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Arm announced Cortex-X4 and Immortalis-G720 on May 29, 2023, as part of its third-generation Total Compute Solution (TCS23). They are licensable processor and graphics IP for chipmakers to integrate into smartphone systems-on-chip (SoCs)—not standalone CPUs or graphics cards. Arm’s performance figures describe its own comparisons and demonstrations; actual phone performance depends on each chip and device implementation.
What did Arm announce?
TCS23 brought together Arm’s Armv9.2 CPU designs—Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520—with the DSU-120 shared unit and a fifth-generation GPU family. Immortalis-G720 was the family’s flagship GPU; Mali-G720 and Mali-G620 served other tiers. The announcement was a platform of licensable building blocks, not a finished phone processor.
Arm said its most powerful Armv9 Cortex compute cluster had delivered double-digit performance gains for a third consecutive year. That is Arm’s characterization of its successive designs, not an independent benchmark result.
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Cortex-X4 is a high-performance CPU core in Arm’s Armv9.2 family. Arm designed it for bursty, single-threaded work such as opening apps, browsing and rendering web pages, and camera functions. It supports up to 2 MB of L2 cache per core.
#1 Best Overall
- Release Month: March
- Release Year: 2025
- Combined Processor Core: Octa-core
- Processor Manufacturer: ARM
- Processor Type: Cortex X925
Arm gave two related but differently framed comparisons at launch. Its newsroom announcement said Cortex-X4 delivered 15% more performance than Cortex-X3 and used 40% less power on the same process. A separate Arm technical blog described a 15% performance improvement over the previous Android flagship and 40% better power efficiency. These are Arm’s claims, with distinct comparison wording—not a universal result for every chip or phone.
What is Immortalis-G720?
Immortalis-G720 is Arm’s flagship GPU based on its fifth-generation GPU architecture. Arm’s product page reports an average 15% performance increase over Immortalis-G715 and up to 40% lower memory-bandwidth use. The average-performance figure and the “up to” bandwidth figure measure different things; neither guarantees a particular game’s frame rate or a handset’s battery life.
Arm engineers also presented a GDC 2023 demonstration comparing the new graphics approach with Immortalis-G715. Arm reported 31% better write bandwidth and an estimated 20% improvement in frames per second in that demo. Those are results from a specific demonstration, not a prediction for every shipping game or phone.
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Deferred vertex shading (DVS) changes how the GPU handles geometry in its graphics pipeline. Arm says the fifth-generation approach reduces the memory bandwidth needed for graphics work. Lower bandwidth demand can help power efficiency or leave more resources available for visual effects, depending on the workload and implementation. The benefit is architectural; it does not mean every game automatically renders more detail or runs faster.
Why does the TCS23 configuration matter?
A phone’s performance comes from a system, not one core or GPU in isolation. CPU core choices, the shared DSU, interconnect, system-level cache, memory, cooling, power policy and software all shape the outcome. Arm’s reference configuration illustrates one way to assemble the IP, while explicitly allowing partners to choose other combinations.
| Arm TCS23 reference example | Configuration | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 Cortex-X4, 5 Cortex-A720, 2 Cortex-A520 | Arm benchmark example; partners may configure differently |
| Shared unit | DSU-120 | Part of the reference platform |
| GPU | Immortalis-G720 | Part of the reference platform |
In a separate TCS23 reference-platform discussion, Arm reported 30% less DRAM bandwidth per frame on average than TCS22, with reductions of up to 44% in Fortnite scenes. These figures refer to Arm’s platform and content context, not a general measurement of retail phones.
Which chips and phones use Cortex-X4?
A concrete announced implementation is MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300, introduced later in 2023. Arm and MediaTek said it combines four Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores with Immortalis-G720. Arm described the chipset as a platform for next-generation flagship smartphones with vivo; the announcement establishes the chip’s use of Arm IP, not identical performance across devices.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11For the Dimensity 9300 versus Dimensity 9200, Arm reported 46% higher GPU performance at the same power, 46% better ray tracing, and 40% lower GPU power at the same performance. These are Arm’s chipset comparison claims and should not be read as independent phone tests or guarantees for every Dimensity 9300 handset.
To judge a particular phone, look for independent testing of the exact model. The Arm IP figures alone do not establish its sustained speed, thermals, battery behavior or performance across games and apps.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are Cortex-X4 and Immortalis-G720 still Arm’s newest designs?
No. Cortex-X4 and Immortalis-G720 are 2023-generation designs, not Arm’s newest generation as of October 4, 2026. Arm reported in 2024 that Immortalis-G925 delivered 37% better performance than G720 on Arm reference platforms. That comparison reinforces the generational distinction; it does not substitute for device-level testing.
Quick Recap
How to interpret the launch figures
- Every percentage above is attributed to Arm; the supplied figures do not establish independent replication.
- Check the stated baseline: Cortex-X3, a previous Android flagship, Immortalis-G715, TCS22, or Dimensity 9200 are not interchangeable comparisons.
- Keep the conditions attached: “same process,” “at the same power,” “at the same performance,” “average,” “up to,” and demo or reference-platform results each qualify a claim.
- Expect partner designs to vary. Cooling, software, power limits and workload influence what a retail phone delivers.
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