MediaTek redies MT2601 smartwatch chipset, lays the groundwork for cheap Android Wear-ables
Taiwanese silicon slinger MediaTek announced its first Android Wear-compatible chipset for wearable devices. The chip, which is poetically called the MT2601, continues the company's tradition of naming its products as if they were killer robots from the future. Humor aside, the MT2601 is an example of impressive engineering, as it contains 41.5% (note the decimal!) fewer components and is more power-efficient than "other chipsets in the market".
We're sure MediaTek knows better than comparing a puny chipset SoC to a mammoth chip like the NVIDIA K1, so the company probably references the Snapdragon 400 that ticks in most Android Wear-ables. Hopefully, the MT2601's lower cost, smaller size, and longer battery life will lead to more affordable and even better designed wearable devices.
As for the MT2601's hardware grunt, it is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 1.2GHz processor with an ARM Mali-400MP graphics accelerator and up to qHD (960x540) resolution support. Like any self-respecting wearable chipset, it communicates with an array of added on sensors and incorporates Bluetooth. In other words, it has everything you need to power a $99 Apple Watch clone. The processor is being mass produced as we speak.
As for the MT2601's hardware grunt, it is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 1.2GHz processor with an ARM Mali-400MP graphics accelerator and up to qHD (960x540) resolution support. Like any self-respecting wearable chipset, it communicates with an array of added on sensors and incorporates Bluetooth. In other words, it has everything you need to power a $99 Apple Watch clone. The processor is being mass produced as we speak.
source: Digitimes
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