KaiOS Technologies ties up with MediaTek for affordable 3G/4G smart feature phones

MediaTek and KaiOS Technologies have entered into collaboration to integrate KaiOS with a series of MediaTek chipsets to power 3G and 4G devices. As part of this cooperation, the KaiOS mobile operating system will now run on the 3G MT6572 platform, and MT6731, a newly-announced platform that can support dual-4G SIM cards in mobile devices. The first KaiOS-powered MT6572 and MT6731 3G/4G smart feature phones are expected to be launched in Q2 2019.

T.L. Lee, General Manager of MediaTek’s wireless business unit, says, “With KaiOS’ support for MediaTek entry-segment 3G/4G chipsets, we can deliver more affordable and reliable devices, longer battery life and improve the overall user experience when compared with the old-school 2G/3G feature phones. KaiOS is putting digital services in the hands of populations that need them the most which aligns with MediaTek’s mission to make great technology accessible to everyone.”

MediaTek mobile solutions operate on a range of mobile devices, including smartphones, feature phones, tablets, wearable devices and IoT devices. By adding KaiOS support to MediaTek chipsets, more feature phones will be equipped with 3G and 4G capabilities, while requiring very little memory, starting at 512 MB of RAM and as low as 256 MB on certain lite devices.

MediaTek’s newest MT6731 platform is optimized to provide a great smart-feature phone experience by bringing modern technologies like quad-core 64-bit processing and dual-4G SIM technology to the entry-segment mobile phone market. It offers a highly cost-optimized platform for device makers in both carrier and open markets.

Sebastien Codeville, CEO, KaiOS Technologies, says, “Because of our work with MediaTek, we’ll be able to connect more people in important markets where MediaTek has a strong presence, such as India, South-Eastern Asia, and Africa. Through collaborative efforts like this, we can finally offer a broad range of affordable devices capable of supporting advanced applications and functionality in these markets.”

KaiOS has already shipped more than 80 million devices in over 100 countries. The platform is based on HTML5 and other open web technologies, and supports 3G and 4G/LTE, as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC. Devices running on KaiOS require fewer memory resources while still offering a rich user experience through access to apps like the Google Assistant, YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps, and Twitter.