Ku told Mobile World Live that the company now has a technology and cost edge over Qualcomm, the biggest name in mobile chips. He said MediaTek is innovative and it has great execution, citing the rollout of the octa-core MT6592 as a good example. The chip was developed in record time and since MediaTek used off-the-shelf technology, it did not cost much, either.
However, the cheap octa-core is just part of the story, a sideshow. MediaTek's big hope is LTE, along with new 64-bit parts. Ku points out that 2014 will mark a big transition for MediaTek, as the company will go from 3G to 4G, and from 32-bit to 64-bit cores.
“We’ve had 4G R&D for several years, but we’ve kept it a low profile until we are ready,” Ku said.
MediaTek is also planning to expand its tablet footprint and it is also working on wearables and home automation technology.