The world’s first “true octa-core” mobile phone chip, which is expected to boost smart device performance, has been unveiled by Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek.

On Wednesday, MediaTek unveiled what it calls the ‘MT6592’, which the company describes as the “world’s first heterogeneous computing SOC (system on chip) with scalable eight-core processing for superior multi-tasking, industry-leading multimedia and excellent performance-per-watt.”

Multi-core processors are computing components with two or more central processing units (CPUs) dubbed ‘cores’.

These cores read and execute program instructions, and the more cores a chip has, the faster its computing performance.

In particular, the MT6592 is an SOC, which differs but is similar to a CPU.

An SOC contains the likes of a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU) and memory and wireless radios (such as WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE). On the other hand, a CPU cannot function without other chips.

Manufacturers therefore can build complete computers or smart devices such as smartphones and tablets with just a single SOC.

And MediaTek’s MT6592 has eight CPU cores, each capable of clocking speeds of up to 2GHz. Other features include an advanced video playback system supporting Ultra-HD 4Kx2K H.264 video playback, support for a 16-megapixel camera and a full HD display, an advanced multi-mode cellular modem as well as Bluetooth, GPS and a FM tuner.

“The MT6592 builds on the success of existing MediaTek quad-core mobile platforms, which have revolutionized price-performance efficiency for mobile devices, and is expected to be available in devices running Android ‘Jelly Bean’ by the end of 2013. MT6592 enabled mobile devices running Android ‘Kit-Kat’ are expected in early 2014,” MediaTek has said in a statement.

MediaTek has unveiled its latest chip as smart device chipmaker Qualcomm has come to dominate the world’s mobile phone semiconductor landscape with the likes of its quad-core chips.

Qualcomm has also unveiled its Snapdragon 805 chip on Wednesday that features the ability to play back 4K video on smartphones and tablets.

The Snapdragon 805 is also a quad-core chip that operates at a clock speed of 2.5GHz.