MediaTek introduced the Helio M70 multimode 5G modem with LTE and 5G dual connectivity earlier this year and later confirmed that the 5G modem has passed testing in China and ready to hit smartphones. The Taiwanese chipmaker is now reported to be developing 5G-enabled SoCs for launch in 2020 which will be specifically designed for mid-range smartphones.
According to MyDrivers, MediaTek is on course to launch more than one 5G-enabled Chipset which will power the next-generation mid-range smartphones in 2020. The report says that the company has put the upcoming MediaTek MT6885 chipset into mass production, with shipping to start in Q1 2020.
The MediaTek MT6885 will be the company’s first SoC with a 5G native integrated chip, possibly the Helio M70 5G modem. This SoC will be built on the 7nm FinFET process and will use ARM’s latest Deimos CPU core, Valhall GPU and MediaTek’s own AI computing core. MediaTek MT6885 will be first available on phones from Oppo and Huawei.
By mid-2020, MediaTek is set to announce its second 5G chipset with the launch of the MT6873 SoC. The MediaTek MT6873 will also be built on a 7nm process but with 25 percent reduction in chip size. This will also minimise the cost of manufacturing and MediaTek is expected to offer the chipset to low-end 5G phones from Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and others. The MediaTek will start mass production of MT6873 in Q2 2020 with a commercial release on devices by Q3 2020.
MediaTek plans to ship 40-50 million units of these two 5G SoCs next year.
After the launch of these two chipsets, MediaTek will commence its first product testing made using TSMC’s 6nm EUV process. This 6nm chipset is currently being tested with four designs and support for ARM Hercules CPU, second-generation Valhall GPU and millimetre wave below 6GHz.
The Taiwanese chipmaker is set to finish designing the 6nm chipset by Q3 2020 with mass production touted to start in Q4 2020. MediaTek plans to sell over 100 million units of the 6nm chipset when it starts shipping in 2021.