Dimensity 8400 is MediaTek’s first mid-range chip to fully adopt large CPU cores

what you need to know
- The Dimensity 8400 shocked mid-range mobile phones with its “all big core” design, which abandoned the usual “small” cores and adopted eight powerful Arm Cortex-A725 cores.
- Compared with Dimensity 8300, multi-core performance is increased by 41% and peak power consumption is reduced by 44%.
- The NPU 880 accelerates generative AI tasks, while MediaTek’s Dimensity Agentic AI Engine (DAE) takes AI applications to the next level.
MediaTek’s Dimensity 8400 is about to shake up the mid-range phone market. The biggest change is that this time it ditches the usual “small” core.
Dimensity 8400 fully adopts a “full-core” CPU design, abandoning the usual combination of 8 high-power Arm Cortex-A725 cores (main frequency 3.25GHz). According to MediaTek, this shift significantly improves multi-core performance by 41% compared to the Dimensity 8300. Even better, it achieves this power move while reducing peak energy use by 44%.
This design mirrors what we’ve seen in flagship Android chips, which also ditch low-power cores. However, what makes it groundbreaking is that it’s the first mid-range processor to feature such a bold design.
Backing the CPU is a powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU) designed to accelerate generative AI tasks. Best of all, MediaTek’s Dimensity Agentic AI Engine (DAE) takes regular AI applications to the next level, transforming them into smarter autonomous systems. This means the chipset can predict your device’s power needs to optimize performance before you notice slowdowns.
The Dimensity 8400 is also equipped with a powerful GPU, using the Arm Mali-G720 MC7, which is a big step forward from the Mali-G615 MC6. MediaTek said that this upgrade can increase peak performance by 24% and energy efficiency by 42%. With additional features like MediaTek’s frame rate converter and Adaptive Gaming Technology 3.0, the Dimensity 8400 clearly wants to dominate mobile gaming.
Powered by the NPU 880, this chipset is designed to handle large language models, enabling it to create outstanding media and deliver intelligent context-aware responses.
Dimensity 8400 is equipped with a top imaging system led by MediaTek Imagiq 1080 ISP. With heavy-duty mosaic technology, it captures more light, speeds up autofocus, and takes ultra-clear, high-resolution photos.
It also supports HDR video recording throughout the zoom range, so you can capture footage with stunning dynamic range.
In terms of connectivity, the Dimensity 8400 is equipped with a 5G-Advanced modem up to 3CC-CA, which can provide a peak download speed of 5.17 Gbps.
In terms of displays, this chipset supports WQHD+ screens with refresh rates up to 144Hz and supports dual screens for better multitasking and productivity.
The first Dimensity 8400-powered phones should be available by the end of 2024, but you’ll mainly see it in 2025 models.