual SIM 5G (5G SA + 5G SA) and Voice over New Radio (VoNR). The chipsets also integrate 5G HSR Mode and 5G Elevator Mode enhancements to ensure a seamless, reliable 5G connection across networks. It must be noted that Dimensity 1200 chipset has got TÜV Rheinland certification for its 5G performance covering 72 real-world scenarios.Other connectivity features include the latest Wi-Fi 6, GNSS L1+L5(navigation), Bluetooth 5.2,
mmWave support skipped this time: Unfortunately, what they don’t have, though, is mmWave support. That means they’re not compatible with the highest-speed networks in the US from Verizon and others, significantly limiting their appeal – and, thus, the appeal of smartphones using them – and arguably locking them out of the US market. Still, that might not be all that much of an issue in the long-run. Eventually Mediatek will release another Dimensity chipset next year that will support the mmWave bands in the 26GHz to 100GHz frequencies.
Camera and Multimedia Features: The Dimensity 1200 supports 200MP photos for stunning photography with its five-core HDR-ISP. It boasts staggered 4K HDR video capture for significantly greater dynamic range. The chipset integrates an updated version of MediaTek’s hexa-core AI processor (MediaTek APU 3.0), which has an enhanced multi-task scheduler that reduces latency and improves power-efficiency. The Dimensity 1100 also packs impressive camera capabilities with its 108MP camera support, and integrates MediaTek’s existing APU 3.0 for high performance computing that’s also super power-efficient. Both chipsets support AI camera features including AI-Panorama Night Shot, AI Multi-Person Bokeh, AI noise reduction (AINR) and HDR capabilities. The chipsets also support new AI-enhanced video playback features including AI SDR-to-HDR. Both the chipsets have common features like 32MP+16MP dual camera support.
Display, Audio & Video playback support: The Dimensity 1200 supports ultra-fast 168Hz refresh rates for a fast, fluid user experience. The Dimensity 1100 also supports cutting-edge displays with 144Hz refresh rates for ultra-sharp, zero-lag visuals. Both chipsets support MediaTek’s HyperEngine 3.0 gaming technologies, which includes 5G call and data concurrency for more reliable connectivity, plus multi-touch boost touchscreen responsiveness. The new chipsets also support ray tracing in mobile games and artificial reality applications for more realistic visuals, along with super hotspot power savings which let users go longer in between charges. Both the Dmensity chips support QHD with a refresh rate of 90Hz which is impressive!
Dimensity 1200 and 1100 both support Bluetooth 5.2, which lets users stream to multiple wireless devices simultaneously. The chipsets also support ultra-low latency true wireless stereo audio and LC3 encoding for higher quality, lower latency streaming audio that’s also very power-efficient to prolong the battery life of TWS or Truly wireless earbuds. For video playback, they support HDR10+, hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding.
“MediaTek continues to expand its 5G portfolio with highly integrated solutions for a range of devices from the high-end to the mid-tier,” said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit. “Our new Dimensity 1200 stands out with its impressive 200MP camera support and advanced AI capabilities, in addition to its innovative connectivity, display, audio and gaming enhancements.”
MediaTek may not be quite as well known as Qualcomm is in smartphone chipsets, but that’s certainly not the case in actual sales. Indeed, back in Q3 2020, the company surpassed Qualcomm as the largest mobile chipmaker. A push for the low- and mid-range has been credited for that.
Availability:Many OEMs, including Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and realme, expressed support for MediaTek’s new Dimensity chip. The first devices with the new MediaTek Dimensity 1200 and 1100 chipsets are expected to hit the market at the end of Q1 and beginning of Q2 this year.
Other industry collaborators and supporters of the new MediaTek 5G chipsets include Arm, China Mobile, Tetras.AI, ArcSoft and Tencent Games.
Thanks to Mediatek, competition is rising in the midrange smartphone market, and now it shows that Mediatek is gunning for the high end smartphone market with the introduction of the latest Mediatek Dimensity 1100 and 1200 chipsets. Mediatek had a problem releasing their Dimensity 1000 and 1000+ flagship last year. Hopefully they will fix their shortcomings, and release a bunch of flagship phones with the new Dimensity range and give Qualcomm some real competition in the high end market!
There was a problem with Mediatek not releasing kernel sources to OEMs for custom rom development. Let’s hope they fix it this time so that a lot of users in the dev community will have the opportunity to bring their modified version of Android like LOS, AOSP, Resurrection Remix, etc so that many users can take advantage of the extra features provided by these developers.
