MediaTek reveals first ARM Cortex-A72 processor made for Android tablets

MediaTek says the MT8173 uses a 64-bit architecture which merges two Cortex-A72 CPUs and two Cortex-A53 CPUs for better performance while also proving tablets with longer battery life. It is available for OEM customers now, and should be available inside tablets sometime in the second half of 2015 It's being demoed this week at MWC 2015 . Check out the full press release below for more info:

SPAIN, Barcelona – March 1, 2015 – MediaTek today 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," said Noel Hurley, General Manager, CPU group, ARM. "Decisively and quickly incorporating the second-generation of our 64-bit technology into a market-ready product, underscores the partnership between ARM and MediaTek."

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