AI requests made on our smartphones are typically processed remotely in server farms. This is largely due to the complexity involved in AI, where more powerful computers are needed. However, some devices like Google’s Pixel series do support on-device processing for Gemini, and that is a feature that we can expect from future MediaTek devices.
This is according to an announcement by MediaTek where they debuted their new flagship Dimensity 9400 chipset. According to the company, the upcoming chipset is “optimized for Google Gemini Nano with Multimodality”. Basically what this means is that future phones that use the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 can expect some Gemini Nano features to be processed on-device.
There are reasons why on-device processing is preferred over remote processing. For starters, it will be a lot faster. Secondly, it also ensures better privacy since the contents will remain only on your phone. The Dimensity 9400 is just the start as MediaTek says that “other Generative AI-enabled chipsets” in the near future will support on-device processing too.
This is pretty huge for MediaTek. The company used to be viewed as a lower-cost alternative to Qualcomm. However, in recent years they have made great strides to catch up and with support for Gemini Nano Multimodality, it could give handset makers more reason to use their chipsets instead of Qualcomm.