MediaTek announced a new octa-core processor with 4G LTE capabilities that they hope to put in low-cost smartphones. MediaTek believes that you shouldn't have to pay big bucks to own a powerful smartphone, so the company plans to put the processor in smartphones costing less than $200.
The MediaTek MT6595 processor is built around four ARM Cortex-A17 processors, which work in concert with four Cortex-A7 processors to bring maximum energy efficiency and power to the processor. The processor is able to decide which core to fire up based on the type of task the smartphone or tablet user wants to accomplish. Low-level activities force only one core into action, while the other sleep. However, if you are playing a game or watching a video, more of the cores will kick into gear. This saves power and should help lengthen battery life on users' devices significantly.
The MediaTek MT6595 also supports NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and 4G LTE, which is a rarity on low-cost smartphones, but an essential feature in the United States. Amazingly, the new octa-core processor can even capture and playback 4K video. Although most smartphones don't record in 4K yet, you can bet that they will soon. In fact, the upcoming Sony Xperia Z2 is expected to feature 4K recording capabilities.
Mohit Bhushan, MediaTek's marketing vice president, is determined to bring high-quality processors to low-cost smartphones and thus spread high-end technology to people from all walks of life.
"There is really no good reason why phones with good displays should cost $700-800," Bhushan said. "For $100-200, we can provide phones based on platforms like this one."
MediaTek has not explicitly stated how much its new octa-core processor will cost, but the company said that it hopes to put the MT6595 on subsidized smartphones costing between $99 and $199. The company's dream to place the powerful octa-core on low-cost smartphones is possible, but only if manufacturers work to keep their costs down and that means MediaTek's price will have to be right.
The processor will be available in the second quarter of 2014 for device manufacturers, but it probably won't appear on devices in stores until 2015. MediaTek hopes to see the chip in devices before the year is out, but that depends on how fast manufacturers move to pick up its new processor. MediaTek will face strong competition from Qualcomm and Samsung, but perhaps its everyman strategy will pay off.
