Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek on Tuesday debuted its latest offering in the form of the Helio P22, a chip designed to power Android smartphones in the mid-range price segment, with the company referring to such handsets as “the new premium.” Built on TSMC’s 12nm FinFET process node, the chip includes eight Arm Cortex A53 cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz, with the overall package said to be extremely energy-efficient and capable of making the most of any battery.
Dual-SIM support is also part of the package, with the Helio P22 being built specifically with the latest 4G LTE advancements in mind, the Hsinchu-based company claims. The newly announced silicon allows for dual-camera setups entailing a 13-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel secondary one, as well as recording videos at 30 frames per second. In terms of smartphone displays, the Helio P22 can power 20:9 HD+ panels featuring a resolution of up to 1,600 by 720 pixels, with this particular characteristic being indicative of the lower mid-range market segment being MediaTek’s target, “premium” claims or not. Bluetooth 5.0 and GNSS support are also part of the package, as is compatibility with all contemporary Wi-Fi standards.
The Taiwanese technology giant has yet to share all technical specifications about the Helio P22 that appears to be positioning itself as a more affordable counterpart to the Helio P60, primarily because it lacks a dedicated artificial intelligence component, though its resolution support of choice implies more affordable devices with elongated displays and screen notches are likely to start hitting the market in the near future. MediaTek confirmed its latest piece of silicon is already in flow production, saying it expects it to become available in consumer-ready smartphones by the end of the second quarter of the year, meaning this month, with the implication being that new handset announcements are just around the corner.