In recent years, like clockwork, Huawei launched two flagship series. In the spring, the “P” series focused on photography was launched and, in the fall, the manufacturer released its most technologically advanced devices of the year with the Mate line. These flagship phones need to be powered by flagship chips, but Huawei is at a major disadvantage in that, thanks to the United States.
Rumors that the Huawei Kirin 9000L chip could power the Huawei P50 series
Last May, the United States Department of Commerce changed an export rule, forcing all smelters on the planet that use American technology to obtain a license before they can legally ship components to Huawei. This undermined the manufacturer’s plans. The company was TSMC’s second largest customer after Apple, and the foundry was able to deliver some high-end Kirin 9000 chipsets before the new rules went into effect. These were used in the Mate 40 series and feed the foldable Kill X2. What makes them innovative is that the chips were manufactured by TSMC using its 5 nm process node. Each chip allegedly contains more than 15 billion transistors.
Weibo informant reveals some specifications of the alleged 5nm Kirin 9000L chipset
Huawei also designed the Kirin 9000E. This branch of the Kirin 9000 has a large nucleus of Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and a small nucleus compared to the two large nuclei of NPU and a small nucleus found in the latter. The NPU component is used to process tasks related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The only other difference is that while the Kirin 9000 has a 24-core GPU, the Kirin 9000E carries a 22-core GPU. According to a post on China’s Weibo website (via Huawei Central), another variant of the Kirin 9000 may be on the way. The Kirin 9000L is rumored to have a slower clock speed compared to the Kirin 9000 and 9000E. While the clock speed of the large core of the Kirin 9000 weighs 3.13 GHz, the large core of the Kirin 9000L runs at 2.86 GHz. Similar to the Kirin 9000E, the “L” version will also have a large NPU core and a tiny one. In addition, compared to the 24 and 22 GPU cores mentioned earlier in the Kirin 9000 and 9000E, respectively, the Kirin 9000L carries 18 GPU cores in the Mali-G78 GPU with which it is equipped.
The Kirin 9000L will be produced by Samsung Foundry, the world’s second largest contract foundry after TSMC. The chip will be made using the foundry’s 5 nm EUV process node. EUV, or Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, allows the foundry to mark wafers with incredibly thin patterns for placing circuits on a chip. The thinner the line, the greater the number of transistors that can fit on a chip, making them more powerful and energy efficient. However, Samsung Foundry has been affected by the change in U.S. export rules, so it is not entirely clear whether Samsung will be able to participate in the production of the Kirin 9000L if that chip is still in development.
The Huawei P50 series is rumored to be powered by the Kirin 9000L chipset
What is also unclear at the moment is the future of all important relations between the United States and China. Under the previous US administration, many Chinese companies were seen as threats to US national security. Huawei and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, were seen as security risks, as Huawei said it had close ties to the Chinese communist government. On the other hand, OnePlus seems to be able to sell its phones and accessories in the United States without any problems.
So far, negotiations between the new Biden government and China have not been very promising, according to media reports. It is possible that China may require Huawei to be removed from the list of entities (which prohibits it from using supplies accessed from its supply chain in the United States) and that chip restrictions be removed before agreeing to sit down. at the table with the United States. It seems that the U.S. has an advantage and an advantage when it comes to Huawei, so we don’t expect the Biden government to undo the bans and restrictions that have hurt Huawei so deeply without getting something first from China.
