In the 5G era, MediaTek has so far done a good job and the reward for this is that the company is now the world’s largest supplier of smartphone chips. But in the high-end mobile phone chip market, MediaTek still lacks stamina and lags behind Qualcomm. At present, MediaTek’s high-end product line Dimensity 1000 series has up to 6nm chips. The series does not have a 5nm 5G chip for now. However, there are reports that the company will move straight to the 4nm process 5G chip. Its competitors like Qualcomm, Samsung, and Huawei already have 5nm chips.
To enter the high-end market, MediaTek needs to launch higher-process chip products as soon as possible. According to previous reports, MediaTek’s 5nm chip will officially start production in Q4 2020. The report claims that this chip will be ready for use by early next year. It is a flagship product specifically for the high-end market.
But in the second half of this year, Apple’s A15 Bionic chip with enhanced 5nm process technology arrive. Furthermore, Qualcomm’s next-generation flagship 8 series processor will also arrive at the end of the year. In contrast, MediaTek is still slow in the pace of planning for high-end chips, and cannot form a first-mover advantage.
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However, the latest news claims that MediaTek is likely to skip the 5nm chip process. The company will launch a new flagship product directly with the 4nm process technology. The report claims that MediaTek’s new-generation 5G flagship chip will upgrade to 4nm process. Furthermore, its 3nm production is already in play. In fact, the Taiwanese company is currently TSMCs first customer for 4nm and 3nm.
Furthermore, MediaTek’s 4nm chip mass production progress will be comparable to that of Apple. The company already has orders from the likes of OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
The 4nm process chips will bring more powerful performance and lower power consumption. If the news is true, then MediaTek will form a first-mover advantage in the high-end market and lay a good foundation for gradually gaining a foothold in the high-end market.
However, the first to adopt 4nm process technology is not without cost. According to reports, the unit price of MediaTek’s new 4nm 5G flagship chip will be over $80 US dollars. This is much higher than the current average unit price of $30 to $35. Such a high unit price means that only ultra-high-end flagship mobile phones can carry this chip.
