Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: A Detailed Comparison (2021)

We have compared the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000, keeping all the essential aspects in mind. From CPU and GPU to modem, we have covered everything in this comparison. You can expand the table below and move to any section you want.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: Specifications

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: CPU

In this comparison between Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000, let’s discuss the CPU first. There are many similarities between both the processors, right from the architecture to the core selection. Both the processors are built on the 4nm process technology. But Dimensity 9000 has used TSMC’s fabrication process, whereas Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is based on Samsung’s 4nm foundry. Besides that, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000 are developed on ARM’s new Armv9 architecture that promises to deliver better performance, improved power efficiency, and security.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has an octa-core CPU with ARM’s most powerful Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.0GHz; three new Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.5GHz and four high-efficiency Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. Similarly, the Dimensity 9000 takes advantage of ARM’s Cortex-X2 core, but it’s clocked a notch higher at 3.05GHz. Plus, three Cortex-A710 cores can go up to 2.85GHz, again a bit higher than A710’s 2.5GHz on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Finally, four new power-efficient A510 cores are clocked at 1.8GHz, just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. As we can see, Mediatek is holding back no punches and going aggressive with both Cortex-X2 and the balanced A710 core in terms of core frequency.
Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is 20% faster and 30% more power-efficient than its predecessor. On the other hand, MediaTek has not put forth any such figures in public. We will have to wait for the official benchmark numbers of both Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Dimensity 9000 before we deliver a conclusion. However, if you want a rough estimate, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has scored 1035020 in the AnTuTu benchmark test whereas MediaTek Dimensity 9000 has scored 1007396, as per recent leaks. Going by the raw numbers and the AnTuTu leak, it’s clear that MediaTek seems to have finally built a flagship chip that can compete against Qualcomm’s best offering. In fact, it’s almost close to surpassing Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in synthetic tests.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: GPU

Coming to the GPU front, Qualcomm is known for custom-designing the Adreno GPU, whereas MediaTek sticks to ARM’s Mali GPU. The GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 brings 30% faster performance with 25% less power draw than its predecessor, as per Qualcomm’s claims. On the other hand, Dimensity 9000’s Arm Mali-G710 GPU promises a performance boost of 20% than its predecessor, perhaps referring to the Mali-G77 GPU.
Now, we already know that last year’s ARM’s Mali-G78 GPU was very close to Snapdragon 888’s GPU performance, especially with its full-stacked 24 cores. And with the Mali-G710 GPU under the hood, a direct successor to the G78 GPU, things look much better for MediaTek.
As far as the hardware is concerned, both Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000 come with capable GPUs. However, we will have to wait to test out the sustained thermal performance, especially on MediaTek’s flagship chipset.
Coming to gaming, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 brings a host of new features such as Snapdragon Elite Gaming, a dedicated Frame Motion Engine to deliver sustained frame rates, true 10-bit HDR gaming, volumetric rendering, and much more. In comparison, Dimensity 9000 has introduced a new raytracing SDK that can help developers enhance graphic visuals during gaming. How much of it translates to better gaming performance still remains to be seen. Note that both the processors have support for native Vulkan API, which is a good thing. One more thing to note here is that the GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is capable of driving a 144Hz display (up to Quad-HD+ resolution), whereas the Dimensity 9000 SoC goes much higher with screens supporting up to 180Hz at Full HD+ resolution. It seems like the Dimensity 9000 has got a powerful GPU on its hand, but you should wait for our detailed review.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: ISP

Of late, both the companies have improved their ISPs by leaps and bounds. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 comes with a new 18-bit ISP that can capture 3.2 Gigapixels in a second. In comparison, the 18-bit HDR ISP on the Dimensity 9000 can capture 9 Gigapixels per second. It’s unclear whether MediaTek is counting pixel data from all three cameras, which would result in a higher Gigapixel count. Nevertheless, both the ISPs are pretty performant, and you will have no issues as far as the camera experience is concerned.
Now moving to other camera features, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 can take 240 photos of 12MP resolution in one second. It also comes with a 5x enhancement in low-light photography and a dedicated engine for Bokeh video recording. Additionally, HDR videography has improved with four levels of dynamic range. Not to mention, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is capable of shooting 8K videos in HDR, which is amazing.
Talking about the Dimensity 9000’s ISP, it can do 4K HDR video recording in all three cameras simultaneously while maintaining power efficiency. On top of that, the Dimensity 9000 ISP supports image sensors of up to 320MP, which is great. There is also support for Super Night Video Recording for low-light video recording with minimal noise and artifacts.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: AI and ML

In terms of AI and ML performance, Qualcomm has been the leader in the Android smartphone segment. Qualcomm says the 7th-gen AI engine on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is four times more powerful than last year’s Snapdragon 888 while being 1.7x more power-efficient. In contrast, the Dimensity 9000’s 5th-gen AI processing unit (APU) is 4 times more power-efficient than its predecessor. In terms of performance, MediaTek says the AI performance is 50% to 90% faster than last year’s Snapdragon 888. If we put these numbers into perspective, despite a substantial increase in AI performance, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 is still behind Qualcomm’s 7th-gen AI Engine. We await to test both the processors on GeekBench ML in the Tensorflow Lite NNAPI test to find the actual scores. For now, we can say that these numbers will only make sense when OEMs bring a meaningful AI experience to the device.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: Modem and Wireless Tech

Finally, we come to the connectivity part. Being the leader in radio technology, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has the best 5G modem in town. It comes with an upgraded 5G modem that can go up to 10Gbps in peak download speed. It also supports a host of 5G features such as Carrier Aggregation, mmWave, and sub-6GHz bands.
On the other hand, the integrated modem on the Dimensity 9000 chipset supports sub-6GHz bands but not the premium 5G mmWave bands. I think it’s a wise decision on MediaTek’s part to drop mmWave support. This costly technology is unlikely to make its way around the world in the near future.
Moving to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 comes onboard with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The Qualcomm processor also comes with Bluetooth 5.2 technology support. On the other side, the Dimensity 9000 has support for Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and Bluetooth LE. In a way, the Dimensity 9000 is the first smartphone processor with support for the latest Bluetooth 5.3 standard.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: Battle of Flagship Android Chipsets

So that was our deep-dive into the comparison between Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000. I think both the processors hold a lot of promise and are similar in several ways. While Qualcomm is trying to amend things with a focus on better thermal performance, MediaTek is going in all guns blazing. The Dimensity 9000 supports higher core frequencies, a new GPU, powerful ISP, and more. To conclude, in the Android world, we finally have a solid competitor against Snapdragon chipsets, and this time, Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek may unseat Qualcomm. Anyway, that is all from us. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.