Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek is looking to make a return to the premium smartphone segment in the second half of 2018, ready to capitalise on the opportunity created by 5G, according to reports.

While the company unveiled a new premium processor (Helio X30) at Mobile World Congress last year, it struggled to gain acceptance among manufacturers. This led it to refocus its efforts around its mid-tier Helio P-series, where the company has seen more success.

According to DigiTimes, the company has worked with TSMC on chips manufactured using a 7nm process (Helio X30 uses a 10nm process). It has also invested heavily in technologies such as artificial intelligence, which has become a key technology for smartphone makers.

MediaTek has struggled at the high-end due to competition from market leader Qualcomm, as well as the fact that the biggest smartphone makers – Samsung, Apple and Huawei – have all developed their own chips for flagship devices.