MediaTek, on Monday announced the first tablet system-on-chip (SoC) in a family that features an ARM Cortex-A72 processor, the industry’s highest-performing mobile CPU. The Quad-core MT8173 is designed to maximize the benefits of the new processor and greatly increase tablet performance, while extending battery life to ensure a premium tablet experience. The MT8173 meets the growing demand for 4K Ultra HD content and graphic-heavy gaming by everyday mobile computing device users.
 
The MT8173 is designed with a 64-bit Multi-core big.LITTLE architecture that combines two Cortex-A72 CPUs and two Cortex-A53 CPUs, extending performance and power efficiency further. MT8173 boasts a six-fold increase in performance compared to the MT8125 released in 2013. MT8173 offers up to 2.4GHz performance, supporting OpenCL with the deployment of MediaTek CorePilot 2.0, and enables heterogeneous computing between the CPU and GPU. The SoC also ensures the ultimate in display clarity and motion fluency on 120Hz display, promising smooth scrolling with crystal clarity as compared to a normal 60Hz display.
 
“MT8173 highlights the significant shift in how mobile devices, such as Android tablets, are used and, with the combination of ARM’s latest technology, we are delivering a platform that answers the growing demand for improved mobile multimedia performance and power usage.  By presenting CPU specs that outperform any other device currently on the market, we are bringing PC-like performance to tablet form factor, reinforcing MediaTek’s continued commitment to deliver premium technology to everyone across the globe.” said Joe Chen, Senior Vice President of MediaTek.
 
“MediaTek has been a strong adopter of ARM big.LITTLE processing architecture, extending it with CorePilot, to deliver extreme performance, while maintaining power efficiency. Decisively and quickly incorporating the second-generation of our 64-bit technology into a market-ready product, underscores the partnership between ARM and MediaTek," said Noel Hurley, General Manager, CPU group, ARM.
 
The MT8173 platform features: 
 
True Heterogeneous 64-bit Multi-Core big.LITTLE architecture up to 2.4GHz
 
• Features ARM Cortex-A72 and ARM Cortex-A53 64-bit CPU
• Big cores and LITTLE cores can run at full speed at the same time for peak performance requirement
• Performance of up to 2.4GHz
 
Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU
 
• Supports OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL for future applications
• Delivers 350Mtri/s and 2.8 Gpix/s performance
• Provides uncompromised user experience for WQXGA display at 60fps
 
Comprehensive Multimedia Features
 
• 120Hz mobile display
• Ultra HD 30fps H.264/HEVC(10-bit)/VP9 hardware video playback
• WQXGA display support with TV-grade picture quality enhancement
• HDMI and Miracast support for multi-screen applications
• 20MP camera ISP with video face beautify and LOMO effects
 
Security hardware accelerator
 
• Supports Widevine Level 1, Miracast with HDCP
• HDCP 2.2 for premium video to 4k TV display
 
MT8173 is available for customers now, and will be featured in the first commercial tablets in second half of this year.