MediaTek plans for quad-core chips in budget smartphones by early 2013

[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/mediatek-plans-for-quad-core-chips-in-budget-smartphones-early-2013/)

As much as [MediaTek](http://www.engadget.com/tag/MediaTek/) is known for powering budget smartphones, the company is keen to make a fast track into the big leagues. Or bigger, at any rate. General manager Xie Qingjiang explains to _China Times_ that MediaTek should have a quad-core, 28-nanometer mobile processor in production between the fall and the very start of 2013 -- not bad for a firm that just introduced a [dual-core ARM Cortex-A9](http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/27/mediatek-mt6577-pushes-dual-core-android-4-smartphones-under-200/) design this summer. Smartphones built around the new part should arrive before the first quarter of 2013 is over. Details aren't available for the processor in question, although it's reasonable to say that MediaTek is more likely to serve a cost-conscious crowd than to compete in the [lofty realms](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/17/lg-optimus-g-hands-on-with-koreas-latest-powerhouse-video/) of the similarly 28nm [Snapdragon S4 Pro](http://www.engadget.com/tag/SnapdragonS4Pro/). The move to quad-core could nonetheless be a welcome spike in performance for an audience that often has to settle for old technology.

Filed under: [Cellphones](http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/), [Mobile](http://www.engadget.com/category/mobile/)

[MediaTek plans for quad-core chips in budget smartphones by early 2013](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/mediatek-plans-for-quad-core-chips-in-budget-smartphones-early-2013/) originally appeared on [Engadget](http://www.engadget.com) on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:43:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds](http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).

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