“We aim to make 5G accessible to everyone”: MediaTek

Special Focus on 5G Innovations | Disruptive Telecoms

Whether it is Smartphones, Smart TVs, Chromebooks, Voice Assistant Devices or Wi-Fi routers  MediaTek is one such organization that is on the forefront of delivering innovation which is meaningful for everyone.

With 5G set to become a dominant force in the near future – MediaTek is gearing up towards making 5G accessible for everyone. Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India interacts with Zia Askari from TelecomDrive.com about the company’s current strategy and its future plans.

MediaTek has been on the forefront of innovation when it comes to enabling high powered computing for smartphones. How do you look at the current 4G and 5G devices landscape today?

MediaTek powers across brands globally, be it Smartphones, Smart TVs to Chromebooks, Voice Assistant Devices (VADs), Wi-Fi routers among others. We believe that technology makes the world a more inclusive place where smart and connected is an equal opportunity for all. That is why every innovation at MediaTek has people at its center.

We aim to make 5G accessible to everyone, across mobiles, homes and other domains. As people are trying to navigate the new normal during the pandemic, smartphones have helped them stay connected, informed and continue with their work/study or entertainment related activities among others.

At MediaTek, we are at the forefront of cutting-edge R&D and innovation that is powering the world’s most capable 5G devices. The MediaTek Dimensity 5G family combines the smart and fast together in order to deliver premium features and superior performance, be it as processor speed, power efficiency, camera features, gaming, or connectivity enhancements. However, at the same time, with chipsets such as the MediaTek Helio G series, one can continue to expect innovations across the 4G ecosystem to ensure that mass consumers have access to the best of both 4G and 5G technologies.

According to a recent Counterpoint Research, emerging markets will be the next big growth driver for 5G smartphone adoption. In India with 5G smartphone sales reaching 7% in Q1 2021 and expected to hit 21% by the end of the year the demand for 5G ready devices is only set to increase.

We are living in a new normal today and this is an era of work from home, school from home and everything from home. Is there anything specific that MediaTek is offering with the help of its processors to deliver enhanced experiences to its users in such scenario?

The Pandemic has been a catalyst for change, accelerating the adoption of digital technology around us, be it smartphones, 5G, cloud computing and smart devices etc. We are working closely with our partners and developers towards introducing newer and more feature-rich chipsets in the market.

MediaTek powered smartphones are preferred by consumers globally and we aim to power premium and immersive smart device experiences for our consumers. According to the 2021 Q1 Global Smartphone AP Market Share by Counterpoint Research MediaTek continued to gain share and reached 35% share in Q1 2021 and the share has increased both in the LTE and 5G smartphones.

Products powered by MediaTek chipsets have ably supported the ecosystem during the pandemic by ensuring productivity, continuity and addressing the work from home, entertainment and gaming needs of end-consumers. The success is attributed to the power-packed performance delivered by MediaTek technology, especially the MediaTek Dimensity 5G series and MediaTek Helio G series. The multi-core design brings smartphones an unrivalled combination of multi-cameras multimedia enhancements, MediaTek HyperEngine Gaming Technology, AI-enhanced camera and security features, AI and imaging innovations, MiraVision display technology, dual SIM with advanced carrier aggregation along MediaTek 5G UltraSave power-saving technologies.

How important is India for the company today? What kind of investments can we expect from MediaTek in this year?

As mentioned above, India is a leading market for MediaTek thanks to the growing number of smartphone and smart device users. During the 5G era, we hope to build on this momentum and deliver the best-in-class smart devices eco-system and experience to the users. We believe MediaTek chipsets can enable technology democratization in India, not only with smartphones but other devices in key segments like smart TVs, IoT, voice assistants, and AI-enabled consumer devices. With this goal and to build further momentum on the country’s growth towards becoming a fully digital self-sustainable economy, we have collaborated with leading OEMs and indigenous manufacturers to produce innovative devices catered to India and foreign markets.

We have increased our R&D investments with a focus on the latest technologies like 5G, edge computing and AIoT and support the application's needs in areas like connectivity and networking, health-tech, telemedicine, and remote education among others. MediaTek’s Indian design centers have a strong understanding of the booming integrated circuit (IC) design industry. We believe these efforts will largely benefit the smart devices ecosystem in India.

How do you look at the competition today? How is MediaTek creating better opportunities for its ecosystem partners?

The smartphone market in India is very dynamic and we are working closely with our stakeholders to rollout solutions that meet customer expectations and demand. The 5G device ecosystem is growing much faster compared to earlier generation technologies and we are leading the 5G wave in India across the smartphones and smart device ecosystem.

Powered by 5G, and next-gen technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT, Machine Learning, Image understanding and Cloud Computing, devices are becoming less technical and more intuitive, intelligent and user-friendly. The demand for 5G enabled devices especially handsets, smart devices, connectivity solutions with multi-tasking capabilities and wireless networks among others is bound to increase over time. The key factor that differentiates MediaTek is the diversity, R&D and innovation, making us a preferred choice for popular brands both in India and globally.

What more can we expect from MediaTek in the coming months?

The next big wave will be around 5G smartphones and other smart devices, so we are preparing to address the market needs. Already MediaTek Dimensity 5G series of chipsets including the flagship MediaTek Dimensity 1200 has hit the Indian market, and several smartphones powered by this are available for consumers. In the coming months, our focus will be to raise awareness about the capabilities offered by these technologies and thus help reach their benefits among a wider customer segment. Simultaneously we are focusing on innovation in areas where we can deliver further enhancements, for example, connectivity, performance, multimedia, and performance for an incredible user experience.