MediaTek Designs SoC For Wearables

MediaTek has introduced its first System on Chip (SoC) specifically designed for Android Wear. The MediaTek MT2601 sports to ARM Cortex-A7 cores and Mali 400 MP graphics.

The company said the chip is designed for wearables and enables designers to create new products with more features in a smaller footprint. The MT2601 has 41.5% fewer components and lower power consumption than other chipsets in the space.

The dominant SoC in Android Wear devices is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400, which powers practically all Android Wear watches except the Moto 360. However, the Snapdragon 400 was not designed for wearables – it is an all-rounder, usually found in mid- to entry-level Android phones.

MediaTek thinks it can do a bit better with a bespoke design. The MT2601 is clocked at 1.2GHz, and comes in a PCBA package measuring 480mm2. The small PCB size enables its use on even smaller devices and MediaTek was keen to point out that it doesn’t skip on features, as it can interface with a range of external sensors and wireless connectivity solutions.

“The MT2601 has an incredibly small die size and is highly optimized for cost and power performance. The platform solution, comprised of MT2601 integrated with Android Wear software, will fuel the maker revolution and empower the application developer community worldwide to create a broad range of innovative applications and services,” said J.C. Hsu, General Manager of New Business Development at MediaTek.

This is not MediaTek’s first crack at wearables. In September, the company launched MediaTek Labs and its first wearable chip, the Aster MT2502A. This particular SoC was not designed for Android Wear, as it’s a tiny ARM7 EJ-S chip clocked at 260MHz and intended for use in smaller wearables, such as fitness trackers.

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