TAIWANESE smartphone chipmaker MediaTek on Tuesday (Nov 8) launched a new chip called the Dimensity 9200 as it looks to grab more of the premium end of the market.

The company said the 5G chip was made at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s using its second generation 4-nanometre chip production technology, which refers to the transistor size. Generally, the smaller the transistor, the more power efficient the chips are.

Phil Solis, smartphone chip analyst at IDC, said the new chip was key for MediaTek’s strategy to move upstream.

“This product will help MediaTek expand in the US and European markets and help change consumer’s perception about MediaTek,” Solis told Reuters.

Premium Android smartphones have been dominated by US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc, which also supplies modem chips for Apple’s iPhone for connectivity. While MediaTek has a big part of the market for cheap Android phones, those chips sell for a lot less than chips for premium phones.

“MediaTek is far behind Qualcomm in terms of revenue, and that is what MediaTek is attempting to change,” said Solis.

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MediaTek said the new chip’s power efficiency helped achieve longer battery life and create a better gaming experience on the smartphone. REUTERS