During MWC Barcelona 2026, ASR Microelectronics officially introduced its new high-performance 4G octa-core smart SoC platform, ASR8861.

Built on a 6 nm process, the platform combines a powerful octa-core CPU architecture with 20 TOPS of on-device AI computing power, targeting both mainstream and emerging mobile communication markets. It brings significant upgrades in performance and intelligent user experience for 4G smartphones and a new generation of smart terminals.

High-Performance Octa-Core Platform Unlocks Core Value

The ASR8861 adopts an octa-core CPU architecture featuring two Cortex-A76 cores running at 2.4 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0 GHz. Built on a mature 6 nm process, the platform achieves an optimized balance between performance and power efficiency.

In AnTuTu Benchmark v11.0.5, ASR8861 delivers a total score exceeding 690,000, demonstrating leading system performance among 4G platforms and providing a solid computing foundation for smooth application performance, multitasking, and AI-driven experiences.

In terms of connectivity, ASR8861 supports FDD/TDD LTE, WCDMA, and GSM, while also integrating Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, GNSS, and FM, enabling flexible deployment across global networks and multiple operator environments.

The platform also offers flexible memory and storage configurations. It supports LPDDR4/4x and LPDDR5/5x memory, along with eMMC 5.1 and UFS 3.1 storage, allowing customers to optimize BOM costs based on product positioning and accelerate time-to-market.

Powerful On-Device AI Computing for Differentiated Experiences

As AI capabilities increasingly shift from the cloud to the device, on-device AI is becoming a key driver of next-generation smart terminal experiences. The ASR8861 integrates ASR’s self-developed NPU, delivering up to 20 TOPS of AI computing power and supporting multiple precision formats including INT4, INT8, FP16, and BF16.

The platform is compatible with major AI frameworks such as ONNX, TensorFlow, and TFLite, providing developers with a complete, open, and efficient on-device AI development environment.

With its strong computing capability and flexible quantization support, ASR8861 enables stable execution of various AI models even without network connectivity, enabling truly local intelligence.

In real-world applications, smart devices powered by ASR8861 can support AI assistants, real-time voice and text translation, local voice interaction, and on-device conversational capabilities, significantly enhancing user experiences in travel, cross-language communication, and data-privacy-sensitive scenarios. The platform can also efficiently support compute-intensive AI workloads such as AI background removal, video super-resolution, AI portrait processing, and image enhancement, delivering real-time AI responses without relying on cloud processing.

As large models such as LLMs and VLMs continue to be optimized for edge deployment, the boundaries of on-device AI applications are rapidly expanding. Through system-level collaboration between the NPU and CPU, GPU, ISP, and VPU, ASR8861 not only reduces reliance on cloud computing and data transmission, but also delivers clear advantages in latency reduction, power efficiency, and user privacy protection. This enables customers to build distinct and perceptible AI differentiation in cost-sensitive market segments.

Comprehensive Multimedia Upgrades Elevate User Experience

In multimedia and imaging, ASR8861 deeply integrates high-performance hardware with on-device AI, delivering enhanced photography and display capabilities for 4G smart terminals.

The platform integrates ASR’s self-developed ISP and NPU, working together with the CPU and GPU in an efficient heterogeneous computing architecture that supports real-time execution of complex imaging algorithms on device.

For camera capabilities, ASR8861 supports up to 200-megapixel sensors, 32 MP @30fps nZSL capture, and dual-camera configurations such as 16 MP + 16 MP, enabling flexible multi-camera designs.

Advanced imaging technologies supported by the platform include MCTF/MFNR multi-frame noise reduction, PDAF phase-detection autofocus, and high-quality HDR, significantly improving image clarity and stability in low-light, motion, and high-contrast scenarios.

Leveraging its powerful AI computing capability, ASR8861 further enhances imaging intelligence. With NPU acceleration, the platform efficiently supports features such as AI portrait, AI bokeh, AI face detection, and AI beauty, enabling more accurate subject recognition and natural depth-of-field effects.

Deep collaboration between AI algorithms and the ISP also ensures lower latency and more stable performance in both video capture and real-time preview.

For display and video processing, ASR8861 supports 4K video decoding and can drive FHD+ displays at up to 144 Hz, as well as 2.5K landscape displays at 90 Hz, delivering smooth and immersive visual experiences for entertainment, gaming, and short-video applications. Combined with a high-performance audio codec, the platform significantly enhances the overall multimedia experience across imaging, display, and audio.

Expanding Opportunities for 4G Smart Devices in the Global Connectivity Landscape

From a global market perspective, 4G will continue to coexist with 5G for the long term, maintaining strong lifecycle advantages and large-scale deployment across smartphones, tablets, and a growing range of emerging smart devices.

By combining mature cellular connectivity with powerful computing and AI capabilities, ASR8861 enables customers to capture opportunities in market upgrades, expansion into emerging regions, and differentiated product strategies.

The launch of ASR8861 not only expands the capability boundaries of 4G platforms, but also reflects ASR’s continuous technological accumulation in wireless communication and intelligent SoC development.

Looking ahead, ASR will continue to focus on the convergence of connectivity, computing, and intelligence, working with global partners to drive the long-term development of the mobile communications ecosystem.