It’s happening! A new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra Chromebook tablet is coming

Ever since the debut of the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra, we’ve been absolutely blown away by its capabilities. In devices like the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and the new Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, this chip has proven to be crazy-fast, incredibly efficient, and better at running Android apps than any SoC we’ve ever seen in a Chromebook. It’s the perfect processor for a modern ChromeOS device without question.

And all along, I’ve been dreaming of one thing: what if you could take all that power and put it into a thin, light, detachable tablet form factor? Well, it looks like that dream is finally becoming a reality. I’ve just found clear evidence in the Chromium Gerrit of a new Chromebook tablet in active development, powered by the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra.

Meet ‘Tanjiro’, the Kompanio Ultra-powered tablet

Buried in the code repositories for ChromeOS is a new development board codenamed ‘Tanjiro’, and the evidence it provides is undeniable.

First, in a device tree file for ‘Tanjiro’, there is an explicit reference to an I2C_DETACHABLE_BASE. For those who don’t follow the Gerrit, this is the smoking gun. “Detachable base” is the technical term for a tablet that can recognize and connect to a detachable keyboard. This is our clear sign that ‘Tanjiro’ is, at its core, a tablet.

Second, another configuration file for ‘Tanjiro’ contains the line CONFIG_AP_ARM_MTK_MT8196=y. The MT8196 is the technical model number for the chip we all know and love as the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra. There’s no ambiguity here; this is the real deal.

The perfect chip for the perfect tablet

This is the news so many of us have been waiting for. The Kompanio Ultra is the perfect processor for a high-end Chromebook tablet. Its raw power can drive a high-resolution display and handle serious multitasking with ease, while its incredible efficiency can deliver the multi-day battery life that is critical for a tablet.

Even more importantly, this chip’s ability to run Android apps flawlessly is a massive advantage for a tablet, a form factor where users are far more likely to lean on applications from the Google Play Store. And because it can be packaged in a completely fanless chassis, any tablet built around it can be incredibly thin, light, and silent.

We don’t know who is making ‘Tanjiro’ or when it might arrive, but it is still very early in the process for this device at the moment. What really matters here is the fact that we have confirmation that a true, high-performance ARM-powered Chromebook tablet is officially in the works and that is more than enough to be incredibly excited about. As always, we’ll be tracking its development and will report back as soon as we learn more.