Quick Summary
MediaTek has revealed a new Kompanio Ultra chip, designed for Chromebooks, but with the power of a flagship – indeed, its spec is very close to the Dimensity 9400 chip found at the top of its product offering.
That's an interesting development, as it suggests Google's Chromebook line – which recently expanded into more premium 'Chromebook Plus' offerings, with minimum specification thresholds – could be about to expand further, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and more power.
I was sat in a very interesting meeting only yesterday, in which MediaTek detailed its latest Kompanio Ultra chip to a group of journalists under embargo. Now, I wouldn't usually get all excited about the best Chromebooks – for which Kompanio is designed, specifically – as they tend to be simple student workhorses.
But a Chromebook with Kompanio Ultra? This chip is truly a flagship – largely similar to the Dimensity 9400 for mobile – with the ability to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and bring the power in ways other Chromebooks only wish they could. It's a real upgrade, whichever way you look at it.
Which could spell the imminent launch of a Google Chromebook Ultra or similar. Think about it: Google has previously brought Chromebook Plus to market, upping the threshold specification to deliver extra for more demanding users who want an experience akin to the best laptops – but from a Chromebook.
Right now that's pure speculation on my part, though, as Google I/O isn't until next month and, while I'm sure other Chromebook makers will jump on board with a Kompanio Ultra offering in the near future, May will most likely be Google's window – with a software focus that goes beyond just Android 16 and into Chrome OS territory too.
Towards the beginning of Chromebooks' life, back in 2013, Google did reveal the Pixelbook – a £/$1,000 flagship that, while well regarded, was so much pricier than its comparative Chromebook cohorts that, for most people, it didn't make sense. It was followed up by the cheaper Pixelbook in 2017.
Is now, therefore, the time that a Chromebook Ultra could break into the market? With AI applications on the rise, there's certainly more demand for such an offering. And MediaTek's Kompanio Ultra is powerful enough to perform much of its AI workload on the chip, rather than in the cloud – and in tandem with Chrome OS' shift away from online-only, that's a good fit.
The Kompanio Ultra is a 3nm process chip with big 8 cores on board – one X295 accompanies ARM's X4 and A720 in multiple – and that's powerful enough to, for example, output to two 4K monitors simultaneously. The graphics processing is capable enough to deliver top-tier Android gaming, too, which is also in line with Chrome OS' integration of mobile apps.
Kompanio Ultra sits at the top of MediaTek's line, with the mid-range Kompanio 800 below and Kompanio 500 series below that. In due course I'm sure the naming convention will change, too, with the numbers pushed away from the marketing – that's certainly what MediaTek is suggesting, for sake of simplification.
So keep your eyes peeled, powerful 'Chromebook Ultra' models are doubtless on the horizon. It's just whether we'll get a reveal from the father of Chromebook itself, Google, or if that'll be a now more fervent rumour for Google I/O next month instead...
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
