MediaTek has just announced that it has become Google’s first SoC partner for its GMS Express program. For those of you who do not what that is, GMS Express is a program specifically designed to provide approved Android software solutions to smartphone manufacturers, and manufacturers of other Android-powered devices. Now, that includes Google Mobile Services and Google Compatibility Test Suite, in case you were wondering.
MediaTek claims that this move will not only help companies save money releasing devices, but it will also help them release devices faster, while also ensuring that those phones offer high-quality Android software. You might wonder how does that work, exactly? Well, this Taiwan-based chip maker will offer device manufacturers “pre-tested, pre-certified and fully compliant builds of Android and GMS”. The company already claims that over a dozen brands have joined the GMS program, and MediaTek has been working with several of its partners on this program already, for the past few months, actually. In case you’re still wondering why is this program so important and how it will benefit everyone, you should know that it reduces the regular certification process from three months to four weeks, while OEM will also receive frequent security patches. In its press release, MediaTek also wanted to remind everyone that its processors power over 1.5 billion devices a year, and we’re not talking about smartphones only, its chips power routers, TVs, voice-assisted gadgets, and so on.
This Taiwan-based company is definitely one of the largest mobile phone SoC manufacturers in the world, and this new collaboration could certainly help OEMs get their smartphones out to the market faster, while keeping them safe at the same time. At least that’s what it should work in theory, but we’ll have to wait and see if it will reflect on anything in real life situations. MediaTek did not reveal what companies it already works for when it comes to the GMS Express program, but chances are that many more companies will join MediaTek in the near future. In any case, stay tuned, we’ll release more info as soon as it becomes available, as per usual.