The mysterious MediaTek MT8189 gets a name: Kompanio 540

For quite some time now, we’ve been tracking the ‘Skywalker’ and ‘Jedi’ baseboards in the Chromium Gerrit. We’ve watched as the list of devices being built on this single, mysterious MediaTek chip (which we know as the MT8189) has grown to an impressive 12 models thus far under the ‘Skywalker’ base board and at least one more device called ‘Padme’ under the ‘Jedi’ (tablet/detachable) baseboard. At what feels like the right time for an official announcement, MediaTek has officially taken the wraps off its new processor, and we finally have a name: MediaTek Kompanio 540.

According to MediaTek’s announcement, the Kompanio 540 is an octa-core processor specifically “designed to deliver exceptional power efficiency to thin, ultra-portable Chromebooks.” This confirms our suspicions that this chip is aimed squarely at the high-volume, mainstream student and consumer markets. But this isn’t just another low-end chip. The Kompanio 540 is built on a modern architecture, featuring:

• An octa-core CPU with two powerful Arm Cortex-A78 cores.
• A dual-core graphics engine.
• Support for premium LPDDR5 memory.
• Support for fast UFS 3.1 storage.

This combination of modern, powerful A78 cores and fast RAM and storage support means these new Chromebooks should feel incredibly smooth and responsive, even in a fanless design.

A fanless workhorse for all-day use

MediaTek is heavily promoting the chip’s efficiency, claiming 35% longer battery life compared to the competition and “all-day” productivity. Critically, its power-efficient design enables fanless operation, which is what we expected for this class of device.

This isn’t just for basic browsing, either. MediaTek explicitly states the Kompanio 540 enables smooth performance for more demanding applications like STEM, Tinkercad, and Minecraft® Education Edition.

Google is also fully on board, with John Maletis, VP of ChromeOS at Google, quoted in the release: “We’re excited to see the MediaTek Kompanio 540 power more Chromebooks and bring a balance of power and efficiency to more users who can rely on it to bring them a full day of work and play.”

New devices on the horizon

We now also have a date to look forward to as MediaTek says Kompanio 540-powered Chromebooks will be available starting in January 2026. That means we could see a few surface at CES 2026 and likely at BETT 2026 for the EDU market as well. Between this new processor and the already-proven (and very awesome) Kompanio Ultra, MediaTek is moving into he front seat for Chromebook manufacturers; not only as a viable alternative to Intel, but as a serious, toe-to-toe competitor.