In the 4G era, smartphones with MediaTek chipsets tend to be much more affordable than those with Qualcomm chipsets. Now the company wants to bring that tradition into 5G.
A report from MyDrivers said the MediaTek is planning to have a more affordable 7 nm SoC, which should go into mid-rangers, in 2020.
Back in May MediaTek introduced its Helio M70 5G modem, but we are still waiting for an official unveiling of the whole chipset. It will be built on the 7nm FinFET process and will be for Oppo and vivo flagships.
The latest report said the new chipset, apparently codenamed MT6873 and built on a 7nm process, will offer the same basic architecture as the first 5G processor. However, the new chipset is said to be more affordable and 25% smaller too.
The MT6873 processor is tipped to go into mass production in Q2 2020, meaning market availability sits at the third quarter of next year.
News of a more affordable MediaTek 5G SoC comes over a month after Qualcomm confirmed that it’s bringing 5G connectivity to its Snapdragon 700 and Snapdragon 600 line-up.
This suggests that 5G phones could see a sharp increase in adoption in 2020, owing to a wide variety of mid-range 5G silicon for vendors to choose from.
Competition between MediaTek and Qualcomm in 2020 could also result in more aggressive silicon pricing, hopefully translating into even cheaper 5G phones next year.
This should be a good news to Xiaomi, which has launched 5G phones like the Mi 9 Pro 5G this year and is planning to bring the 5G connectivity to more people next year.
Speaking at the sidelines of the sixth World Internet Conference on Sunday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, Xiaomi chairman and CEO Lei Jun said Xiaomi plan to roll out more than 10 5G phones covering the middle and high-end markets next year.
