MediaTek Launches SoCs Aimed at Powering Smart Home Appliances

MT7688 and MT7681 bolster MediaTek's offering to cover every aspect of the smart home market

HSINCHU, June 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MediaTek today announced two System on Chips (SoCs) targeting the smart home market segment -- MT7688 and MT7681. The former is Linux-based, supports 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity and is the industry's lowest power consumption SoC of its kind; the latter has the smallest package size, and is designed for easy embedding into small and simple home appliances such as smart lighting, door locks and plugs.

Smart home appliances refer to appliances that are connected to the Internet, and are capable of carrying out their functions by being remotely controlled with a smart device, or on their own. As technology advances and prices go down, smart home appliances are expected to be widely adopted on a global scale, and this is the opportune time for MediaTek to drive proliferation of the Internet of Things market.

These products do not only enable MediaTek to make its entry into the smart home market and capture the copious opportunities locked within, but to do so with a complete product portfolio that elevates the smart home user experience to new heights.

Key features of MT7688:

• Embedded on the 12x12mm SoC are MIPS24KEc/580MHz CPU, 256MB DDR1/2 RAM and AES128/256 encryption engine, enabling it to power the more complicated and data intensive smart home appliances such as IP cameras and home surveillance systems.
• Linux-based, providing the SoC with a comprehensive protocol stack that allows quick development of applications.
• Lowest power consumption Linux-based Wi-Fi SoC for smart home appliances among competing products and consumes only 60% of energy when compared with its predecessor.
• Supports MediaTek's Smart Connection smartphone app.

Key features of MT7681:

• The world's smallest IEEE 802.11n SoC designed for smart home applications. The SoC supports networking service for embedded devices with minimal design effort. All the features are available in compact 40pin, 5x5mm QFN package.
• Provides GPIO and PWM for intelligent control, as well as UART and SPI interfaces for device communication.
• Integrated power management unit, power amplifier, low noise amplifier and RF switch to reduce the module size and RF design capability requirement.
• Suitable for simpler smart home appliances such as smart plugs, lighting and sensors.

The Smart Connection smartphone app by MediaTek is an inclusive solution that enables easy connection between different smart home appliances, from lighting, smart TVs, smart locks to other white goods via Wi-Fi on one unified interface. The app is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows and Linux-based smartphones, as well as smartphones that are not powered by a MediaTek SoC.

"The MT7688 and MT7681 put MediaTek in a favorable position to not only enter into, but also lead, the smart home arena. For these smart home appliances to truly work, they have to consume low power, be exceptionally energy efficient and highly integrated, all of which are areas where MediaTek's products excel," said SR Tsai, General Manager of Connectivity Business Unit at MediaTek. "In addition to each product's respective advantages, MediaTek has a 35 percent share in the home router market, which proves MediaTek's prowess in the connectivity area. Connectivity is essential for smart home appliances to be truly smart."

The MT7688 and MT7681 have both entered into mass production. Devices powered by these SoCs are expected to hit the market in the second half of the year.