MediaTek Ups Its Mobile Game With the Dimensity 9200 SoC

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The Dimensity 9200 also provides Wi-Fi 7 support. With Wi-Fi 6 and 6E still rolling out in routers, smart home devices, and smartphones, MediaTek should be lauded for future-proofing the Dimensity 9200 with Wi-Fi 7 capability as it offers potentially game-changing latency and wireless speed advantages.

Another intriguing feature of the Dimensity 9200 is that the chip’s Image 890 signal processor is the first to support RGBW camera sensors fully. These sensors not only deliver more brightness and details in images than just basic RGB, but they can also blur background images in real-time video. The demo showing this capability was one of the highlights of the announcement event.

Analyst Comments

During its recent analyst event in Sonoma, Calif., where it launched the Dimensity 9200, among other announcements, the company took great pains to underscore that MediaTek is “more than mobile.” This assertion is not surprising, as the smartphone market has dramatically softened over the last few years. After all, the company has a strong presence in routers, smart TVs, IoT, and other device categories.

MediaTek is not typically the company one talks about in the U.S. smartphone market, given that Apple and Qualcomm dominate the space with their respective Silicon and Snapdragon solutions. But that could change soon as MediaTek continues to grow its presence in mid- and low-end handsets.

Moreover, if the U.S. economy does fall into a recession in 2023, as many economists predict, the high-end portion of the market will likely be under tremendous pressure. MediaTek’s strategy to push bleeding-edge technology in the more affordable mid-range section of the market could pay big dividends as consumers find it increasingly challenging to lay out $1,500 or more for the highest-end Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.

Leading in Smartphone Chip Shipments

There are definitive signs that this strategy is working. MediaTek has been the No. 1 global smartphone chip shipment provider over the past two years. Industry reports indicate that MediaTek accounts for 37% of global smartphone chips, compared to Qualcomm’s 28%.

Admittedly, MediaTek’s chips don’t appear in the sexier mobile devices people are accustomed to. Still, they provide the right mixture of performance, innovation, and affordability that appeals to increasingly “mainstream” consumers.

To be clear, MediaTek shouldn’t — and isn’t — walking away from the mobile phone space. The “more than mobile” moniker is an effective marketing slogan as it correctly suggests that the company is in more products than casual users are likely aware of, beyond smartphones. However, it also allows the company to remind people that it is focusing on future markets, such as VR, automotive, Wi-Fi 7, and 5G.

Apple and Qualcomm get much media attention when they release a new chip, but with its Dimensity 9200, MediaTek shows it can play with the big boys. Even if it doesn’t grab all the industry headlines, MediaTek appears to be succeeding — and that’s just how the company’s leadership team likes it.