MediaTek Dimensity 800U Brings the First-to-Market Dual 5G Support, Designed for Sub-flagships

MediaTek’s present-gen Dimensity portfolio grows as the chipmaker introduces Dimensity 800U — the third entry in its ‘5G on a budget’ 800 series. Designed with a focus on faster fifth-generation connectivity and responsive gaming, the shiny new 800U is a powerhouse with bigger CPU cores and two 5G SIM cards on standby. But a cheaper price tag than the 800, perfect for the ongoing slew of affordable 5G phones coming out of China.

Let’s get the figurative ‘nuts and bolts’ out of the way first. The System-on-Chip features an identical architecture to its predecessor, but with two cores running on 2.4GHz instead of 2.0GHz.

UFS 2.1 storage support has been bumped up to UFS 2.2, and it now supports Global dual SIM 5G — more on that in a few. The Full HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate are retained, rounded off with new ‘blur-busting’ technology, not to mention MiraVision-powered HDR10+ playback.

The 5G modem inside has ‘2CC 5G Carrier Aggregation’, traditionally used for beefing up bandwidth and average speeds for LTE networks. First-to-market dual 5G SIM switches between the two connections, giving you true always-on 5G. Plus, you get the 5G-exclusive Voice-over-New-Radio (or VoNR) video and voice calling — although the smartphones supporting the new protocol are rare for now.

For better power efficiency, the chip is integrated with MediaTek’s ‘5G UltraSave’ that adds an extensive layer of technologies to save as much as 40% more power. And it listens for multiple voice assistant triggers.

The optics might give away its mid-range status— the Dimensity 800U uses up to 64MP four sensors and an out-of-the-box depth engine, and imaging accelerators.