MediaTek Dimensity CX C10 Max: a 3nm chip built for AI-first Googlebooks
MediaTek has announced the Dimensity CX C10 Max, its first chip aimed squarely at premium laptops, and it's built to power Google's new Googlebook initiative. Manufactured on TSMC's 3nm N3 process, the chip packs an 8-core All Big Core CPU, an 11-core GPU, and MediaTek's NPU 890 delivering 55 TOPS of AI performance. Googlebook pricing starts at $899, with the lineup topping out at $1,299 — putting this ARM-based platform directly in MacBook Air territory.
The chip
The C10 Max is the flagship of a new product line MediaTek calls Dimensity Compute Experiences (CX), announced September 21. All eight CPU cores are high-performance class — no efficiency cores — which MediaTek says gives it a 15% multi-core lead over the Snapdragon X1E-84-100, while drawing 50% less power in single-threaded workloads. Those figures come from MediaTek's own benchmarks, per PR Newswire (MediaTek), so independent testing post-launch will be the real measure. It's also worth noting the comparison chip is roughly two years old — not Qualcomm's current X2 generation.
The NPU 890 is designed to run Gemini Intelligence features locally on the device rather than sending data to the cloud. MediaTek frames this as both a speed advantage and a privacy benefit — queries and AI tasks stay on the machine.
MediaTek Dimensity CX C10 Max
The rest of the spec sheet
The integrated Imagiq 1090 ISP handles cameras up to 32MP with HDR video, continuous autofocus, and AI-assisted scene processing — useful for video calls and content creation. Connectivity covers Wi-Fi 7 at up to 7.3 Gbps and Bluetooth 6.0 with dual radio engines.
MediaTek claims up to 19 hours of battery life, though that figure comes from reference board testing rather than a shipping device, so treat it as a ceiling. The company is betting the 3nm process and fanless-friendly thermal envelope will let OEMs build thin, light machines without active cooling.
What's still missing
No specific Googlebook models using the C10 Max have been named yet. Tom's Hardware notes the chip won't appear in Chromebook or Chromebook Plus lines — MediaTek's VP explicitly ruled that out. Two of the five Googlebook launch models run Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite; which manufacturer picks up the C10 Max, and at what price point, remains unconfirmed.
This is MediaTek's most direct push into the laptop segment, following the company's earlier MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro: 2nm chip ditches efficiency cores entirely on mobile. Whether it can carve out a meaningful share alongside Intel and Qualcomm depends on which OEMs sign on — and when those devices actually ship.
