Following the success of its P-series and S-series chipsets, Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek has launched yet another chipset series — Helio A series, which is aimed at “mid-market”. The first chipset in the series is Helio A22 which looks like a cheaper counterpart of the previously launched Helio P22 SoC.
The MediaTek Helio A22 is an entry-level SoC which comes with a simple quad-core A53 design. It seems like the Helio A22 a successor of the MT6738/MT6739. It is also clear that the company is planning to phase out the MTxxxx product numbers and replace it with X/P/A series, making its SoC lot clearer about which market and performance segments it’s meant to fit.
As said, it has Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A53 CPUs with MediaTek CorePilot and flexible LPDDR3/LPDDR4x memory controller. It will be paired with Imagination PowerVR GE8320 GPU, a single cluster GPU design that was released last year. It supports HD+ screen with 1600 x 720 pixels resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio as well as 13MP + 8MP dual camera setup or a single 21MP sensor.
Manufactured using TSMC‘s 12nm process, the company claims that the CPU performance is up to 30 percent faster and GPU up to an incredible 72 percent faster than the direct alternative, which should be the Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 425 SoC.
It also comes with a few AI-based enhancements such as Face ID (or Face Unlock) and smart photo albums. There’s also MediaTek NeuroPilot support, which allows developers and device makers to have the best possible AI-ecosystem, with support for common AI frameworks and full compliance with Android Neural Networks API.
For cellular networking, the Helio A22 will support LTE Category 7 downloads and Category 13 uploads, allowing for download rates upwards of 300Mbps and upload rates of 150Mbps. It is a dual-SIM product and supports VoLTE on both networks. As for the Bluetooth, it supports Bluetooth 5.0. MediaTek will be offering a cheaper version of the A22 SoC with LTE Category 4 support that doesn’t require carrier aggregation.
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The first smartphone running on MediaTek’s Helio A22 chipset has already been launched. Xioami’s Redmi 6A is powered by Helio A22 SoC, which is currently retailing in China for 699 Yuan, which roughly converts to $106. More entry-level smartphones powered by this chipset are expected to launch this year and next year.
