MediaTek’s new Kompanio 1300T chip puts 5G on tablets, not phones

By Andy Boxall Published July 26, 2021

MediaTek has announced the Kompanio 1300T processor, which will add 5G connectivity to Android tablets later this year, along with plenty of power for video and gaming. The chip is the latest in its Kompanio processor range, which has so far mostly been used in Chromebooks. While we associate 5G connectivity with smartphones, the fast data connection is becoming more common on tablets too. Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Tab S7 FE with 5G, and you can get an Apple iPad Pro with 5G, while Huawei was one of the first to show a 5G tablet with the MatePad Pro in 2019.

The Kompanio 1300T is an octa-core chip is made up of ARM Cortex A78 and Cortex A55 cores, plus a nine-core ARM Mali G77 MC9 graphics processing unit (GPU), and is built using a 6nm process. It’s capable of supporting screens with an up to 2.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ certification, and dual-monitor output. Cameras up to 108-megapixels are supported, along with 4K HDR video recording at 60fps.

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MediaTek’s APU A.I. chip will operate voice assistants, be used to enhance the picture quality for video, and for voice recognition systems too. 5G is an important feature of the Kompanio 1300T. The modem will connect to Sub-6 5G networks, and support 5G from two SIM cards. It also connects to Wi-Fi 6 networks, and Bluetooth 5.2.

The tablet market is dominated by two manufacturers, Apple and Samsung, with the pair taking just over 50% market share according to research from IDC. During a briefing with a select group of journalists, Digital Trends asked MediaTek where it expects the Kompanio 1300T to make an impact. Finbarr Moynihan, MediaTek’s VP of Corporate Marketing provided some insight:

“What’s driving this particular launch is the China market, which is where we expect these high-end 5G tablets to be focused initially. Part of this is the ubiquity of 5G networks in China,” he replied, before adding: “There’s some excitement about it expanding beyond there, but initially I think it will be China for this particular segment.”

MediaTek expects the first Kompanio 1300T tablets to arrive between now and September. The announcement continues a positive year for MediaTek, ranging from data repeatedly showing it has become the world’s top supplier of smartphone processors, to the recent, high-profile release of the MediaTek 1200-powered OnePlus Nord 2 smartphone.

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Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

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