MediaTek Introduces First 4G LTE Octa-Core SOC Based on ARM Cortex-A17

Even if you’re well acquainted with smartphones and the mobile market in general, it’s possible the name MediaTek doesn’t ring any bells. And yet, the Taiwanese company is one of the few remaining active mobile chipmakers that isn’t Qualcomm — whose chips tend to power most high-end devices, like the HTC One — or Samsung, which has the resources and capabilities to keep producing its Exynos processors regardless of competitors’ performance.

In other words, MediaTek must be doing something right. For the most part, it produces chips cheaply enough that it tends to be the best choice for lower-end devices, but that hasn’t stopped it from dabbling in the higher end of the market from time to time. Take, for example, the MediaTek MT6595, a premium mobile chip which the company says is the first 4G LTE octa-core smartphone SOC powered by the latest ARM Cortex-A17 architecture.

Indeed, the MT6595 leverages ARM’s big.LITTLE technology, coupled with MediaTek’s own CorePilot tech, to deliver a Heterogeneous Multi-Processing (HMP) platform capable of unlocking the full power of all eight cores. Meanwhile, an advanced scheduler algorithm with adaptive thermal and interactive power management ensures superior multitasking performance, as well as excellent sustained performance per watt.

In other words, the MediaTek MT6595 is able to provide a balanced mobile experience, offering the power necessary for today’s demanding apps and games without dramatically lowering battery life. The chip’s integrated 4G LTE multi-mode modem is capable of transferring data at up to 150 Mbps on the downlink and 50 Mbps on the uplink, ensuring optimal data performance as well.

“Congratulations to MediaTek on being in a leading position to implement the new ARM Cortex-A17 processor in mobile device,” said Noel Hurley, vice president and Deputy General Manager for the ARM Product Division, in a statement. “MediaTek has a keen understanding of the smartphone market and continues to identify innovative ways to bring a premium mobile experience to the masses.”