According to Digitimes, MediaTek's planned chips will be designed for mid-range and entry-level smartphones.

The SoC supplier is facing a growing threat from competitors, particularly China-based players including Spreadtrum and HiSilicon. MediaTek is internally evaluating the FD-SOI option due to its low power consumption, low leakage and low costs.

MediaTek plans to roll out a new 12nm chip series designed for mid-range and high-end smartphones later in 2017, the sources noted.

According to MediaTek's roadmap, its 12/16nm chips will be targeted at the mid-range and high-end smartphone segment, while its 22/28nm solutions will be for the mid-range and entry-level segment.

MediaTek is expected to partner with TSMC in the hope it can see off Qualcomm. Qualcomm has been giving MediaTek a good kicking with its 10nm Snapdragon 835 SoCs due to a late launch of MediaTek's 10nm Helio X30 chips.