The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is real and happening very soon. As the previous leaks suggested, the Nord 2 is indeed using MediaTek power instead of OnePlus’ tried and tested high-end Qualcomm chips. That said, it isn’t the Dimensity 1200 in its usual form that was speculated. OnePlus revealed that it is using a Dimensity 1200-AI on the Nord 2 with certain enhancements.
If you are a smartphone enthusiast, that “AI” bit in the Dimensity 1200-AI could be making you curious. How is it different from the standard run-of-the-mill Dimensity 1200 and whether the Nord 2 will see increased benefits over phones using the standard Dimensity 1200? OnePlus is yet to reveal the full details but we take a closer look at the official announcement.
Dimensity 1200-AI: What is it?
According to OnePlus’ lingo, “the collaborative AI work completed on top of MediaTek’s Dimensity Open Resource Architecture brings a host of new AI-based features to the OnePlus Nord 2 5G to enhance the user experience across various touchpoints. To highlight the new AI capabilities of the chipset, OnePlus and MediaTek have chosen the name Dimensity 1200-AI to distinguish it from the standard Dimensity 1200.”
In layman’s English, that means the Dimensity 1200-AI is essentially a mildly tweaked version of the Dimensity 1200 designed to offer better AI performance. OnePlus says it has worked with MediaTek under the Dimensity Open Resource Architecture programme to optimize the chip better for the Nord 2’s requirements.
Are there any raw performance improvements?
At the moment, there seems to be some. OnePlus mentions an improvement in response time for games and apps. The Dimensity 1200-AI is also getting improved heat management and power efficiency. The standard Dimensity 1200 left us impressed with its performance on the Realme X7 Max, and with OnePlus’ optimised OxygenOS, we can only expect faster performance.
What will this “AI” boost be used for?
OnePlus Nord CE 5G
On the Nord 2, OnePlus says the increased AI performance helps it in three core areas: display, camera and faster response times. There’s an AI Photo Enhancement for still photos to adjust colour tones, and an AI Video Enhancement to introduce HDR while recording live video. The display section will get features like SDR to HDR conversion, video resolution upscaling in social media apps, and a smarter auto brightness system. Better response time for games is also confirmed for the chip.
Conclusion minus the marketing jibber-jabber
The Dimensity 1200-AI chip seems promising on paper and needs to be put through AI benchmark tests to give us a proper idea of the AI boosts. However, most of the new AI applications that OnePlus has mentioned so far can already be found on Oppo and Realme smartphones. It remains to be seen whether there are any real-world gains, especially after the app throttling fiasco on the OnePlus 9 Pro.
Currently, the Realme X7 Max is the only phone in India to use the Dimensity 1200 chip. The upcoming Oppo Reno 6 Pro has also been confirmed to use the same. Poco’s F3 GT is also expected to use this chip for its gaming intentions.
