When going through phones reviews, one of the so-called technical specifications people usually overlook is the SoC (System on Chip AKA Processor).
This is usually because they have such fancy names like Helio, SnapDragon, Kirin, Exynos, etc.
The Helio is a series (or brand) of processors designed by the MediaTek Corporation for powering smartphones. The SoC usually determines the phone’s speed, the amount of RAM space that can be accepted, camera specification, signal strength, screen resolution, etc.
There are different MediaTek Processor series, namely;
- MT67xx series
- Helio A series
- Helio P series
- Helio Xseries
- Helio G series
- Dimensity series
The MT67XX Series
These processor series are usually used in smartphones that use the GO version of the popular Android OS. Coupled with the lite OS capabilities, they tend to offer value for money but their functionalities and power are limited in the long run.
“These bring high performance, 64-bit hardware with fast connectivity and highly integrated functionality in a cost-effective way to value-orientated smartphone upgrades.”
These devices tend to lag in speed in the long run as they are only equipped with quad-core processors capable of clocking up to 1.5GHz only.
They do have 4G capabilities but are fast going out of usage. Examples are the MT6739, MT6738, MT6737 series. They are generally called the MediaTek Entry $G chipsets.
The Helio A Processor Series
The Helio A Processor series is designed by MediaTek to cater to entry-level smartphones and provides a little bit better option than the MT67XX series.
“Devices powered by MediaTek’s Helio A Series are ideal for developing markets, where casual users or anyone looking for a device can receive great value without sacrificing modern capabilities.” – MediaTek.
They provide better efficiency, power lower consumption, and better display options. The Helio A Series is popular amongst series that uses 2GB of RAM space and 3GB of RAM space, They usually offer speed around 1.8GHz and 2.0GHz. Sadly though, they are mostly quadcore processors.
There are currently 3 Helio A variants of Helio A Processor;
- Helio A25
- Helio A22
- Helio A20
The Helio P Premium Processor Series
These are actually the most popular versions of MediaTek processors used to serve mid-range smartphones. These processors offer good performance at a cheaper rate than Snapdragon chips.
Sometimes, some variants of the Helio P series have outperformed their SnapDragon Counterparts. The most popular chipset in this list will be the Helio P22 though as many manufacturers found it ideal for all their purposes,
More powerful SoC have been released in this category. There are currently 13 members in this group and the latest member is the Helio P95 that uses Cortex-A75 chips.
The Helio X eXtreme Processor Series
The Helio X series seems to be top of the Helio processors food chain but is only popular among Elephone, Vernee, Meizu, etc. They are among the first 10nm chips and features decacore (10 core) chips but sadly have not made it to more smartphones.
One would expect them to be very popular but it seems like the company has stopped production of the series. Hopefully, we will see new additions to this wonderful top-line series.
The Helio G Series
The Helio G series seems to be the replacement for the X series for now. The Helio Gaming series is intended to make smartphones more attractive especially with the advent of the gaming smartphone market.
