If you’ve grown used to MediaTek shipping one flagship chip a year, that pattern is reportedly changing. As reported by Gizmochina, a new leak suggests the Dimensity 9600 series will split into three separate chips: the Dimensity 9600s, the Dimensity 9600 Pro, and the Dimensity 9600 Pro Max. The report frames the move as MediaTek borrowing a page from Apple’s own tiered chip strategy.

The claims trace back to a Weibo post from a tipster covering supply chain leaks, adding to a string of Dimensity 9600 rumors that have circulated since earlier this year. The post also suggests the 9600s will differ noticeably from Qualcomm’s standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 despite occupying a similar flagship-adjacent position. As with all early supply-chain leaks, these claims remain unofficial until MediaTek confirms its product lineup. 

According to the leak, the Dimensity 9600s may not be a fully new chip, but a rebadged or lower-clocked Dimensity 9500-based variant manufactured on TSMC’s N3P process rather than the more advanced N2P node used by its Pro siblings. The Dimensity 9600 Pro and Pro Max, by contrast, are said to share the same underlying chip built on N2P, with the two variants separated mainly by clock speeds and configuration rather than a fundamentally different design, similar to how Apple has differentiated some of its own chip tiers in the past.

The gap between the 9600s and the Pro line appears to be more than branding. The same leak claims the Dimensity 9600s will fall short of Qualcomm’s standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, which is also expected to use the N2P process, suggesting MediaTek’s entry-level flagship tier won’t compete directly with Qualcomm’s mainstream flagship chip this generation.

This three-way split adds structure to months of scattered Dimensity 9600 rumors. Earlier leaks from tipster Digital Chat Station described a chip built on TSMC’s N2P process with a 2+3+3 CPU layout, pairing two high-clock prime cores with six performance cores, a notable departure from MediaTek’s usual core arrangement. Those same reports pointed to Geekbench estimates in the range of 4,200 to 4,300 for single-core and roughly 12,000 to 12,500 for multi-core performance, along with LPDDR6 memory support and an Arm “Magni” GPU capable of hardware-level frame generation.

What wasn’t clear until now is how those specs map onto MediaTek’s actual product lineup. The new leak suggests those higher-end figures apply specifically to the Pro and Pro Max chips, while the 9600s, built on the older N3P node, would sit meaningfully below them.

Segmenting a flagship chip into multiple tiers isn’t new to the industry. Qualcomm is rumored to be taking a similar approach with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, splitting it into standard and Pro variants. For MediaTek, a three-way split would let device makers price flagship phones more precisely: a cheaper Dimensity 9600s for upper-mid-range phones, and Pro or Pro Max chips for true flagships, without forcing every device into the same silicon and price bracket.

Reports point to the Vivo X500 series and OPPO Find X10 lineup as the first phones expected to use Dimensity 9600 chips, with the standard Find X10 tipped to specifically use the 9600s variant rather than the Pro tier. From a commercial standpoint, such segmentation could also allow MediaTek to compete across a wider range of premium Android devices without significantly increasing development costs.

Reusing the same core silicon for both the Pro and Pro Max while adjusting clock speeds or other configurations would enable manufacturers to market differentiated flagship devices while simplifying production. It also mirrors a broader industry trend where chip vendors increasingly optimize product stacks for different price segments instead of relying on a single flagship processor each year.

The reported use of TSMC’s N2P manufacturing process for the Pro models could further position MediaTek to compete more aggressively in premium smartphones, particularly as next-generation AI features, higher-resolution gaming, and computational photography continue to place heavier demands on mobile chipsets. Meanwhile, retaining an N3P-based Dimensity 9600s could offer manufacturers a more affordable flagship-class option without requiring the newest manufacturing node.

None of this is confirmed by MediaTek, and the leak itself acknowledges its own claim that the Dimensity 9600 lineup, even in Pro and Pro Max form, may not fully compete with Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. MediaTek’s official announcement, expected closer to device launches later this year, should clarify naming, exact specs, and how sharply the three chips are actually differentiated in real-world performance.