Dimensity 9500 Targets Snapdragon 8 Elite 2-Level Performance

Yesterday, a credible source revealed early Geekbench performance targets for Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. The numbers showed a massive leap in CPU and GPU capabilities. The same source has now shared performance targets for MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500. Expected to be fabricated on the same 3nm TSMC model, the upcoming Dimensity looks all set to go head-to-head with the new Snapdragon.

Rumored Dimensity 9500 performance targets hint at a huge upgrade

According to leaked benchmarks, the Dimensity 9500’s targeted Geekbench 6 scores are as follows: 3,900+ in single-core CPU tests and 11,000+ in multi-core tests. That’s a substantial jump over the Dimensity 9400’s average scores of 2,900+ and 9,200+, respectively. More importantly, it puts the new Dimensity on the same level as the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, which targets Geekbench 6 scores of 4,000 and 11,000, respectively.

To recall, the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivered average scores of 3,100 in single-core tests and 9,800 in multi-core tests. Quite clearly, MediaTek’s next-gen flagship offering will bring a bigger performance upgrade over its predecessor than the next-gen Snapdragon. This could help the Taiwanese firm find more takers for the Dimensity 9500. Qualcomm has historically dominated the Android flagship space.

As far as Samsung is concerned, it may not use the Dimensity 9500 in its Galaxy S26 flagships. The company could ship the S26 Ultra with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, and the rest of the lineup with its in-house Exynos 2600, which is a 2nm chip. If yield issues affect Samsung’s production capacity, it may limit the Exynos to select markets, such as Korea and Europe, and use the Snapdragon in the rest of the world, including the US.

The Dimensity 9500 could still power a few Galaxy devices. More specifically, Samsung’s 2026 flagship tablets. The company is currently readying the Galaxy Tab S11 lineup with Dimensity 9400+ under the hood. The succeeding models should use the 9500 or its “Plus” variant. More details are awaited.