Mediatek’s 4G/LTE Octa-Core Chipset Is Here In India And Its Pricey

You’ve been using phones running on the Mediatek chipset that haven’t cost much till now but all that is about to change. The chipset maker is finally set to fight it out with its counterpart, Qualcomm with its first ever high-end octa-core chipset with 4G/LTE capability called MT6595.

The company has till date enjoyed the entry and mid-level smartphone space and for them to make a plunge into the bigger arena, speaks for the brand’s ambition. “MediaTek is focused on delivering a full range of 4G LTE platforms, and the MT6595 is the first of many to arrive in India. Our 4G LTE solutions support all modes including TDD LTE” said Dr. Finbarr Moynihan, general manager of corporate sales international at MediaTek.

MT 6595 in plain terms, will facilitate phone manufacturers to build devices with QuadHD (2560x1440p) display, UHD video recording codec, 20 MP camera power and high-end audio codecs among others. Asked if Mediatek’s MT 6595 will be rolled out on smartphones from domestic brands like Micromax and Lava, Finbarr said, at the moment we are talking to our partners, with reference to the MT6595 chipset and looking at every possible avenues for the same.”

Unlike Mediatek’s previous chipsets, including their last octa-core CPU MT6592T, the MT6595 is not expected to be part of the volumes game and will be offered in specific set of numbers, meeting the requirements of any manufacturer that signs in for the chipset.

The MT6595 chipset is based on four A17 cores and four A15 cores that are meant for power performance and power efficiency, respectively. According to Mediatek, these cores function simultaneously with its Core Power technology that promises a true octa-core performance on the devices.

MediaTek will be shipping over 30 million 4G/LTE variant chipsets across the globe with markets like China, European regions featuring prominently. “ We aim to ship 350 million platform for smartphones, across the globe, out of which 30 million will be covered by the 4G/LTE variant and 40 million meant for tablets,” Finbarr added.

The company refused to divulge on the expected pricing of a smartphone, powered by the MT6595 chipset but looking at it’s repeated insistence on ‘premium’, we reckon, anything above $500 might be their targeted price point. We’ll have to till for the first set of smartphones on MT6595, expected to hit the market by end of 2014.

Mediatek wants to play itself in the premium space, where Qualcomm and Exynos (mostly for Samsung) have been the preferred set of processors. So can they really spoil Qualcomm’s party? We’ll know that very soon.