You can think of it as a bit of a sidegrade to the Dimensity 920
Source: MediaTek
MediaTek is actively working to get its silicon into more and more phones with its Dimensity chip lineup. But while it has full-fledged flagship chips like the Dimensity 9000, its mid-range and budget SoCs are some of the biggest workhorses around. The Dimensity 920 has been used in phones like the Xiaomi Mi 11i, the Realme 9 Pro Plus, and the Realme Narzo 50 Pro, but that chip was introduced well over a year ago — it’s high time for some fresh blood. That’s just what we’re getting now, as MediaTek finally unveils the new Dimensity 1080.
Despite the big leap in number from 920 up to 1080, this SoC isn’t a huge departure from its predecessor. The CPU itself has an octa-core configuration with two ARM Cortex-A78 cores running at 2.6 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores running at 2.0 GHz — an almost identical setup to the Dimensity 920, with the main difference being that the two bigger cores are running 100 MHz faster. The Dimensity 1080 is also built on the same 6nm process as its predecessor.
So what is changing then, if the CPU itself is almost identical? If you were about to guess GPU, we’re looking at the same Mali-G68 MC4 as before. Luckily, concrete improvements begin revealing themselves as we start looking around the periphery, like support for 200MP cameras, which is a growing trend now and surely will only become hotter in 2023 across flagship and budget phones alike. We also see support for 120Hz screens, Bluetooth 5.2, and Wi-Fi 6.
Maybe if anything, this feels like a sidegrade from its predecessor, adding support for better cameras and some more modern connectivity features. That’s not necessarily a problem — budget-aware phones don’t need to be chasing raw speed, and the performance of the Dimensity 920 was already fine for most people. And honestly, the sound of a Dimensity 920 with higher clock speeds and 200MP camera support doesn’t come across half bad.
You can expect to see MediaTek’s newest silicon in some of the best budget smartphones landing in the coming months from manufacturers like Xiaomi, Realme, and Oppo.
