Emir BardakçıThe mobile performance landscape has just changed. While the tech community has been abuzz with excitement over the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Xiaomi and MediaTek have been working on a mid-range powerhouse that could just steal everyone’s thunder.
The forthcoming REDMI Turbo 5 Max, and its international variant, POCO X8 Pro Max, are going to be the first to come with the brand-new Dimensity 9500s processor. This is not just another regular upgrade; we are talking about flagship processor architecture that will be entering the affordable “performance flagship” category this month.
TL;DR: The Core Details
- New Chipset: First phones with the MediaTek Dimensity 9500s, built using the TSMC N3E
- Performance: Reached a score of over 3.61 million in AnTuTu V11
- Global Rebrand: REDMI Turbo 5 Max (China) is set to come out in international markets under the name POCO X8 Pro Max
- Pricing: The price range of $350-$360
Is the Dimensity 9500s the New Mid-Range King?
The latest MediaTek event has confirmed that the REDMI Turbo 5 Max will be the world’s first phone to sport the Dimensity 9500s processor. The Turbo lineup, for the first time ever, will be entering the true flagships segment, as it has been a mid-to-high-end lineup so far.
I’ve witnessed enough “mid-range chips with flagship performance,” but in these results, there is no doubt. With an overall score of over 3.61 million in AnTuTu V11, it is clear that it is set to rule in the sub-$400 segment. It comes with TSMC’s N3E process technology, which is currently found in flagship processors. However, it’s the CPU architecture that’s really fascinating here. What we have here is a very potent 1 + 3 +
- 1x 3.73GHz Cortex-X925 (The ultra-large performance core)
- 3x 3.30GHz Cortex-X4
- 4x 2.40GHz Cortex-A720
- GPU: Mali Immortalis-G925 MC12 (12-core)
Global Availability: What to Expect?
According to the usual market strategy of Xiaomi, the REDMI Turbo 5 Max will only be available in mainland China. But we anticipate that these identical specifications will come out in other countries under the new brand POCO X8 Pro Max, such as Europe and India.
What’s Next for Xiaomi’s Performance Lineup?
The launch event is still going on, but one thing is for sure: Xiaomi wants to “dominate the $350 price range.” The POCO X8 Pro Max is going to be a connectivity beast with the inclusion of Xiaomi HyperConnect and Xiaomi HyperOS optimizations. We are eagerly awaiting its official launch towards the end of this month. We will be keeping a close eye on its thermal performance because “all large core” architectures are known to have thermal issues. If MediaTek has got its cooling game right, then the Snapdragon 8 Elite may have tough competition in the budget category.
