MediaTek scores an order from Apple for new audio components
MediaTek is a chipset design company going from strength to strength, with a 5G smartphone platform to be taken seriously among performance-focused OEMs, as well as hardware recognized by the Wi-Fi Alliance as worth validating other hardware with. Now, Apple has reportedly taken note of this success and deemed the Taiwanese manufacturer worthy of a place in its supply chain.
According to UDN, MediaTek has won a contract to supply audio-related internals to the Cupertino giant in the future. However, they are apparently not destined for flagship wireless AirPods, but rather for products from the subsidiary Beats by Dre.
Apple bought this company at the height of its success and popularity, only for it to fall behind by the time the first-gen AirPods came out (which, as some theories go, are things that are related). Nevertheless, Beats could at least say its more premium products did at least have the same internals as the now wildly on-trend TWS earbuds.
However, with MediaTek's new agreement, this is apparently now longer the case. Then again, UDN does not specify which parts of upcoming Beats-branded devices the Taipei-based corporation will be making (this could range from SoCs to full system-in-packages (SiPs)). Either way, this new report could represent news that is as good for MediaTek as it might not be for Beats.
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