Low-cost Chinese smartphone maker ZTE is reportedly working on a high-end smartphone codenamed “Apache”, which it hopes will compete against Apple’s iPhone 5, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Nokia’s Lumia 920.
According to Unwired View, Taiwanese processor design firm Mediatek has beat out key rivals such as NVidia and Qualcomm with an eight-core ARM-based processor design for the new device, which is set to be manufactured by chip manufacturer TSMC.
The Apache is also set to include a 1080p HD resolution display, 13 megapixel camera and support for LTE/4G networks.
While ZTE is one of the top five smartphone manufacturers in China, accounting for around 10% of the market, its influence in the west has largely been limited to low-cost carrier-branded phones such as the Telstra 850, Telstra EasyTouch T82 and Telstra T100.
The move by ZTE comes as low-cost Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are attempting to diversify by expanding into the higher-margin, high-end market.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
