Dimensity 9600 Pro engineering samples listed for a measly $30 on the Chinese black market

Jefull, the same Xianyu seller who previously obtained engineering samples of Qualcomm's next Snapdragon chipset (SM8975), tentatively named the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, has now listed chips marked MT6993Z and MT6995Z. The former corresponds to the Dimensity 9500, while the latter may be a new flagship Dimensity chip, possibly the Dimensity 9600 Pro, based on MediaTek's part-numbering pattern. The chips are priced at ¥200 (about $30), with free shipping on orders of two or more. The listing has since been taken down.

The listing photos show several loose BGA packages in a sealed bag hand-labeled with the two part numbers, alongside close-up shots of individual chips. As with the earlier SM8975 listing, the seller describes the units as unencrypted engineering teardown stock in good condition and markets them for motherboard repair and expansion.

Judging by the chip package, the Dimensity 9600 Pro appears to be the same size as the previous Dimensity 9500. This suggests that the upcoming flagship may have a die size similar to the Dimensity 9500's, at around 140 mm². With Qualcomm's next flagship die rumored to measure 134 mm², the size gap between the two chips appears to be closing compared to the previous generation. MediaTek's larger die likely means a higher BOM cost, and the company may still be accepting lower margins by pricing its chip below its Snapdragon counterpart, albeit to a lesser extent than before as that gap narrows. The package also appears to use a traditional FCPoP design similar to that of the previous generation. It will be interesting to see how the thermal performance of the Dimensity 9600 Pro compares with that of its competitor, which is expected to use more thermally optimized packaging.

The chip's silkscreen markings do not provide any useful information. MediaTek appears to have moved away from its usual silkscreen encoding scheme this time.

The part numbers and chip identifications in this article are drawn from an unverified marketplace listing. MT6993Z has been independently confirmed as the Dimensity 9500, but MT6995Z's association with the Dimensity 9600 series remains unconfirmed.