A massive family of MediaTek MT8189 Chromebooks are already in the works

We’ve been keeping a very close eye on ‘Skywalker’, the intriguing development baseboard for MediaTek’s upcoming MT8189 ARM chip, and things recently got a lot more interesting when talking about this particular baseboard. After many months of tracking its progress and even spotting a potential link to ASUS, I’ve now uncovered evidence that ‘Skywalker’ is no longer a solo act: five new development boards have spawned from this main baseboard, each with the potential to become a unique Chromebook device.

For those just joining the story, the MT8189 is a newer MediaTek SoC that we expect to be a notable step up in performance from the already capable Kompanio 838 (MT8188) found in devices like the latest Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11. While the exact core specifications of the MT8189 remain a bit of a mystery, MediaTek has a history of delivering significant performance gains even with small increments in their model numbers.

Our hope (and educated speculation) is that the MT8189 could bring a really compelling balance of power and efficiency to a new wave of ARM-powered Chromebooks. ‘Skywalker’ is the foundational development board Google and MediaTek are using to get this chip up and running for ChromeOS.

Meet the new members of the ‘Skywalker’ family

The development of ‘Skywalker’ has clearly matured, because we’re now seeing it branch out. With previous MediaTek baseboards, we only get a couple actual devices from them. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with ‘Skywalker’, and now we have a whopping 5 new boards to keep an eye on. Say hello to:

• ‘Obiwan’
• ‘Luuke’
• ‘Yoda’
• ‘Anakin’
• ‘Quigon’

The Star Wars theme continues in full force (pun intended), and these names are fantastic. I especially appreciate the nod with ‘Luuke’ being spelled with the extra ‘U’ to poke a bit of fun at the way Darth Vader pronounces his son’s name in the movies.

This all clearly indicates that active development for the MT8189 is truly ramping up. Each of these new boards carries the exciting potential to evolve into its own standalone Chromebook, ChromeOS tablet, or detachable, which greatly increases the chances of seeing a diverse range of MT8189-powered devices hitting the market. And this many branched-off devices could also signal broader manufacturer interest, perhaps meaning several different companies are now developing with the MT8189.

While we still need to unearth the exact specifications of the MT8189 to know its true power, and we don’t yet know the specific form factors these new boards will take, this multi-device growth is exactly what we want to see. It means more choices, more innovation, and a stronger ARM-based offering for ChromeOS users down the line. I don’t know if we’ll see more devices in development, but it’s always possible. And as always, we’ll be keeping a very close eye on all of them.