MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro is reportedly priced as high as $220, marking a new high for the company's flagship chip.
The figure comes from a report by Taiwanese outlet TaiSounds, also referred to as Tai Pao.
That is above the Dimensity 9500, which was priced between $180 and $200.
Even so, the Dimensity 9600 Pro remains much cheaper than Qualcomm's competing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, which is said to cost around $300 per chip.
2nm Costs Push Flagship Chip Prices Higher
The Dimensity 9600 Pro was unveiled recently and is built on TSMC's 2nm process, packing more than 33 billion transistors.
MediaTek's Hsu Ching-Chuan, Vice President and General Manager of the Wireless Communications Business Unit, pointed to the higher costs of the 2nm node.
He also mentioned that the company is working with partners to shrink the physical size of memory chips and is pushing related technologies to help keep overall system costs in check.
MediaTek is positioning the Dimensity 9600 Pro as a serious player in the premium segment, with the first phones using it expected to start showing up in the coming weeks.
The higher price narrows the usual gap with Qualcomm's flagship chips and fits a wider industry pattern: 2nm smartphone processors are simply more expensive across the board.
Apple's A20 Pro is also reportedly sitting near $280.
While the increased cost could push up the final price of the phones that use it, it also highlights how much is being invested in cutting-edge manufacturing and on-device AI.
MediaTek seems focused on staying competitive on performance while dealing with the same manufacturing and component cost pressures that everyone else is facing.
