MediaTek is trying to make 5G more accessible on less-than-flagship phones with the launch of the Dimensity 820 processor. It has the latest carrier aggregation tech that offers improved coverage and seamless handovers between 5G coverage areas, faster download speeds, dual-SIM tech and voice over new radio (VoNR), the 5G equivalent to VoLTE tech. In other words, it has some of the most advanced sub-6Ghz 5G tech around for Asia, North America and Europe, built into a mid-to-high-end processor.

It’s just a step down from MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000 chip performance-wise, with four Arm Cortex-A76 (rather than A77) cores running at up to 2.6 Ghz, along with four 2.0 Ghz Cortex-A55 cores and a five-core Arm Mali-G57 GPU. It also has MediaTek’s APU 3.0 AI processing unit for facial recognition and other functions, along with 4K HDR video recording and HDR10+ media playback. It supports up to 80-megapixel cameras and 120Hz displays, along with improved gaming performance via MediaTek’s HyperEngine 2.0.

AT&T introduced the 5GE (5G Evolution) in January on Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Active and LG’s V30. But as true 5G networks are still being tested, 5GE really indicates 4G LTE-Advanced — a mix of 4G LTE plus technologies like 4×4 MIMO antennas, 256 QAM and carrier aggregation. AT&T’s competitors were quick to mock and dispute the icon. And a study by OpenSignal claimed the so-called 5GE network tested slower than enhanced 4G on Verizon and T-Mobile, though AT&T said the methodology was flawed.

The problem, critics charge, is that the label is misleading and will only confuse people, especially when actual 5G coverage is available. As Verizon previously wrote, “The potential to over-hype and under-deliver on the 5G promise is a temptation that the wireless industry must resist.” But this isn’t all that different from when AT&T started using the 4G label while everyone else was still on 3G. Now that the 5GE icon is available in AOSP, there’s a good chance that, as AT&T promised, we’ll begin seeing a lot more of it.