MediaTek to use TSMC 6-nanometer chipmaking technology for 5G smartphones

MediaTek on Wednesday said it would use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s 6-nanometer chipmaking technology for its newest chips aimed at premium 5G smartphones.

Taiwan’s MediaTek appears to be one of the first high-volume customers for the technology and is amongst a handful of companies with modem technology to connect phones to mobile data networks, competing against Qualcomm Inc and Samsung.

The new chips announced Wednesday, called Dimensity 1100 and 1200, build on MediaTek’s efforts to go after higher-priced handsets where Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips have historically had a stronger market share.

Like Qualcomm and Apple, MediaTek designs chips and then contracts out production to outside firms. The newest chips will be made at TSMC, on a chipmaking technology called a 6-nanometer. Qualcomm’s chips are being made by Samsung on 5-nanometer technology while Apple uses TSMC’s 5-nanometer technology.

Smaller chipmaker technology is faster and more power-efficient. MediaTek’s previous chips used a 7-nanometer process, and moving to newer manufacturing technology along with advances in the chip’s design make it 22% faster at computing tasks while consuming 25% less power, Finbarr Moynihan, general manager of international corporate sales, told Reuters in an interview.