The race to launch the world's first 4nm chip appears to have a new competitor: MediaTek. According to leaks from a Chinese portal and the leakster Digital Chat Station (on its Weibo profile), the Taiwanese manufacturer is expected to launch its product later this year. With this, it surpasses Qualcomm, who had plans for 2022.

Currently, the smallest chips for cell phones are 5nm and are major competitors. The first of these was the A15, Apple, which was followed by Samsung's Exynos 1080 and 2100, and the most recent Snapdragon 888. In fact, one of the sources reports that the processing power of the Taiwanese company's new chip should surpass Qualcomm's new darling.

Processor destination

This 4nm chip is being developed in partnership between MediaTek and TSMC, a semiconductor manufacturer in the same region. It should have a higher price than the current ones. In addition, the processor already has a destination and should hit the market in Q4 2020, according to the Chinese leakster. MediaTek itself should launch a flagship smartphone with the technology soon.

Other Android phone manufacturers are also already eyeing the tiny processor and have ordered their units. Among them, Samsung is expected to launch a device that should be somewhere between an upper mid-range and a flagship with this 4nm chip from MediaTek. Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi are also on the list of buyers.

Small and powerful

But why develop a processor of this size? The answer is simple: processing power. The smaller the chip, the faster the power can flow through it, which means faster processing of information. This also gives MediaTek devices a commercial advantage. However, 4nm comes at a price. Smaller chips have less space for heat to be dissipated.

And if you're surprised that a chip can reach this size, there's a smaller one on the way. Manufacturer TSMC is working on its own processor that should be even smaller, coming in at 3nm. This chip should arrive in 2022 and the Apple is already eyeing it to implement its iPhone 13.

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