[Exclusive Interview] MediaTek Announces Big Plans For Indian Market With Powerful Laptops, Smartphones & More

Recently we interacted with Mr. Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India and asked about his vision and plans related to technology, electronics and consumer behavior.

Here are the highlights from the interview:

1. How has the gaming audiences evolved in India vis a vis the global market?

India is emerging as a top player in the online gaming market. The country currently boasts over 433 million gamers, and it’s expected to touch 657 million in 2025. The key factor driving this growth is the availability of high-speed Internet access to almost 840 million users, the majority of them being the young, tech-savvy generation. With 50% of India’s population under 25 years and about 60% of the gaming community falling in this age group, the prospects are much higher.

Since the advent of 4G, gaming in India has evolved faster thanks to the availability of cheaper data and affordable smartphones, and it attained unprecedented growth during the pandemic. It’s been observed that Indians have a quicker learning curve than their major global counterparts, so even novice players got acquainted with more sophisticated games like PUBG and Fortnite quickly. These two games accounted for a major share of the total games played in India since the onset of the pandemic, with PUBG gaining over 50 million active users per month.

While casual gamers still account for the top share of the market, paid gaming categories like real money gaming, online fantasy sports, and eSports are gaining traction among Indian gamers. In line with this trend, the next big opportunity awaiting gaming in India is the professional eSports. Research estimates that the eSports market is estimated to touch Rs 11bn in 2025 from just Rs 3bn in 2021. Significant growth is expected in other categories too.

2. Recently MediaTek announced the MediaTek Helio G99. How is it different from the previous generation chipsets?

MediaTek Helio G99 is a vital upgrade in MediaTek G series of gaming chipsets. G99 is the first chipset in the MediaTek Helio series to feature 6nm technology from TSMC, which makes it extremely energy efficient while also delivering incredible gaming performance. 

At the heart of G99 is MediaTek’s proprietary HyperEngine 2.0 Lite that gives faster response, smoother gameplay, sustained performance and more reliable connectivity. G99 offers high resolution full HD+ 120Hz displays, 108MP camera capabilities, and 3DNR noise reduction technologies to 4G smartphones. With 2x Arm Cortex-A76 up to 2.2GHz and 6x Arm Cortex-A55 up to 2.0GHz, that surpasses previous MediaTek Helio chips in terms of CPU performance. MediaTek Helio G99 focuses on bringing 4G gaming smartphones into the next generation enabling faster displays, low latency, smooth streaming, and better connectivity.

3. What are some of the capabilities in terms of gaming advancements we can see on this chipset?

As a gaming-focused chipset, MediaTek Helio G99 offers several capabilities enabling OEMs to bring highly competitive devices to the market. MediaTek HyperEngine 2.0 Lite gives the power – performance combo with a duplex package, the Resource Management Engine and Network Engine. Whereas the Resource Management Engine ensures sustained performance and smoother gameplay that lasts longer, the Networking Engine gives faster response and more reliable connectivity to assess uninterrupted connectivity. The intelligent resource management technology enables intelligent, dynamic management of CPU, GPU and memory according to active measurements of power, thermal and gameplay factors. With hardware and software enhancements, the chip can reduce power consumption during high FPS gaming scenes, extending battery life without sacrificing the user experience. The Call & Data Concurrency feature allows users to defer calls while in-game without interrupting data connection.

4. Which are some of the smartphones that are powered by the MediaTek Helio G99?

Since its launch, MediaTek Helio G99 has been received well among device makers in India. Infinix Note 12 Pro 4G is the first G99-powered smartphone released in India, with others in the pipeline from Inifinix as well as other leading brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme, Poco, and Micromax, as on 10th September 2022. 

Xiaomi Redmi 11 Prime, Infinix Zero 20, POCO M5, Infinix Note 13 Pro, Vivo V25e, Vivo Y34s, Realme Narzo 11, Realme Narzo 70, POCO M5 and Micromax IN Note 3 are among the latest smartphones waiting to hit the market soon powered by the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset.

5. How will the gaming scenario in India change when 5G becomes a reality?

The launch of 5G will accelerate the growth of online gaming in India. The experts who gathered at the recently held India Gaming Conclave 2022 emphasized that India has the potential to emerge as a global leader in gaming in the coming years. The availability of 5G smartphones powered by superior processor technologies has already set the track ready for this growth. More than 50 million 5G smartphones are currently being used in India. 

India also has the prospects to emerge as a top market for developing gaming content and distribution. Apart from popular games like Candy Crush Saga and PUBG, Indigenous games like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), World Cricket Championship 2, and Tambola are gaining popularity among gaming enthusiasts. As per the information available from Tracxn, more than 1,034 gaming start-ups operate in India, and the investment for the sector increased 108% to $443.3 million in 2021 (Jan-Dec). With support from government initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat, the industry can emerge as the major contributor to the country’s digital economy.

6. Which are some of the new technologies that will drive gaming experience going forward?

Users today are curious to learn about the technologies that form the cornerstone of their devices, their enthusiasm has motivated companies like us to innovate in every possible manner to satiate their needs. 

A powerful processor is the prime requisite for a gaming smartphone, 4G or 5G. 

MediaTek’s latest processors exemplify the current market trends. Of late, the 4-nm core featured in our flagship MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipsets has set a new milestone for the industry. With focus on greater performance and energy efficiency, the 4-nm chipsets also deliver incredible photography, video, streaming and gaming experience. They feature advanced technologies that make them standout in the market today. For example, the latest MediaTek HyperEngine 5.0 delivers AI-enhanced Variable Rate Shading technology (AI-VRS) and AI-GPU Super Resolution for gaming. Also feature other capabilities such as Frame Rate Smoother technology and Vulkan Raytracing SDK. 

With Cloud gaming, gaming landscape will transform dramatically in the coming years. 5G will offer the right platform to enable the incredible speed and cloud-based infrastructure such as Edge that is require to meet the requirements in the complex, multi-player Cloud gaming applications. Further, in this scenario the focus will be on processing power and energy efficiency, so chips gain relevance here too. Besides the processor technologies, the other tech trends driving gaming experience will be the VR. VR gaming will also create a new opportunity for device makers, especially the headset segment.