I’ve spent the last couple of years watching Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD battle for a bigger slice of the portable, efficient, and AI-first laptop market. The competition, I’d say, is already quite fierce.
Now, MediaTek also wants in. The chipmaker has launched a new chip lineup built specifically for the AI-first laptop category, starting with the Dimensity CX C10 Max. It’s headed for premium, ultra-portable Googlebook laptops launching later this year.
So what’s actually inside this new chip?
The C10 Max is built on TSMC’s 3nm process, which remains the current standard for such chips. It uses what MediaTek calls an “All Big Core” layout, pairing an eight-core CPU with an eleven-core GPU, tuned for thin, fanless laptops.
MediaTek also equips the chip with its eighth-generation NPU, called NPU 890. It delivers up to 55 TOPS of AI performance, which is enough to run Google’s Gemini Intelligence features quickly and efficiently.
For those catching up, these features include Magic Pointer, Create My Widget, cross-device Android integration, and contextual AI assistance wherever required. MediaTek’s Vince Hu tied the launch directly to the company’s long-running partnership with Google, especially on Android hardware.
| Chip | Architecture | CPU Cores | NPU Performance | Target Devices |
| MediaTek Dimensity CX C10 Max | ARM, All Big Core | 8-core CPU, 11-core GPU | 55 TOPS (NPU 890) | Premium ultra-portable Google laptops |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus | ARM (Oryon) | 8 to 10 cores | ~45 TOPS | Copilot+ PC thin-and-lights |
| Apple M3 / M4 | ARM, Apple Silicon | Varies by tier | High-efficiency Neural Engine | MacBook Air, entry MacBook Pro |
| Intel Core Ultra 200V (“Lunar Lake”) | x86-64, low-power tile design | Varies by tier | ~48 TOPS | Thin, light, battery-focused laptops |
| AMD Ryzen AI 300 series | x86-64, Zen 5 + XDNA 2 | Varies by tier | Up to ~50 TOPS | Thin-and-light AI laptops |
Where does this leave the competition?
On paper, the C10 Max’s 55 TOPS NPU edges out the immediately comparable chips in this class. For instance, Qualcomm’s first-gen Snapdragon X Plus tops out at 45 TOPS (though the Snapdragon X2 Plus scales up to 80 TOPS), and Intel’s Lunar Lake hits roughly 48 TOPS. Meanwhile, AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series manages around 50–55 TOPS.
While I don’t consider Apple’s M-series chip a direct competitor to the C10 Max, mainly because of its closed ecosystem and its absence outside Apple’s ecosystem, it’s still serving a similar purpose in MacBooks and iPads: a highly efficient chip powering thin yet ultra-premium devices meant for Apple Intelligence.
Anyway, coming back to C10 Max, MediaTek has paired the chip with an Imagiq 1090 ISP for sharper video calls. It also bundles Wi-Fi 7 connectivity (up to 7.3Gbps) and Bluetooth 6.0 for seamless wireless connectivity.
No device or launch date has been announced so far. However, MediaTek says Googlebook laptops built on the C10 Max are coming.
