Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek recently announced the world's first deca-core system-on-chip (SoC) last May: The Helio X20. This behemoth of a processor is MediaTek's answer to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 series and currently is the strongest CPU for smartphones and tablets in existence as compared by Phone Arena.
According to the Helio X20's website: "It can delegate simple tasks to one cluster of cores, while directing more-complex (and more-power-hungry) tasks to the other clusters. If the smartphone is doing only simple tasks - such as sending text messages or running the calculator - on one cluster, the other clusters can power down, and therefore drive smoother performance and extended battery life."
With the release of the "mid-cluster" architecture, MediaTeK explains that the phone's full potential can be reached, as the phone can now delegate which processes can be done on multiple platforms of memory. According to MediaTeK, efficiency is the key to make the whole process work; applications with low performance need can go on the lower clusters while applications that need more than the lower clusters can provide but do not need the full performance of the high clusters can now go on the mid-clusters.
The new Helio X20 SoC features support for smartphone/ tablet displays with a refresh rate of 120Hz; and also brings support for 32-megapixel single camera with 24fps and 25-megapixel with 30fps; packs 3D depth engine built into hardware; includes new de-noise and demosaic hardware for improved image quality; supports 10-bit colour depth, and also supports both HEVC and VP9 HW decoding. It also features an embedded ARM Cortex-M4 processor, which is a low power sensor processor supporting always-on apps such as MP3 playback and voice activation.
With all these amazing specifications and features, two questions come to mind: What device could ever house these ultra powerful specs? And, when will it be available on the market?
A few days ago, news has spread that the Helio X20 will make its debut on a formidable Chinese flagship device; the Elephone P9000. Along with the mobile model, it is also expected to be available sometime in the middle of October and has been tagged with a price tag of $500.
With current prices on high-end mobile devices in the thousands of dollars, this super phone will be quite the alternative. At half the price of most name brand devices and superior performance, consumers will not be afraid to try beast from the East when it hits the world market.
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