MediaTek just did it again. On January 2, 2026, they quietly listed the Dimensity 7100 on their site. No big stage, no hype video. It just appeared. This chip is a strange one. While the flagships are fighting over 3nm and 2nm nodes, MediaTek is sticking with TSMC’s 6nm process for this mid-ranger. It feels like a calculated move to keep prices low in a market where "budget" phones are starting to cost $400.
Rebrand or Real Upgrade?
Let’s be honest: the 7100 looks a lot like the old Dimensity 7050 on paper. It uses the same Cortex-A78 and A55 setup. But there is a twist. MediaTek has tweaked the power management so it runs at a lower voltage. They are claiming a 23% jump in modem efficiency and a 16% boost during video playback.
The GPU is an Arm Mali-G610 MC2. MediaTek says it is 8% faster, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to keep 2026's mobile games from stuttering on a 120Hz 1.5K screen. It’s not a gaming beast, but it’s stable.
The Charging Game-Changer
The most interesting part isn't the CPU. It's the UFCS (Universal Fast Charging Specification) support. In the past, if you lost your specific Infinix or Realme charger, your "fast" charging was gone. Now, the 7100-powered phones can pull 45W from almost any modern universal brick.
MediaTek Dimensity 7100 specifications
- Octa Core: 4 x Arm Cortex-A78 @ 2.4GHz, 4 x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 2.0GHz
- GPU: Arm Mali-G610 MC2
- Process: 6nm TSMC
- Memory support: LPDDR5 @ 5500 Mbps, LPDDR4x @ 4266 Mbps
- Storage support: UFS 3.1
- Max Display Resolution: Up to 1200 x 2600
- Cellular Technologies: 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G Multi-Mode, 4G Carrier Aggregation (CA), 5G Carrier Aggregation (CA), EDGE, 4G FDD / TDD, 5G FDD / TDD, GSM, TD-SCDMA, WDCDMA
- Cellular Functions: 3GPP R16, Global SA & NSA; SA Option2, NSA Option3 / 3a / 3x, NR TDD Band, NR FDD Band, DSS, NR DL 2CC, 140 MHz bandwidth, 256QAM NR UL 1CC, 256QAM VoNR, Dual VoNR, Dual 5G SIM, EPS fallback
- Camera: Max 200MP Camera support, advanced HDR video using DCG/DAG technology
- 1T1R Wi-Fi Antenna, Up to Wi-Fi 6 (a/b/g/n/ac/ax), Bluetooth 5.4, Bluetooth Long Range, BT/Wi-Fi Hyper Coexistence
What Phone Gets It First?
The rumors are pointing directly at the Infinix Note Edge. Leaked posters from late December show a slim, "Emerald Green" phone with a massive 6,500mAh battery. Pairing a 6nm chip with a battery that large is a clear play for endurance. Infinix is even promising 3 years of OS updates for this device, which is a massive step up for a budget-tier phone in 2026.
If the leaks are right, this chip will also handle 200MP camera sensors. That is a lot of data for a 6nm processor to chew on, but MediaTek is betting on their new "UltraSave 3.0+" tech to handle the heat. We should see the official hardware hit the shelves by the end of January.
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