MediaTek is developing an ARM-based eight-cored processor for use in a smartphone by ZTE, according to reports.

The 28nm MT6599 chip is based on the ARM architecture and will be manufactured by TSMC, China Times reported today.

The new ZTE Apache phone will support both 3G and 4G LTE communications.

If the report is correct, it would be a vistory for fabless chip maker Mediatek, which is competing with Qualcomm and Nvidia in the mobile chip market.