MediaTek talks about the Helio X30 (update)

Update: The title previously wrongly mentioned that the Helio X30 had launched, which is not the case. Our apologies.

Original post:

As we finally begin seeing devices equipped with Helio X20 processors, MediaTek decides that now would be the best time to announce details about the successor to it.

The new Helio X30 will be another deca core processor and it’ll built on TSMC’s 10nm FinFET architecture, unlike the Helio X20 and X25 which are built on a 20nm architecture. Four of those 10 cores are Cortex A73 cores clocked at 2.8GHz, another four are Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and the final two are Cortex A35 cores at 2GHz.

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What’s more exciting though is the that the Helio X30’s GPU is a massive improvement over the X20 and X25’s. The X30 has a PowerVR 7XT quad core GPU, which should give it a the much needed boost from its predecessor’s average graphics performance.

It’ll support up to 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM, UFS 2.1 storage, up to 26MP cameras and dual cameras. On top of all that, it’ll also come with a modem that supports three carrier aggregation (3CA) which combines the three bands, and if that isn’t enough the modem also supports LTE Cat. 12.

Since Helio X20 devices are only now just popping up, it’ll probably be a while before we see the X30 appear in any devices, possibly until the first or second half of next year.

What do you think? Would you get a Helio X20 powered device now that you know the X30 is such an improvement? Tell us in the comments.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author

Airyl
Enjoying life as a student, gently flowing in the stream known as life. Likes playing the piano, isn't very good at it. Likes playing games, is good at it. Constantly sleepy. Also does some tech stuff, but who cares about that?

- Airyl
  July 26, 2016
- Muhammad Yasir
  July 26, 2016
fido futte
July 26, 2016
Yes there is an shortage on MT6735 , because production has moved over to MT6737 and MT6738 now and shortage is only on P10 and MT6750 as far as i know.

Harvey
July 26, 2016
Will be another over-hyped, low-mid-end, impressive-on-paper-only, stuttery-jittery SoC.
I remember the hype that surrounded the X10, then the X20 and the X25.
All three are epicly crap compared to the SD 650 and SD 652, on *every* aspect.
Then MediaTek fanboys kept talking about value-for-money and price sensitivity, and one again, SD 650 and SD 652 have come out CHEAPER than the X10 / 20 / 25 phones, in fact much cheaper than X20 phones.
Go home MediaTek – you chips have played catch-up all these years while offering very substandard performance under the value-for-money guise. Now that QC has hit the jackpot with the SD 65.x series, you can’t levarage that anymore.
The P10 is a laughable failure.
The X10 is a very poor performer.
The X20 is an equally bad performer.
The X25, another scammy incremental update, is worse than the SD 650 / SD 652
(And Xiaomi is fitting this in the upcoming Note Pro, lol)
In 2016, QualComm has freakin *owned* you, whether or not anyone will admit it, and anyone that buys a MediaTek phone in 2016 is retarded (unless one is talking about the absolute low end stuff around $100 that sells a dime a dozen, but those don’t have the X10-20s do they?)
- Yep
  July 26, 2016
  Do you think Qualcomm’s next 600 range will be able to compete with this though?
  - Harvey
    July 26, 2016
    Not sure what you mean (I could be misunderstanding). Can you clarify your question?
    Are you asking if QC’s next 6 series SoCs will be able to gain market in spite of the existing SD 65.x series? Not sure.
    - Yep
      July 27, 2016
      I am asking if you think the 652 will be better than the X30, if not then do you think whatever the next top end 600 series SoC will be?
- Sansa
  July 26, 2016
  Hmmm, i have a letv x600 with x10, no performance issues here. Was that your daily hate pill?
  - Harvey
    July 26, 2016
    Well, that way, I have an old Zopo with a 6589 which runs without major performance issues **as long** as I’m using only the stock apps and some FB / Whatsapp. Games crush it, heavy multitasking is impossible and on relatively less important synthetics, it’s a joke.
    Does that mean I should miss the entire point of the thread about the false hype around MediaTek’s Socs, their tall claims, what they and their fanboys claimed when these SoCs were arriving, and the fact that QC has created a mid-ranger which bests their best, at typically lower price points?
    Wasn’t MediaTek supposed to crush QC at the mid to mid-high range with their DecaCore SoC’s? What happened really?
    Lol at the X10. Can’t even run Asphalt smooth at 30 fps with significant drops and stutters, and you’re touting it as “no performance issues here”. What your typical load like kid? 10-12 FB / Whatsapp kindof apps in memory? Grow up.
    - balcobomber25
      July 26, 2016
      You have an old MT6589 so that means all Mediatek SoC’s are bad? I have a phone with a SD810, I guess by your logic all Snapdragon chips overheat and throttle to the point that it kills any performance advantage. You tell people to “grow up” yet you resort to immature attacks and failed attempts at logic.
      - Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Still avoiding the real issues I talked about in the original comment – how every year MediaTek promises something and under-delivers majorly, and how this year they’ve lost the price war as well.
        Anyways, not that I need an answer or an acknowledgement from you or anyone else, but it’s always intriguing to see how MediaTek’s hype factory evolves through the quarters, something like:
        Q2/Q3/Q4: Previous Year:
        “ZOMG 20 CORE monster coming on XXnm, will the the class king, best seller, flagship peformance at mid range price etc”
        Q1: Release Year:
        “XYZ maker the first to house the 20 CORE monster. Wait for reviews. Bye Bye QualComm.”
        Q2: Release Year: Reviews start
        “Yay 20 cores! OMG! Wait a second, why does the game lag. Oh wait, was that a stutter? Oh wait, can’t switch between 20+ apps. Oh, graphics is quite poor.”
        Q3: Release Year: Acceptance
        “Yes well, it was supposed to have been a flagship, but QualComm’s midrange XXX has this beat, plentifully, for cheaper”.
        “Also, 40 CORE monster coming from MT again, will crush QC next year! Mid range price, Flagship performance! OMG!”
        Rinse and repeat.
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        How has Mediatek lost the price war? Their SoC;s are still on a whole cheaper than Qualcomm’s. Most of your claims aren’t worth responding to because you are clearly a Qualcomm fanboy who sees no reason and you haven’t used a Mediatek SoC since the MT6589.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Show me a X20 / X25 phone which is cheaper than, say, the Redmi Note 3 or the Mi Max (with equivalent displays), with uniformly better performance across the board, graphics included.
        Any makes come to your mind?
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        You do realize a phones price isn’t determined by the SoC alone? Comparing SoC prices is futile as most of the times the price of the SoC isn’t published and not every company pays the same prices. The SoC usually isn’t even the most expensive component in a phone, the display is.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        As usual, you aren’t answering my question:
        Why isn’t there a cheaper X20 / X25 phone than any SD 650 phone?
        e.g. The Redmi Note 3 has a beatiful display, runs brilliantly in spite of that MIUI which *was* notorious as being a performance killer, games excellently without any frame drops, and multitasks equally well (the 3GB one especially), while being cheaper than ANY X20 / X25 phone. The camera and sound quality are great too. I think the the downside I’ve seen mostly are the low light photos, which isn’t great on most devices anyway.
        So, what MediaTek X20 / X25 phone does ALL of this better, both in terms of specs and real world performance, and comes for cheaper?
        
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        Nah, the Redmi Note 3’s display is shit. The Redmi Note’s was better, and the 3’s build quality is horrendous, must be because of the Snapdragon processor melting the cheap glue.
        Muhammad Yasir
        July 26, 2016
- - - - Harvey’s brain: I love Qualcomm so much I make stuff up and suspend reality.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        The amount of salt in your comments could make the darkest of coffees more salty than the entirety of the Red Sea.
  - DEPTHCOREX75
    July 26, 2016
    Mediatek is really underrated. In truth their SoCs are better than Qualcomm in the CPU department. For instance take one of the newest offerings from both companies in the budget segment. MTK6750 and SD430. The SD430 has A53 Clocked at 1.4GHz while the 6750 has them Clocked at 1.0 GHz and 1.5 GHz. But the ones Clocked at 1.0 GHz are actually almost 20% faster than the ones of 430(Both 28 Nm). The only reason Qualcomm even has the slightest chance against Mediatek is because of Adreno.
    And did you see how Qualcomms budget – Midrange devices fare in MC5? Mali GPUs handle it a lot better which proves that Adreno fares well in Games only because of the better optimisation for it.
  - balcobomber25
    July 26, 2016
    It’s ridiculous to determine what one should or shouldn’t pay based on nothing more than the SoC. Airyl has a very good comparison down below of why you need to look at the whole phone and not just the SoC.
  - Marius Cirsta
    July 26, 2016
    As an owner of a Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 powered by a X10 I can tell it’s quite a good SOC. Yes you need multi-threaded workloads to take advantage of all those 8 A53 cores but more and more browsers and other apps know how to utilize 8 cores and in these cases the X10 can easily compate to the Qualcomm stuff you mentioned if not even be better.
    Actually I also have to mention that I use my phone for everyday stuff and nothing fancy and for that the X10 powered Redmi Note 2 is more than enough and not bad at all.

Adam Irvine
July 26, 2016
- Marius Cirsta
  July 26, 2016
  The thing Qualcomm is winning most from these days are probably patent revenues 😀
  Yes, yes they still make the most powerful SOCs but this is becoming less and less relevant.
  The X20 for instance has more than enough CPU power and while the GPU side is debatable for anything but hardcore mobile gaming it’s more than enough.
  - Harvey
    July 26, 2016
    And yet, SD 65.x phones are cheaper, and are better on every front, performance, gaming, build, displays, features, battery, audio and camera included.
    So much for “more than enough”, while being pricier than better performing phones.
    - balcobomber25
      July 26, 2016
      You’re talking about SoC’s and then you mention things that have NOTHING to do with the SoC like displays, features, build etc. Your fanboy level has reached new limits.
      Those other features have to do with the Brand not with the SoC they use.
      - Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Where the X20 / X25 phone you’d recommended Balco, over and above the Redmi Note 3 or the Mi Max?
        Or are there none? Or are you too scared to recommend it since it will be torn apart feature for feature, and embarrassed on the price point too?
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        I wouldn’t recommend too many phones over the RN3 because it is a great phone for the price. It isn;t a great phone because it has the SD650 and nothing else, it;s a great phone because it comes from Xiaomi who makes some of the best phones. Just like the Redmi Note 2 with Helio X10 was a great phone.
        But I would choose the new Gionee M6+ over both of them. Helio P10 with a bigger battery, better display and better camera.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        – Shittier performance (proven through other phones with P10)
        – Will be much pricier (Knowing Gionee)
        – Epicly crap updates, which will cease soon (Gionee)
        – No 3.5mm jack (let me guess, doesn’t matter, right)?
        – Shitty software compared to MIUI (doesn’t matter right?)
        Amazing recommendation I must say.
        Biggah is bettah (display), Biggah is bettah (battery).
        I was expecting better. Sad that both of you (Airyl too) are recommending devices which have a shit SoC that struggles already, and hasn’t even touched any reviewers’ hands.
        Sad, sad, sad. Is this what the conviction of fanboyism makes you do? Mislead others into making wrong purchasing decisions?
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        I have used a few P10 phones none of them struggle with anything except the most demanding games. 99% of the apps in the play store the P10 handles without issue.
        The only fanboy here is you. Both Airyl and myself use phones with nearly every processor, we don’t choose our phones based on that. Both my current phones have a SD808, my tablet has an Intel chip (Xiaomi MiPad 2). My future phone has a SD820. I don’t buy a phone based on the SoC, I buy it based on the whole package.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Yeah, so much of a compelling reason to buy a P10 phone over an SD650 phone. As much as I hate to cite an AnTuTu reference, but here goes:
        The P10 based P9000 costs 219
        The Redmi Note 3 2GB costs around 179-ish
        The Redmi Note 3 3GB costs around 209-ish
        Does it make sense? You’d recommend someone buy a P10 phone over and above an SD 65.x phone like the RN3?
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        Antutu scores? That’s what your using as your basis for performance. LOL.
        The P10 based P9000 costs $219
        The X25 based Meizu MX6 costs $330ish
        The SD652 based Xperia X costs $500ish
        Does it makes sense? You’d recommend someone buy a phone costing $500 with a SD650?
        Once again you are arguing for the brand not for the SoC. You are very confused.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        No, I’d simply tell these folks to ditch the Meizu and Sony, AND the P9000, just for the RN3.
        You’d still recommend the P9000 over the RN3, wouldn’t you you sloppy old deranged fart? 😉
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        I would recommend the P9000 to anyone. Elephone is a crappy brand.
        Xiaomi is one of my favorite brands but they are not for everyone.
        
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        Who needs TV? You need Har-V!
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        That made me spit out my tea! HAHA
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Sure you *would*, that’s what I said.
        And you *would*, even though you say Elephone is a crappy brand.
        I completely agree with how you’re projecting your intellect to be.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        It’s quite clear what I meant to anyone with an ounce of common sense. Not surprising you didn’t understand.
        
        lildwell
        July 27, 2016
        Are there any other good cost effective 650 phones outside of the RN3? Why is that the only phone you mention?
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        I’d tell them “Hey, what do you want from your device?”, take the feedback and the give them a suggestion according to what they need. Because that guy needs dual sim card slots, and I’m afraid the Note 3 doesn’t deliver on that.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Stupid dolt. Note 3 does dual sim just fine. See here:
        http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_3-7863.php
        Now don’t talk about dual sim cards AND an SD card mate. We aren’t inbreeding phones in West Virginia anymore, and 32GB is fine for most folks.
        I’d tell them “Hey, the P9000 has a relatively really shitty engine powering the device, and costs more unfortunately, while being built by folks who abandon you from day 1 when it comes to updates. It’s a dead-on-arrival use-and-throw device with the resale value of solied toitel paper on a subway toilet floor. Get the RN3, save money, enjoy a premium device”.
        Stupid dolt.
        
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        So when someone says “but this doesn’t suit my needs” you call them inbreeders and leave them with it? Good job.
        I’d honestly say just leave the P9000 and get a Vernee Thor or Ulefone Power. Both do everything the Xiaomi can do, but cheaper and with stock Android.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        No, I just like to point out liars such as yourself and Balco, who will go to any extent to propagate their lies.
        Balco tried to tell everyone that Gionee’s models have 3.5 mm audio jacks when they don’t, and were confirmed in a hands on sometime back.
        You just tried to tell everyone that the RN3 doesn’t do dual sim when it does.
        I don’t like liars with agendas and they deserve to be treated condescendingly.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        The Redmi Note 3 doesn’t do dual sim, it’s only got one sim slot and a screen. The screen isn’t even IPS, it’s so shitty.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Go on YouTube and check the sim tray you stupid dolt.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        Nah, I don’t need to google trash like that. Obviously the Elephone Vowney is so much better, open your eyes you fanboy.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Have you asked yourself though, that why you’re propagating a lie on a spec, something which is laughable to argue over?
        Bad day for you I guess. It’s like claiming a car with a certain feature doesn’t have it, and I refuse to Google it because it hurts by preconceived notion which must not be proved wrong.
        Ouch! 😉
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        Nah, it’s just that I don’t need to google your garbage. I already know I’m right. The Redmi Note 3 doesn’t support dual sim at all. It doesn’t even support 2100WCDMA. Obviously it’s garbage.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Ooooh the burn. The smells is drifting till where I am you inbred dolt! 😀
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        Tell me oh wise one, what is that whole on the top of the device that is shaped like a 3.5mm jack?
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        First thing you got correct on this one, and -1 to GSMArena.
        So the larger model does not have the 3.5mm jack while the smaller model does.
        Does this mean the 3.5mm jack makes it a better buy than the RN3 which also has a 3.5mm jack?
        Sure, for the folks on this episode of Mauree’s. 😉
        Balco and Airyl, what dumb twats you both are.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        Of course it does. It basically means the Redmi Note 3 is obsolete since the Gionee has better everything. Better display, better cameras, better design, better sound, better life, better wife.
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        No but the bigger battery, better camera and better display do make it a better buy. The Redmi Pro launching tomorrow will probably be a better buy than the RN3 as well.
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        No chance in hell.
        – UI will stutter occassinally.
        – Gaming is will much crappier vs. the Adreno 510.
        – Will be more expensive for nothing.
        What “features” or “performance parameters” will make the Redmi Pro a better buy? None. Lol @ the GPU.
        
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        -OH NO MY UI STUTTERED ONCE THIS WEEK, WOE IS ME
        – NOT THAT ONE EXTRA FRAME! HOW WILL I CRUSH CANDY NOWWWWWWW?!??!!
        – I PAYED EXTRA MONEY FOR THIS GREAT DISPLAY, SOUND QUALITY, BUILD AND CAMERA! BOOHOO
        Basically everything EXCEPT the GPU. I know how much that 1 frame matters to you, I understand.
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        Why is the P9000 the only phone you mention? Because it’s one of the worst phones out?
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        I wouldn’t recommend the P9000, obviously, I’d recommend the LeTV Le1.
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Yeah, crappy camera suddenly doesn’t matter anymore.
        Winning the argument with a generation old phone matters.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        The Le1 definitely has the better camera. Because, you know, I actually tried the devices.
        
        Harvey
        July 26, 2016
        Lies, lies, and more lies. From the GizChina review, and consistent with ALL other reviews:
        “It’s the same sensor as the Xiaomi Mi Note, and while the more expensive Xiaomi does create better photos (just) I feel the speed of the Le 1 is faster”
        “If I must complain about the camera then there are times the auto focus isn’t quite as accurate as I might like, and in low light situations the algorithms do sometimes overcompensate too much and create an blotchy ‘painted’ images with loss of detail”
        How many more lies coming up Airyl?
        
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        You do know Andi’s talking about the MI NOTE, right? You do know that the Redmi Note 3’s camera is only average, no? You do understand Qualcomm isn’t going to pay you for this mean blowjob?
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        Hahaha the Mi NOTE and the REDMI NOTE are completely different phones.
        As far as camera goes the Redmi Note 3 is average at best.
        
        lildwell
        July 27, 2016
        Why do you only mention 1 particular phone? Are there any other 650 phones that you ccan mention?
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        – Shittier performance? You mean slightly worse performance. Shitty performance is the Snapdragon 615.
        – Which means squat.
        – Because you see into the future.
        – Like I said, I don’t need it.
        – Yeah, pretty much.
        Bigger is better, AMOLED is also better.
        I expected nothing out of you, somehow got less.
        
        Hakim Farouk
        July 26, 2016
        Just let him rant. It’s more entertaining to see what logic comes out of his mind.
        Airyl
        July 26, 2016
        I’m milking it. I’m going to use the lines that come out in my next presentation.
        
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        You call that logic? I like messing with fanboys! Especially ones like him that just suspend reality in an attempt to be the smartest person in the room.
        The best comment so far was that Qualcomm SoC;s have better displays and batteries.
        Hakim Farouk
        July 26, 2016
        His own logic of course (Which he has none), Balco. I was being sarcastic. haha
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        This is really just enjoyment for both Airyl and myself.
        Adam Irvine
        July 26, 2016
Yep
July 26, 2016
Sounds amazing on paper, waiting for phones to comes with DDR3 900mhz with it anyway though as usual.
- Muhammad Yasir
  July 26, 2016
balcobomber25
July 26, 2016
RealJJJ is going to be very jealous he didn’t get to “leak” this info first. Cue his crazy rants in 3..2.. oh wait it’s already happened.
- realjjj
  July 26, 2016
  The Forest Gump division trolling again?
  I truly hope you are not older than 8. If you are i pity you and your family. If you need money for medicine, please let us know.
  - balcobomber25
    July 26, 2016
    You associate me with one of the greatest and most successful movies of all time? I take that as a compliment.
    Tell us all another joke today. I love the one about how glasses are going to replace TV’s. Or enlighten us more on your in-depth knowledge of investments. Those were both hilarious yesterday.
    - Rob
      July 26, 2016
      I read that one too, thanks to him I’m not going to replace my TV now that I know it’s dead. Saved me a fortune! Lol
      - balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        MaxPower
        July 26, 2016
        I heard somewhere that they have to be polarized.
        The cheap ones you find at the dollar store won’t work apparently.
        balcobomber25
        July 26, 2016
        Damnit! Guess I’ll just have to live in the stone age and stick with my TV.
        MaxPower
        July 26, 2016
    - - balcobomber25
        July 27, 2016
        One of the highest grossing and most critically acclaimed movies of all time, also considered one of the top 100 movies of all time on many lists. I think that one backfired on him!
  - Airyl
    July 26, 2016
    Why the hostility? He’s just having a bit of fun.
  - Hakim Farouk
    July 26, 2016
    - Muhammad Yasir
      July 26, 2016
      - Hakim Farouk
        July 26, 2016
        
        Muhammad Yasir
        July 26, 2016
        i forgot the exact wording .. but he went real personal…
        i guess it was MaxPower spreading around some false info (ACTUALLY FALSE) in a sort of a trolling manner … even Balco was lightly pissed that day 😀
        im thinking it was last month or something
    - MaxPower
      July 26, 2016
      It doesn’t matter how hard he tries to sound like a grown up man.
      He spoofs himself at the very first sentence
  - balcobomber25
    July 26, 2016
    So much for LeEco not buying Vizio. Another one of your “I know it all” predictions that was proven wrong.
- Muhammad Yasir
  July 26, 2016
lildwell
July 26, 2016

Airyl

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