Xiaomi May Use Deca-Core MediaTek Helio X20 SoC in Future High-End Phones: Report

The report citing industry sources suggests that the upcoming flagship smartphones (such as the Mi 5 and Mi Note Pro's successor) will likely be powered by MediaTek's latest chipset. Previous reports however contradict the current one, and have suggested that the upcoming flagship, believed to be dubbed Mi 5, will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor. The sources expect that MediaTek will attract orders for the Helio X20 SoCs from Xiaomi.

The Taiwanese chipmaker launched the new Helio X20 earlier this month and claimed it to be the 'world's first mobile processor with tri-cluster CPU architecture' and first deca-core SoC for smartphones and tablets.

It's worth noting that Xiaomi used the v2.1 or the third edition of the Snapdragon 810 on its Mi Note Pro, and even announced it worked with Qualcomm to refine the processor.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC had its share of controversies as many claimed overheating issues on the chipset, which led Samsung to opt for its own Exynos chipset for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Recently, LG also ditched the Snapdragon 810 processor in favour of a lower-powered Snapdragon 808 SoC for the G4, with the company possibly worried about overheating and battery issues. It was certainly quick to tout all-day battery life with the Snapdragon 808. Qualcomm however has been rubbishing any such reports or rumours of heating issues on Snapdragon 810.

A recent leak suggested that a new Xiaomi handset with Snapdragon 808 SoC would be priced somewhere between the company's Redmi and Mi series handsets. Earlier this month, a leaked roadmap hinted that Xiaomi, after launching the Mi 4i in India last month, would launch the Xiaomi Mi 4s in June. The Xiaomi Redmi Note series will get a successor named the Redmi Note 2 in July; while the Redmi Note Pro is also on the cards to be launched in the same month.