MediaTek Dimensity 9300 has been launched officially as the brand’s latest flagship processor amidst much fanfare. The newest chipset comes as the successor to the Dimensity 9200 SoC and is a significant upgrade. It comes with an All-Big Core Design promising a massive leap in overall performance. The new flagship processor has its work cut out as it goes up against heavy-hitters like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Apple’s A17 Pro. If you are curious about how MediaTek Dimensity 9300 fares against the competition, you are in the right place. Let’s take a look at the detailed comparison of the three most powerful mobile chipsets in 2023.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: Core Specs Compared
As we already know, the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 goes up against other flagship processors like Apple A17 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Here are the core specifications of all three SoC compared together.
| Feature | Dimensity 9300 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Apple A17 Pro |
| CPU | 8 (4+4) | 8 (1+3+2+2) | 6 (2+4) |
| GPU | ARM Immortalis-G720 | Adreno 750 | Apple 5-core GPU |
| Process | 4 nm | 4 nm | 3 nm |
| Clock Speed | 3.25 GHz | 3.19 GHz | 3.78 GHz |
| AI performance | MediaTek APU 790 AI processor | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU | 16-core Neural Engine |
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: CPU Cluster
When it comes to the CPU cluster, the MediaTek and Qualcomm offerings are octa-core processors but the A17 Pro is the only hexa-core unit in the mix. As for the manufacturing process, the latest MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are based on TSMC’s 4nm process. On the other hand, the Apple A17 Bionic happens to be the world’s first 3nm processor offering exemplary performance and efficiency.
Coming to the cluster, the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 has four ARM Cortex X4 cores and four ARM Cortex-A720 cores in a 4 + 4 cluster. In comparison, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a Kryo core configuration of 1+3+2+2 with 1 Prime Core, 5 performance cores, and 2 efficiency cores. lastly, the Apple A17 Pro is a Hexa-core processor with two high-performance and four efficiency cores.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: Clock Speed
Before we delve into the comparison of the clock speed of these processors, what does clock speed mean? It basically means the number of instructions and the speed at which the processor can execute those instructions in one second. For example, a 1 GHz processor is capable of executing a billion instructions every second. So, the higher the clock speed, the faster the smartphone.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the clock speeds of our contenders. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 both have a maximum clock speed of 3.2GHz. The Dimensity 9300 has four ARM Cortex-X4 cores with a maximum clock speed of 3.25GHz and four Cortex-A720 cores with a clock speed of up to 2.0GHz.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a 3.3GHz prime core, three 3.2GHz performance cores, two 3GHz performance cores, and two 2.3Ghz efficiency cores. Lastly, the Apple A17 Pro features two 3.78GHz high-performance cores and four 2.11GHz energy-efficient cores.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: GPU
The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is the world’s first to use ARM’s latest flagship GPU called the Immortalis-G720 raytracing GPU. It is an impressive 12-core GPU with 2nd generation hardware raytracing engine. MediaTek claims that the GPU is the world’s first mobile platform to offer console-level global illumination effects and full raytracing experiences at a smooth 60FPS.
Qualcomm has not announced the GPU version of 8 Gen 3 but it’s known to be the Adreno 750. The company claims that the GPU is 25% faster and offers 40% better Ray Tracing performance in gaming. It supports Unreal Engine 5.2 and can provide console-level gaming performance at 240FPS, on 240Hz screens.
On the other hand, the A17 Pro is what Apple called its “biggest redesign in the history of Apple GPUs.” The 5-core GPU is said to have 50% more memory bandwidth for smooth visuals when streaming and gaming. Additionally, it’s the first from Apple to offer hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: RAM and Storage Support
Coming to the RAM and Storage support, the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is the world’s first to support LPDDR5T memory with 9600Mbps maximum frequency. Additionally, it supports the latest in storage standards – UFS 4 with MCQ. Thanks to the latest memory and storage configuration, MediaTek claims Dimensity 9300 is 8% more power efficient than its predecessor.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 offers the same UFS 4 storage standard but LPDDR5x RAM support. Whereas Apple A17 Pro supports LPDDR5 RAM and a slower UFS 3.2 storage standard. onsole-level gaming performance at 240FPS, on 240Hz screens.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: AI Processing Unit
The new era of smartphones is all about AI and Machine Learning, and it’s natural for chip makers to start offering integrated AI features in their processors. All three chipsets in question here come with a dedicated AI unit onboard. The Dimensity 9300 is equipped with MediaTek APU 790. It’s the world’s first hardware-based Generative AI Engine and is the first to support on-device LoRA Fusion. MediaTek claims that it can handle up to 33 billion parameters and is 45% more power efficient.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 features Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with 98% faster performance and 40% improved performance-per-watt for sustained AI inferencing. As for Apple A17 Pro, the chipset comes with a 16-core Neural Engine, which is capable of around 17 trillion operations per second. This enables faster machine learning computations on-device for features like Live Voicemail and more.
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro: Bottomline
All three processors in this article are top-of-the-line offerings from their respective makers. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 reportedly recorded better multi-core performance on benchmarks than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and even Apple A17 Pro. While it might be a more powerful chipset on paper, the real-world usage remains to be seen. The Dimensity 9300 will be available towards the end of the year with the Vivo X100 series smartphones getting it first.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has already made its debut on the Xiaomi 14 series which launched recently and is slated to appear on more devices by the year’s end. Apple has launched its iPhone 15 Pro series with the A17 Pro chipset and it has been receiving good reviews. In the end, it all boils down to user preferences depending on the brands they prefer and the chipset these brands are adopting. All three processors are top-notch with varying pros and cons but you won’t regret your purchase no matter which one you pick.
