The Dimensity 9500s is easy to misread in a phone listing, because its name promises the flagship Dimensity 9500 while its silicon tells a different story.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9500s is not an upgrade over the Dimensity 9500. It is a cheaper, lower clocked alternative on older Arm cores. MediaTek announced it on January 15, 2026, with the Redmi Turbo 5 Max named first.
The Dimensity 9500s keeps eight performance oriented cores and no small cluster, but every clock sits below the Dimensity 9500. Pooled scores still land in flagship territory, just not at the top.
Dimensity 9500s in Brief
- TSMC 3nm, eight cores: one Cortex-X925 at 3.73GHz, three Cortex-X4 at 3.30GHz, four Cortex-A720 at 2.40GHz.
- Arm Immortalis-G925 graphics, listed as MC11 by NotebookCheck and MP12 by NanoReview, at up to 1,612MHz.
- Dimensity 9500s, AnTuTu 11 (CR): 3,032,039; Geekbench 6 (CR): 2,725 and 8,932. The Dimensity 9500 aggregate is about 24% higher.
- Phones listed: Oppo Find X10 E, Xiaomi Redmi Turbo 5 Max, Oppo Reno 16 Pro 5G (China), Xiaomi Poco X8 Pro Max, Oppo Find X9s.
- No verified US or European price was found, so none is stated.
Why This Matters
A shopper who sees 9500s beside 9500 will assume the s model is newer or faster. The opposite is true. The Dimensity 9500 uses newer C1 cores and a newer GPU, while the Dimensity 9500s reuses the 9400+ layout.
Price is the practical question. This chip should cost clearly less than the Dimensity 9500. At the same price, the faster chip wins. At a clear discount, the slower chip may be the smarter buy.
Dimensity 9500s Specifications: Older Cores, Newer Badge
One Cortex-X925 core leads at 3.73GHz, three Cortex-X4 cores follow at 3.30GHz, and four Cortex-A720 cores run at 2.40GHz. Both Android Authority and NotebookCheck read this as the Dimensity 9400+ layout.
The process is TSMC 3nm, listed as N3E, with 12MB of L3 cache in both listings. Memory is LPDDR5X at 5,333MHz with up to 24GB, and storage is UFS 4.0 and UFS 4.1. The NPU in the Dimensity 9500s is the NPU 890 per NotebookCheck, with no verified throughput figure.
Graphics come from the Arm Immortalis-G925, with hardware ray tracing at up to 1,612MHz. NotebookCheck lists MC11 in its device reviews. NanoReview lists MP12. One launch report said makers could use 11 or 12 cores, which may explain the split, but that is reported, not confirmed by MediaTek.
Dimensity 9500s Benchmarks: What the Aggregates Show
Two pooled sources cover the Dimensity 9500s, and they disagree slightly. NanoReview pools user submitted results, tagged (CR). NotebookCheck pools results from devices it tested, closer to lab evidence. Neither puts both chips in one body, so neither settles a controlled duel.
Testing note: No published same-chassis lab test exists; treat phone scores as orientation only. Results below come from different retail phones tested by different outlets at different times. They are useful for ballpark comparison, not a controlled duel.
On the same version and aggregator, the Dimensity 9500 leads by about 24% on AnTuTu 11 total, 23% on Geekbench 6 single core, 17% on multi core and 19% on GPU compute. The AnTuTu GPU gap, about 35%, is widest, against about 17% on CPU. Newer graphics and higher clocks explain that shape.
NotebookCheck is cooler. Its Geekbench 6.7.1 pool gives medians of 2,673 single core and 8,101 multi core for the Dimensity 9500s, below the NanoReview aggregates. Different devices explain the gap. Report the pools side by side, never averaged.
Remember that sustained performance depends on cooling, software tuning and ambient temperature as much as on the chip. A thicker phone with a better vapour chamber can outperform a thinner phone on the same silicon.
MediaTek claims up to 165 frames per second in supported titles, and launch coverage reports a lab AnTuTu figure of 3,612,095 for the Redmi Turbo 5 Max. Treat both as manufacturer claims (MF). The lab figure sits about 17% above the crowd phone total of 3,100,039 for the same phone. NotebookCheck separately lists AnTuTu v10 at 2,461,310, a different version that must not be compared with v11 totals.
Battery and Charging: A Phone Property, Not a Chip Win
Battery life belongs to the phone, not the chip. Capacity, display, software and cooling shape endurance more than silicon alone. No controlled endurance test was found for any of them.
NanoReview gives the Dimensity 9500s a battery composite of 92, against 93 for the Dimensity 9500. That is the aggregator’s rating, not hours of use, and it cannot rank handsets.
Bottom line on battery: No identical-condition battery duel was found across the reviewed phones. Treat battery life and charging speed as properties of the specific phone (its mAh size, software, screen and charger), not of the chip. Do not pick a chip winner on battery.
Connectivity in Practice
NanoReview lists 5G peak download up to 7,300 Mbps, against 10,700 Mbps for the Dimensity 9500. Launch coverage describes a Release 17 modem with four carrier aggregation, and UNBOX reports the chip drops mmWave. Wi-Fi 7 is supported at 6.5 Gbps per NotebookCheck.
In practice that matters mainly in the United States, where Verizon and AT&T run mmWave networks, and for owners of Wi-Fi 7 routers. Most buyers in Bangladesh, South Asia and much of Europe use sub-6GHz 5G or LTE, and the modem in the Dimensity 9500s covers what they actually use. Check carrier bands on the exact listing, since regional variants differ.
Bluetooth versions disagree across sources: 6.2 in NanoReview, 6.0 in NotebookCheck, 5.4 elsewhere. A reported MediaTek claim of 5km phone to phone Bluetooth range is likewise unverified by any independent test checked.
Dimensity 9500s vs Dimensity 9500: Pick the Phone, Not the Badge
The verdict is conditional. The Dimensity 9500 is faster on every pooled benchmark here, widest in graphics. The Dimensity 9500s is the cheaper route to flagship class speed. The phone and the price decide the rest.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500s phone if it is clearly cheaper than a comparable Dimensity 9500 phone with similar storage.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500s phone if you stream, browse and play lighter games, and the phone is well cooled.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500s phone if you buy on sub-6GHz 5G in Bangladesh, South Asia or Europe.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500 phone if peak gaming decides the purchase, given the pooled GPU gap of about 35%.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500 phone if single core speed matters most, with a pooled gap of about 23%.
- Pick a Dimensity 9500 phone if you need confirmed mmWave coverage, or if the two phones cost nearly the same.
At the same price, prefer the better supported device. Screen, camera, battery and updates matter more than a benchmark gap, so do not over-index on specs.
Confirmed, Reported and Unknown
Confirmed: the January 15, 2026 announcement, core layout, clocks and aggregates above. Reported: the 9400 reuse reading, lab AnTuTu, 165 fps and 44% claims, and the 11 or 12 core explanation. Unknown: sustained gaming, battery endurance, prices, Bangladesh availability, GPU core count and Bluetooth per phone.
What to Watch Next
Lab reviews of retail phones, a primary MediaTek specification page and verified prices would sharpen this picture. Until then, treat pooled scores as a class indicator, not a phone verdict.
Quick Answers
Is the Dimensity 9500s faster than the Dimensity 9500?
No. The Dimensity 9500s trails by about 24% on AnTuTu 11 and 23% on Geekbench 6 single core. The s does not mean faster.
Which phones use this chip?
NanoReview lists the Oppo Find X10 E, Redmi Turbo 5 Max, Reno 16 Pro 5G (China), Poco X8 Pro Max and Find X9s. NotebookCheck also lists the Lenovo Yoga Tab Gen 2 and Oppo Pad 6 tablets.
Is it good for gaming?
Flagship class, not top tier: AnTuTu 11 GPU sub score 1,062,397, gaming composite 82 against 99 for the Dimensity 9500. Sustained play depends on cooling.
Will it work well in Bangladesh?
Yes, on networks. Sub-6GHz 5G covers what most buyers in Bangladesh and South Asia use. No official Bangladesh price or availability was verified, so check bands, warranty and model on any import.
Should I buy a phone with this chip or wait?
Buy if the phone is clearly cheaper and well reviewed for camera, battery and cooling. Wait for lab reviews if sustained gaming or endurance decides your purchase.
The Takeaway
The Dimensity 9500s is older silicon with a newer sounding name. The CPU gap is real. The GPU gap is wider. Battery is phone dependent.
Judge the phone, not the badge. A 9500s phone at a clearly lower price is a sound buy. The same phone at a flagship price is a name tax.
Check the cores, the price and the review. Those three facts decide more than any family number.
Sources
- NanoReview, MediaTek Dimensity 9500s specs and benchmarks, AnTuTu 11 and Geekbench 6 aggregates and phone listings (CR)
- NanoReview, MediaTek Dimensity 9500 specs and benchmarks, AnTuTu 11 and Geekbench 6 aggregates (CR)
- NotebookCheck, Mediatek Dimensity 9500s processor benchmarks and specs, Geekbench 6.7.1 device test pool and device reviews
- Android Authority, MediaTek reveals Dimensity 9500s and 8500 chipsets, January 2026 launch coverage
- MalaysianWireless, MediaTek unveils Dimensity 9500s and 8500 chipsets, January 2026 launch coverage
- YugaTech, MediaTek Dimensity 9500s unveiled, January 2026 launch coverage, no verified article URL listed in this run, so no link is given.
- UNBOX PH, MediaTek Dimensity 9500s will power next generation flagship killers, January 2026 launch coverage, no verified article URL listed in this run, so no link is given.
Score methodology: Lab-reviewer (LR) scores come from named outlets’ controlled testing. Crowd (CR) scores come from aggregator databases (NanoReview) that pool user-submitted results and are less controlled. NotebookCheck device test pool figures come from that outlet’s own tested devices and are labelled with the exact benchmark build. Company (MF) numbers are manufacturer claims as reported. This article treats LR evidence as strongest, CR as directional, and MF as attributed. No same-chassis controlled test was found, so no chip winner is declared on battery.
