This company could beat Apple and Qualcomm to the year's most powerful chipset

Summary

MediaTek will tape out its first 2nm chipset in September 2025, ahead of Apple and Qualcomm.
The new 2nm chip promises 15% better performance and 25% lower power use than 3nm chips.
Mass production is expected in 2026 through TSMC, aligning with MediaTek’s development plan.

There was a time when the performance gap between

affordable mid-range Android smartphones
and high-end flagships was massive — but with modern chipsets, that space is slowly narrowing down. That said, chip-makers continue to push boundaries, and here at Computex 2025, MediaTek has confirmed it’s working on advanced 2nm chipsets.

During the company’s recent keynote, MediaTek CEO and Vice Chairperson Rick Tsai announced that the company will tape out its first 2nm chipsets in September 2025. This not only positions MediaTek as the first to reach the 2nm milestone, but could also place it ahead of Apple and Qualcomm, who are expected to continue using 3nm node architecture throughout this year.

Current flagship processors, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite (found in phones like the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S25) and Apple’s A17 Pro (in the iPhone 16 Pro), are all based on TSMC’s 3nm process.

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The 2nm race is on

MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai announcing 2nm chipset at Computex 2025

According to MediaTek, its upcoming 2nm chips will offer 15% improved performance and 25% less power consumption compared to current 3nm chips. These improvements could be a major leap forward for Android devices, especially as brands look to push hardware limits by adding more and more on-device AI features to their phones.

It’s worth noting that the company has used the phrase “tape out,” which refers to the finalization of a chip’s design and specifications before it moves into production. MediaTek is expected to continue its manufacturing partnership with TSMC, which has already confirmed that its N2 2nm process will enter mass production in 2026. This aligns right with MediaTek’s timeline, although it still doesn’t guarantee the chip maker will launch 2nm chips before everyone else.

We don’t yet know the name or specifics of MediaTek’s upcoming chipset, but the company seems well-positioned to challenge both Apple and Qualcomm at the flagship level. MediaTek chips have already become increasingly competitive with Qualcomm’s offerings, and releasing 2nm chipsets could be a big step forward for the brand in the flagship processor space.