Technologies
MediaTek’s Next Chip Will Boost Low-Power AI in Next Year’s Top Android Phones
The Dimensity 9500 ramps up competition for Android phone chips.

MediaTek has unveiled its next big chip for premium Android phones, promising improvements for performance and AI operations.
MediaTek’s chip, the Dimensity 9500, debuts at a seemingly deliberate moment just days before Qualcomm is set to reveal its own silicon, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. While we don’t know the latter’s performance metrics, it will almost certainly compete with the Dimensity 9500 to run the most powerful Android smartphones. The first phones running MediaTek’s new chip will be Vivo and Oppo handsets launching in October for release in Europe, South America and Asia, but not the US yet.
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 has a mix of improvements over its predecessor, last year’s Dimensity 9400. Its CPU cluster has 29% higher single-core and 16% higher multi-core performance, while also drawing 37% less power. Moving to Universal Flash Storage 4.1 (from UFS 4.0) enables memory, like in RAM, to read and write twice as fast. This also leads to 40% faster loading for large AI models, MediaTek said.
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The Dimensity 9500 roughly follows the design of MediaTek’s last few high-end chips. Its CPU cluster features an array of Arm’s newly-renamed C1-series silicon: one Arm C1-Ultra at 4.21 GHz, three Arm C1-Premium at 3.5GHz and four Arm C1-Pro at 2.7GHz.
For gaming, the Dimensity 9500’s graphics processing unit has 33% improved performance and is 42% more energy efficient, meaning longer play sessions on a device before needing to recharge it. The chip also doubles the performance of ray tracing, a technology enabling realistic shadows and reflections in mirrors and water surfaces that often pushes GPUs to their limits. The chip can render graphics at up to 120 frames per second with ray tracing turned on, and also supports graphics engines like Vulkan 1.4 and Unreal Engine 5.6.
Given the aggressive adoption of AI on mobile, it’s unsurprising that MediaTek also boosted artificial intelligence on its new chip. The Dimensity 9500’s NPU 990 has a smattering of upgrades over its predecessor, with 100% faster processing for the smaller 3 billion parameter models often used on smartphones (which typically top out at 7 billion parameters). The NPU (neural processing unit) is also 42% more power efficient when running small AI models. Finally, the mobile chip is the first in the industry to generate 4K images with AI, MediaTek said.
For large language models, the Dimensity 9500 is the first mobile chip to support BitNet 1-bit, which leads to 50% lower power consumption of LLMs.
The chip’s upgrades to camera processing include support for 4K portrait videos at 60 frames per second, as well as slow-motion 4K video at 120 FPS with Dolby Vision video that’s optically stabilized. The Dimensity 9500 carries on its predecessor’s support for up to 200-megapixel cameras.
The Dimensity 9500 also claims connectivity boosts over its predecessor, including 5CC carrier aggregation that increases bandwidth by 15%.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Oct. 29
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 29.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a bit trickier than normal, so read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Skill taught at lifeguard training, for short
Answer: CPR
4A clue: Bop it!
Answer: HEAD
6A clue: Not given anything to eat
Answer: UNFED
8A clue: Twist it! Pull it!
Answer: TAFFY
9A clue: Best of the best
Answer: ELITE
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Means of getting trash to a basement dumpster
Answer: CHUTE
2D clue: Word that can precede «code» or «colony»
Answer: PENAL
3D clue: «Baby Beluga» musician
Answer: RAFFI
5D clue: Neatly skillful
Answer: DEFT
7D clue: Change the color of, as hair
Answer: DYE
Technologies
Samsung’s Wild-Looking Tri-Fold Phone Debuts at APEC Summit in South Korea
The Galaxy phonemaker showed off a twin-hinged foldable at a Korean consumer tech show.
Samsung unveiled its first triple-display foldable phone for consumers at a tech exhibition hall during the APEC CEO Summit in South Korea. The Korean publication Dailian reported that the new phone will launch in November or December.
The tri-fold phone, which doesn’t have an official name yet, was revealed as a prototype on display. Whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 fold in half along one hinge, Samsung’s next device folds in two places to be as compact as a typical smartphone with a 6.5-inch outer screen, then unfolds for a tablet-size 10-inch screen, according to The Chosun Daily. Compare that with dual-screen foldables that have inner screens measuring approximately 8 inches. The Z Fold 7 has a single crease on its main screen; the new tri-fold could have two creases.
Samsung has been at the forefront of foldable phones since releasing the first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and the Galaxy Z Flip in 2020. At the time, it faced fierce competition from Motorola and Huawei — the latter of which gained a significant lead in 2024 with its own tri-fold Huawei Mate XT, which was followed by a second version. Samsung’s launch of its own competitor keeps the company in the game.
Here’s your first look at the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold.
Screen when folded: 6.5-inch
Screen when unfolded: 10-inch
It might be announced later this week.
Source: Chosun Media pic.twitter.com/EhT4i1hW2k— Trakin Tech English (@trakinenglish) October 28, 2025
These two consumer tri-folds have their differences. The Huawei Mate XT’s two hinges fold in opposite directions like an accordion, giving it a Z shape, while Samsung’s device has two screens that fold inward in what Dailian (through Google Translate) asserts is «G-shaped.» Given that Samsung has branded its foldable line as the Z-series, it’s ironic that the company didn’t adopt that shape and format for its tri-fold.
Samsung didn’t release any more details about its tri-fold, though Dailian expects it to be even pricier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which starts at $2,000in the US. From photos of the device — apparently a prototype — behind glass, you can see a front-facing camera on the inner display (when unfolded) and outer screen (when folded up). But since Samsung also didn’t show the device folding, there are a lot of questions about its durability and capability before its supposed launch in a month or two.
It’s not a total surprise to see Samsung’s tri-fold ready to go. For years, the company has displayed various flexible display designs, including three-screen formats, during CES. In the last few months, there’s been a steady flow of rumors and outright executive confirmations that Samsung was gearing up to unveil its tri-fold. Now we’ll have to see whether the company that’s fought so hard to be at the forefront of smartphone design can release another format that dominates the folding phone niche — all before one of its biggest rivals, Apple, even releases its first foldable.
Samsung didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Technologies
Be Wary of AI Videos as Hurricane Melissa Hits Jamaica. How to Spot a Fake
AI-generated storm videos are spreading rapidly online. Here’s where to find reliable information.
As Category 5 Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica with winds topping 180 mph, social media is being hit by a surge of AI-generated and misleading videos, showing catastrophic flooding, collapsing buildings and rescue scenes that never happened.
Across X, TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media platforms, fake clips spread quickly, racking up millions of views in hours. Many of these videos are spliced footage from past storms or clips created entirely with text-to-video AI tools.
In times of crisis, like a dangerous and imminent natural disaster, these fake videos can create confusion, panic and distraction at a time when accuracy can be life-saving.
Natural disasters have always bred rumors and recycled footage, but the rise of AI-generated video has supercharged the problem. Tools like OpenAI’s Sora and other AI-video platforms can render realistic-looking images of storms, floods and damage scenes in seconds, reaching millions online in just a few hours.
Read also: The Deepfakes Are Winning. How Can You Tell if a Video Is Real or Sora AI?
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Why storms are a magnet for fake news
Storms are visual, emotional and fast-moving, which is the perfect recipe for viral misinformation. In years past, videos were often taken out of context or labeled as a different storm. Now, they can be digitally fabricated from scratch.
Some depict apocalyptic flooding that hasn’t occurred, while others claim to show «real-time» conditions hours before landfall. Several videos that have circled this week include images of sharks swimming in the storm surge and unsettling depictions of human suffering.
False videos like these can exaggerate the danger of the storm, create panic, undermine trust and distract emergency responders, as misinformation pulls attention from verified reports.
The following three videos are all fake. They are labeled (albeit briefly) with the Sora watermark, which indicates they were made in OpenAI’s video generator.
How to separate truth from fiction online
When social feeds fill with dramatic hurricane clips, it’s important to separate truth from fiction.
«You have to be very discerning,» Senator Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, said. «You have to know what is good information from bad information. If you want to know where the storm is going, if you want to know what to do, you need to look for official sources.»
Dixon highlighted that the Jamaica Information Service, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management’s information sites and the Office of the Prime Minister page are resources for legitimate, timely updates.
Here are some ways to be discerning.
Check the source. If the video comes from an unfamiliar account, lacks a timestamp or carries no recognizable media branding, assume it is fake until verified. Also, look for the Sora watermark indicating it was made in OpenAI’s app, or read the comments to see if someone else has flagged the video as fake.
Ask yourself if it’s new and local. Does the geography match Jamaica? Is the footage recent? Many «Melissa» clips could actually be from past Caribbean or Gulf storms.
Cross-check before believing. Confirm through trusted outlets, like the Meteorological Service of Jamaica and the US National Hurricane Center, or established media like the BBC, Reuters or the Associated Press.
Pause before sharing. A viral video can cause harm if it spreads misinformation. Wait until a credible source verifies it before reposting.
Go local. If you’re in the affected area, rely on local emergency agencies, radio stations and city or county-level officials for evacuation and safety updates.
Monitor official alerts. For real-time instructions, stick with government channels and local emergency feeds. Your safety depends on accurate information, not viral content.
As AI-generated media becomes easier to produce, hurricanes like Melissa offer a preview of a new reality: one in which you can’t trust much of the information you see online.
Staying safe means being skeptical and diligent when looking for accurate and even lifesaving news.
Read also: What Is AI Slop? Everything to Know About the Terrible Content Taking Over the Internet
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