Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek has announced its new premium mid-range processor, the Dimensity 8400, at an event in China. This processor is touted as a game-changer with its ‘all big core’ design, similar to the flagship Dimensity 9400 released earlier. It succeeds last year’s Dimensity 8300 and is expected to power upper mid-range smartphones.
On paper, this is a very interesting processor. Let me explain why—keep reading!
MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Specifications
The new MediaTek Dimensity 8400 is built on TSMC’s 4nm process node (no, it’s not the latest 3nm—that’s still reserved for flagship chips). It features an octa-core configuration, with all eight cores being ARM Cortex-A725, clocked at 3.25GHz.
Typically, smartphone processors combine performance cores for demanding tasks with efficiency cores for lighter workloads. However, the Dimensity 8400 breaks away from the traditional big.LITTLE architecture, opting for an all big core cluster instead. There are no efficiency cores here. In fact, it’s the world’s first all-big-core SoC in the premium mid-range segment.
Compared to its predecessor, the Dimensity 8300, the Dimensity 8400 offers a 41% boost in multi-core performance. It does this while consuming approximately 44% less energy, despite eliminating the smaller energy-efficient cores.
To handle graphics, MediaTek has equipped the Dimensity 8400 with the upgraded Mali-G720 MC7 GPU. This seven-core GPU offers approximately 24% better peak performance while consuming 42% less power.
MediaTek has also introduced MediaTek Frame Rate Converter (MRFC), which boosts gaming experiences. How? By adding more frames for smoother visuals. Then there’s MAGT (MediaTek Adaptive Gaming Technology) which dynamically adjusts performance in real time to optimize efficiency.
Additional features include touch latency optimization and a Network Observation System (NOS) that predicts and adapts to network changes for a smoother experience.
MediaTek further improved Dimensity 8400 with MediaTek NPU 880, unlocking advanced AI capabilities. It supports large language models (LLMs) for tasks such as image and text generation, real-time translation, AI recording, and context-aware replies. Compared to its predecessor, the NPU is 18% more power-efficient and delivers 33% faster performance in LLM text generation.
Imagiq 1080 ISP will process captured images that support cameras of up to 320 megapixels. It employs advanced noise reduction techniques to deliver clearer and brighter images, even in challenging lighting conditions. The ISP also enables high-dynamic-range (HDR) video recording with enhanced detail in both highlights and shadows, and this HDR capability works seamlessly across the entire zoom range.
Additionally, there’s a minor efficiency improvement in 4K video recording, which now consumes 12% less power compared to its predecessor.
MediaTek has included an advanced 5G modem capable of delivering maximum speeds of up to 5.17Gbps. Additionally, with the NOS technology mentioned earlier, the phone can seamlessly switch between 5G and Wi-Fi based on network quality and predictability.
Last year’s Dimensity 8300 and Dimensity 8300 Ultra were already solid processors. Looking at this new chipset on paper, it seems promising for upcoming mid-range and upper mid-range smartphones. While we’re yet to test it on AnTuTu and Geekbench, I’m confident about its performance. Although MediaTek hasn’t included efficiency cores, the company is touting reduced power consumption in almost every other aspect.
I’m also curious about the thermals – whether the processor overheats or not.
We’ll bring you detailed tests once we get our hands on the processor. The Redmi Turbo 4 will be the first phone to feature the new SoC, though it will actually use the Dimensity 8400 Ultra platform. Xiaomi tends to customize MediaTek chips with the added “Ultra” suffix, after all. You can learn about MediaTek’s naming scheme in our in-depth guide.
