MediaTek Confirms 2nm Chipset Plans — And Qualcomm Should Be Worried
Companies like Apple and Qualcomm are expected to debut 2nm chipsets soon. However, MediaTek doesn’t want to be left behind and are planning to launch its own 2nm SoC soon. This was confirmed by MediaTek’s CEO, Rick Tsai, who says the company plans to tape out its 2nm SoC at TSMC’s foundry in September later this year.
Not much is known about the MediaTek 2nm SoC at the moment. However, the company could give us a preview later this year, and will most likely launch it in 2026. Right now, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is built on the 3nm process. The company’s newer Dimensity 9400+ is also built on the 3nm process, but it is said to utilize TSMC’s new N3E process.
It’s exciting to see MediaTek catching up with the competition. The company’s chipsets have long been viewed as the lower-cost alternative to Qualcomm. However, in the past, MediaTek’s chipsets haven’t been able to perform quite as well. This is why most handset makers opt for Qualcomm’s chipsets for their flagship phones.
But that has changed in recent years. The company’s newer Dimensity flagship chipsets have proven itself to be more than capable. In some cases, it’s nearly on par with Qualcomm. This means that when MediaTek starts rolling out its 2nm chips, there’s a chance we could see more handset makers opt to use the company’s chipsets instead of Qualcomm.
While Qualcomm has been the Android standard for as long as we can remember, we’ve been hearing that the company has also been raising its prices. This means that if handset makers want to maintain their margins, they’ll have to raise their prices as well. If MediaTek’s 2nm chipsets can perform on par with Qualcomm but offer better prices, maybe there’s a chance handset prices won’t go up with.
Xiaomi enters the ring
That being said, MediaTek isn’t alone in trying to go after the crown. Even Xiaomi has announced plans to launch its own chipsets. We’re not sure if Xiaomi plans to use it exclusively for their devices, or if they plan to sell it to other handset makers. However, it does mean that Qualcomm and MediaTek are about to gain an additional competitor in the future.
