MediaTek introduces its first ARM Cortex-A15 chip with big.LITTLE tech (MT8135)

Another day, another processor from Chinese chip maker MediaTek. Hot on the heels of the announcement of an 8-core ARM Cortex-A7 chip, MediaTek is introducing a new chip called the MT8135 with four processor cores: 2 ARM Cortex-A15 cores and 2 lower-power ARM Cortex-A7 components.

For heavy-duty tasks, the higher-power processor cores kick in. The rest of the time, the Coretex-A7 cores are in play, helping offer longer battery life.

It’s the same ARM big.LITTLE technology used in Samsung’s Exynos 5 chips, but MediaTek has a habit of offering chips that undercut the competition with its low prices. So it’s likely we’ll see the MT8135 show up in relatively inexpensive phones and tablets.

The chip also features Imagination PowerVR G6200 graphics, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM Radio, and Miracast wireless display technology.

Imagination Technologies says its new Series 6 graphics will offer up to 4 times the power of its existing Series 5 solutions. The company also says the MT8135 is aimed at middle and high-end tablets, but I suspect it’s more likely that the chip will help lower the cost of tablets that would previously have been considered high-end.

It’s likely that the latest chips from Samsung, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm will continue to outperform MediaTek processors, but with its first big.LITTLE chips feature Cortex-A15 power as well as the upcoming 8-core chip, MediaTek is doing its best to pull away from other Chinese chip makers, such as Allwinner and Rockchip.