Flagship smartphones used to be synonymous with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, dominating premium devices with reliable performance and broad ecosystem support. In 2025, the market dynamics have shifted, notably with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 entering the flagship segment and replacing Snapdragon in several top-tier models.
This shift raises questions about whether flagship phones without Snapdragon are still worth buying. Surprisingly, no major compromises exist. In many areas, the Dimensity 9500 excels, particularly in power efficiency and thermal management. Let’s explore a detailed comparison between Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and MediaTek Dimensity 9500 across five key aspects: performance, gaming, battery efficiency, AI capabilities, and connectivity.
Performance: A Close Race
Snapdragon historically led in single-thread performance, crucial for application speed and system responsiveness. However, MediaTek has notably closed this gap. Recent Geekbench 6 benchmarks reveal that Dimensity 9500 slightly outperforms Snapdragon on single-core tasks, while Snapdragon holds a slight advantage in multi-core processing. The difference remains under 5%, making daily use differences almost imperceptible.
Both chipsets utilize ARMv9 architecture with high-performance and efficient cores. Snapdragon integrates Qualcomm’s custom Oryon core, whereas Dimensity relies on an optimized Cortex-X925 design. For routine tasks such as social media scrolling, video calls, light photo editing, and heavy multitasking, both deliver smooth and responsive flagship experiences. Users shouldn’t dismiss Dimensity-powered phones solely for lacking Snapdragon branding.
Gaming: Adreno GPU vs Mali-G71 Ultra
Gaming performance often serves as Qualcomm’s stronghold, with its Adreno GPUs supporting elite optimizations, Vulkan 1.3, HDR, and variable rate shading. These features ensure high frame rate stability at demanding resolutions.
However, MediaTek’s Mali-G71 Ultra GPU on the Dimensity 9500 is no longer a runner-up. Benchmarks like GFXBench Aztec Ruins and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme show a narrow performance gap of 3–7%, with Snapdragon leading at peak performance.
Interestingly, Dimensity delivers superior sustained performance during extended gaming sessions. Thanks to efficient thermal design and balanced power distribution, Dimensity-based devices stay cooler and experience less throttling.
For instance, while playing Genshin Impact on ultra settings at 60 FPS, Snapdragon phones may drop to 52 FPS after 20 minutes, but Dimensity phones maintain around 58 FPS.
Performance can still vary depending on the device’s cooling system, but overall, Dimensity competes closely or even surpasses Snapdragon in practical gaming scenarios.
Power Efficiency and Thermal Management
Here lies one of Dimensity 9500’s most significant advantages. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s high-speed Oryon cores are fast but also consume more power and generate higher temperatures.
Snapdragon phones often feel warm during activities like 4K/8K video recording, intensive gaming, or multitasking with GPS, camera, and music.
In contrast, Dimensity employs an aggressive performance-per-watt approach, resulting in 8–12% lower power consumption under heavy load and surface temperatures 3–5°C cooler.
Battery endurance testing over 8 hours of mixed use (gaming, streaming, browsing) shows Dimensity devices retain 15–20% more battery life than Snapdragon counterparts.
This efficiency is crucial for users who travel often or prefer fewer charging interruptions.
AI, Camera Processing, and Connectivity
Both chipsets feature advanced NPUs: Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU offers up to 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), while MediaTek’s eighth-generation NPU provides around 40 TOPS.
Snapdragon marginally leads in AI-powered photography features like HDR+ real-time processing, enhanced portrait modes, and video stabilization.
Dimensity, however, offers more power-efficient AI operations beneficial in live translation and voice assistant tasks.
In image processing, Qualcomm holds an edge with superior ISP tuning for 8K video, slow-motion capture, and low-light photography, favored by premium brands like Samsung and Google.
Yet, MediaTek’s partnerships with vivo and OPPO have improved Dimensity’s ISP performance to near-flagship quality at more affordable prices.
For connectivity, Snapdragon’s modem X85 provides theoretical 5G speeds up to 10 Gbps, while Dimensity 9500’s 5G R17 modem supports up to 7.9 Gbps. In practical scenarios, this gap is negligible due to current network limitations.
Both support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and dual-SIM 5G capabilities, ensuring modern wireless standards are covered.
Price and Value: Making Flagship More Accessible
A notable effect of MediaTek’s rise is the downward pressure on flagship smartphone prices.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones often cost between $1,150 and $1,600, whereas similarly specced Dimensity 9500 devices range from $830 to $1,150.
Buyers get approximately 95% comparable performance, longer battery life, cooler operation, and save up to $400.
This saving can be allocated to accessories, cloud subscriptions, or even a second phone.
The growing competition between MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Samsung’s renewed Exynos efforts creates a healthier mobile chipset landscape.
Smartphone consumers in 2025 benefit from balanced choices that prioritize either raw performance and camera ecosystem (Snapdragon) or efficiency, thermal control, and affordability (Dimensity).
Flagships running Dimensity chipsets are not just viable alternatives; they represent intelligent buying decisions tailored to varied user needs.
