MediaTek has announced two new top-end mobile chipsets, with devices on sale by the end of March.

The Taiwanese chip-manufacturer yesterday launched not just one, but two, new mobile SoCs for next-generation flagship smartphones, and you won’t have to wait too long to see them powering affordable mobile phones from a number of manufacturers that includes Oppo, Realme, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

Dimensity 1200 Key Features

• 6nm chip design
• 1 x Ultra Core ARM Cortex-A78 up to 3GHz with 2 x L2 cache
• 3 x Super Cores ARM Cortex-A78 up to 2.6GHz
• 4 x Efficiency Cores ARM Cortex-A55 up to 2.2GHz
• Quad-channel RAM
• Dual-channel UFS 3.1 storage up to 1.7GB/s throughput
• 5G UltraSave power saving for SA and NSA modes + 5G Dual Sim, Dual Standby with Voice over 5G (VoNR) – supporting peak download speeds of 4.7Gbps and upload speeds of 2.5Gbps, along with 2 carrier aggregation of 5G
• 4K HDR video with 40% greater dynamic range
• Support for up to 200 megapixel cameras and 20% faster night mode capture
• AI enhanced video playback (SDR to HDR conversion and improvement to low bitrate video) and AV1 hardware decoding
• HyperEngine 3.0 to improve smartphone gaming experience
• Support for up to 168Hz refresh-rate displays and a maximum resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels
• Bluetooth 5.2 with LE ready for lower latency audio
• Dual-band global locatin with dead reckoning performance
• Wi-Fi 6
• FM radio support

The Dimensity 1100 offers most of the above too, but with some reductions on things like screen refresh rate (topping out at 144Hz) and megapixel support (a maximum of just 108-megapixels instead of 200).

The Dimensity 1100 will allow for even more affordable devices to be produced for a more mainstream audience, but still introducing the key benefits of improved processing power, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 etc.

Already, Realme has announced that it will have its first device using the new Dimensity 1200 SoC in a phone to be released by the end of Q1.

Press Release

HSINCHU, Taiwan – Jan. 20, 2021 – MediaTek today unveiled its new Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity  1100 5G smartphone chipsets with unrivaled AI, camera and multimedia features for powerful 5G  experiences. The addition of the 6nm Dimensity 1200 and 1100 chipsets to MediaTek’s 5G portfolio gives device makers a growing suite of options to design highly capable 5G smartphones with top of the line camera features, graphics, connectivity enhancements and more. 

“MediaTek continues to expand its 5G portfolio with highly integrated solutions for a range of devices from the high-end to the mid-tier,” said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of  MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit. “Our new Dimensity 1200 stands out with its  impressive 200MP camera support and advanced AI capabilities, in addition to its innovative connectivity, display, audio and gaming enhancements.” 

Key features of MediaTek Dimensity 1200 and 1100 5G chipsets include: 

The Most Out of 5G Every Day: The Dimensity 1200 and 1100 pack a highly integrated 5G modem with MediaTek’s 5G UltraSave technology for big power savings. Both chipsets support every  connectivity generation from 2G to 5G, in addition to supporting the latest connectivity features  including 5G standalone and non-standalone architectures, 5G carrier aggregation (2CC) across frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD), dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS),  True Dual SIM 5G (5G SA + 5G SA) and Voice over New Radio (VoNR). The chipsets also integrate 5G  HSR Mode and 5G Elevator Mode enhancements to ensure a seamless, reliable 5G connection across networks. 

Flagship AI Multimedia: The Dimensity 1200 supports 200MP photos for stunning photography with  its five-core HDR-ISP. It boasts staggered 4K HDR video capture for significantly greater dynamic  range. The chipset integrates an updated version of MediaTek’s hexa-core AI processor (MediaTek  APU 3.0), which has an enhanced multi-task scheduler that reduces latency and improves power efficiency. The Dimensity 1100 also packs impressive camera capabilities with its 108MP camera  support, and integrates MediaTek’s existing APU 3.0 for high performance computing that’s also  super power-efficient. Both chipsets support AI camera features including AI-Panorama Night Shot,  AI Multi-Person Bokeh, AI noise reduction (AINR) and HDR capabilities. The chipsets also support  new AI-enhanced video playback features including AI SDR-to-HDR.

Premium Performance: The Dimensity 1200 has an octa-core CPU designed with an ultra-core Arm  Cortex-A78 clocked up to 3GHz for extreme performance, three Arm Cortex-A78 super cores and  four Arm Cortex-A55 efficiency cores. With a nine-core GPU and six-core MediaTek APU 3.0, the Dimensity 1200 delivers a new level of premium performance. The Dimensity 1100 is designed with an octa-core CPU which includes four Arm Cortex-A78 cores operating at up to 2.6GHz and four Arm  Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, along with a nine-core Arm Mali-G77 GPU. Both chipsets are  manufactured on TSMC’s advanced 6nm process technology. 

Incredible Displays: The Dimensity 1200 supports ultra-fast 168Hz refresh rates for a fast, fluid user  experience. The Dimensity 1100 also supports cutting-edge displays with 144Hz refresh rates for  ultra-sharp, zero-lag visuals. Both chipsets support MediaTek’s HyperEngine 3.0 gaming  technologies, which includes 5G call and data concurrency for more reliable connectivity, plus multi touch boost touchscreen responsiveness. The new chipsets also support ray tracing in mobile games  and artificial reality applications for more realistic visuals, along with super hotspot power savings which let users go longer in between charges. 

Dual-Link True Wireless Stereo Audio: Dimensity 1200 and 1100 both support Bluetooth 5.2, which  lets users stream to multiple wireless devices simultaneously. The chipsets also support ultra-low  latency true wireless stereo audio and LC3 encoding for higher quality, lower latency streaming  audio that’s also very power-efficient to prolong the battery life of wireless earbuds.  

Dimensity 1200 has already received TÜV Rheinland certification for its 5G performance, with tests  covering 72 real-world scenarios. The certification verifies that the chipset provides reliable, high performance 5G connectivity and offers users high-quality 5G experiences across a wide variety of scenarios. 

Many OEMs, including Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and realme, expressed support for MediaTek’s new  Dimensity chip. The first devices with the new MediaTek Dimensity 1200 and 1100 chipsets are expected  to hit the market at the end of Q1 and beginning of Q2 this year.  

Other industry collaborators and supporters of the new MediaTek 5G chipsets include Arm, China  Mobile, Tetras.AI, ArcSoft and Tencent Games.