Mediatek announces host of new hardware for IoT, wearable devices

By Joshua Sherman Published January 4, 2016

mediatek announces host of new hardware for iot wearable devices socs 2016 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When we last saw the Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek, they were busy planning for their next generation of chips to power new devices in the coming Internet of Things (IoT) era. We’re now seeing the fruits of those labors, as MediaTek announces three new chips to power new media, IoT and wearable hardware of all shapes and sizes.

First up is the MT2523 chip, designed with wearables in mind. The low-power, compact chipset utilizes an ARM Cortex M4 processor, plus supports Bluetooth Low-Energy and GPS connectivity. This enables the chipset for low-power connectivity needed by countless fitness bands and other emerging wearables, whilst maintaining week-long battery life and a 41-percent smaller chip design. All of this makes it a very competitive design for manufacturers seeking more efficient wearables on our wrists, or wherever they may be worn.

MediaTek’s MT7697 IoT Bridge is, as the name suggests, designed to help bring together your growing plethora of IoT devices in the home. The chipset supports the latest standards in Bluetooth Low-Energy, as well as dual-band Wi-Fi, enabling devices powered by the MT7697 to manage just about every connected device you’d put in your house. This is essential as the IoT era kicks into high gear, and you’ll want support for as many devices as possible in your future IoT command center.

MediaTek also announced the M8581 chipset for BluRay players and other media devices. The chipset processes everything from CDs to DVDs and BluRays, enabling high resolution viewing experiences up to 4K UHD with support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) viewing as well. All of this includes support for many of the latest audio and video codecs, including Dolby Digital Plus audio and H.264 video.

Stay with us at Digital Trends as we continue to provide the latest coverage on CES 2016.

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Joshua Sherman is a contributor for Digital Trends who writes about all things mobile from Apple to Zynga. Josh pulls his…

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