HUAWEI Technologies’ latest flagship smartphone is powered by a chip little different from the one that set off alarm bells in Washington a year ago, signalling a slowdown in the Chinese company’s tech advances.
Huawei’s Chip Technology Stalls
The newly introduced Mate 70 Pro Plus phone runs on a processor built with the same seven-nanometre technology used in its Mate 60 Pro last year, according to a teardown of the device by researchers at TechInsights. The chip, Kirin 9020, is designed by Huawei and once again produced by Shanghai’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).
Industry Leader Ahead
There had been reports that Huawei would progress to the more advanced 5nm technology as soon as this year, raising concerns in Washington that its attempts to constrain China’s tech industry were failing. Huawei itself doesn’t disclose details of its chip technology.
“While early rumours pointed to the inclusion of the Kirin 9100 chipset fabbed using a 5nm process, the Mate 70 Pro+ instead houses the Kirin 9020, fabricated by SMIC on a 7nm process node,” TechInsights said in its analysis of the device.
This means Huawei is still about five years behind the industry leader, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), in terms of its technology. TSMC first came out with a 7nm chip in 2018, and released a second iteration of the product in 2019.
Challenges Ahead
Huawei stunned the tech industry a year ago when it unveiled the Mate 60 Pro, powered by a semiconductor much more advanced than US officials thought possible after strict export controls. Huawei’s announcement coincided with a trip to China by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the point person for enforcing American restrictions on the trade in technology.
Yet Huawei’s push for additional breakthroughs has run into challenges. The Shenzhen-based company is unlikely to move past 7nm technology until at least 2026 as it seeks more powerful silicon for smartphones and artificial intelligence, Bloomberg News reported in November. Chipmaking partner SMIC, which is prohibited from buying the most advanced chip-making machines from ASML Holding NV, is dealing with poor yield and reliability issues with its current technology, clouding the prospects for moving to more advanced production nodes.
Incremental Progress
Huawei has made some incremental progress with the Mate 70 Pro phone. In its teardown, TechInsights found that the processor, while made with the same SMIC 7nm+2 process technology, has a modified circuit floorplan aimed at boosting performance and efficiency. The chip’s die is also 15 per cent larger than last year’s model.
“Compared to 2019’s processor design in TSMC 7nm EUV, it would be slower, burn more power, and have lower yield,” said Alexandra Noguera, circuit analyst at TechInsights. “However, the redesign and learning would make this chip perform better than last year’s.”
Conclusion
Huawei’s chip technology has stalled, with the company unlikely to move past 7nm technology until at least 2026. While the company has made some incremental progress, it remains behind industry leaders like TSMC and Samsung Electronics. The need for more advanced chipmaking is much more pressing with AI accelerators, where Huawei aims to compete with Nvidia as the provider of computing power for software developers in China.
FAQs
Q: What is the latest chip technology used in Huawei’s Mate 70 Pro Plus phone?
A: The phone runs on a processor built with the same seven-nanometre technology used in its Mate 60 Pro last year.
Q: Why is Huawei unlikely to move past 7nm technology until at least 2026?
A: Huawei is seeking more powerful silicon for smartphones and artificial intelligence, and its chipmaking partner SMIC is dealing with poor yield and reliability issues with its current technology.
Q: What is the significance of Huawei’s chip technology in the context of AI accelerators?
A: The need for more advanced chipmaking is much more pressing with AI accelerators, where Huawei aims to compete with Nvidia as the provider of computing power for software developers in China.
