Meta and MediaTek Forge Exclusive Alliance for Custom AR Glasses Chipsets, Bypassing Qualcomm in Pursuit of Efficiency
In a strategic move, Meta has joined forces with MediaTek to develop custom chipsets for its upcoming AR glasses, diverging from the reliance on Qualcomm’s SoCs. The collaboration was announced at the MediaTek Summit 2023, emphasizing the creation of an in-house solution tailored specifically for Meta’s AR glasses. This exclusive partnership ensures that the custom chipset will be proprietary to Meta and not available to other companies.
The joint effort aims to deliver high performance, power efficiency, lower latency, and compact design suitable for integration into AR glasses. MediaTek, known for its recent advancements in silicon technology with the Dimensity 9000 series, is speculated to leverage TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ process for mass-producing the Dimensity 9400 in the coming year, though the fabrication process for the custom AR glasses chipset remains unconfirmed.
The development comes as Meta distances itself from Qualcomm, suggesting that the cost and potential performance gains influenced the decision to collaborate with MediaTek. This move aligns with industry challenges, particularly in power efficiency, as seen in reports about Apple’s AR glasses development. As technology strives to meet the demanding power requirements of AR glasses, Meta’s shift towards MediaTek signifies a strategic move to navigate the evolving landscape of augmented reality hardware.
