Arm debuts Cortex-X4 with better performance, coming to MediaTek’s next flagship

Ben Schoon | May 29 2023 - 8:42 am PT

Arm has just announced its latest CPU and GPUs for smartphones, with the Cortex-X4 set to be a big jump forward that’s already confirmed to be in place for MediaTek’s next Dimensity chip.

The new Cortex-X4 CPU delivers another big boost for flagship smartphones and countless other devices. The X4 promises a 15% boost to overall performance compared to 2022 Android phones while also boosting efficiency. Per core L2 cache is also now up to 2MB and the CPU is expected to hit 3.4GHz.

Backing up the Cortex-X4 CPU are Arm’s new Cortex-A720 and A520 CPUs. These less powerful but more efficient chips help extend the battery life of smartphones, and in these new iterations, power efficiency jumps by as much as 22% while also boosting performance overall.

Arm’s new cores allow for chipsets with up to 14 total cores, with smartphones expected to stick with a total of 8 for a 1+5+2 configuration. Notably, too, these new cores remove 32-bit support entirely.

Alongside the new cores, Arm also unveiled a new generation of its Immortalis GPU line which promises 15% better peak performance and 15% better performance per watt, which should make for a more efficient setup. Ray-tracing is also improved.

These new cores will be available as soon as later this year, and Arm will notably be using Intel as a foundry partner in addition to TSMC and Samsung.

One of the first Android chipsets confirmed to be using the Cortex-X4 CPU is the next MediaTek Dimensity flagship, presumably called Dimensity 9300. MediaTek confirmed the news on Weibo earlier today, noting the use of Cortex-X4, A720, and Immortalis-G720 – there’s no word on if the new A520 will also be used. MediaTek says the chip will bring “amazing performance and energy efficiency.”

MediaTek also today announced a partnership with Nvidia to bring its Dimensity chips to “state-of-the-art connected cars.”