Iris Deng in Shenzhen
Published: 10:00pm, 30 Aug, 2023

Huawei Technologies’ silence over the advanced semiconductor that powers its new Mate 60 Pro flagship smartphone has become the subject of intense speculation in China, as questions abound about where and how the chip was made under strict US trade sanctions.

At the Mate 60 Pro’s surprise launch on Tuesday, Huawei declined to provide details about the handset’s processor or on whether it supports 5G mobile networks, prompting industry analysts, tech bloggers, consumers and other interested parties to look for answers outside the company.

Based on tests that it conducted on the smartphone, Chinese benchmarking website AnTuTu on Wednesday identified the central processing unit (CPU) in the Mate 60 Pro as the Kirin 9000s from Huawei’s chip design unit HiSilicon. The CPU has a 12-core configuration and a top clock speed of 2.62 gigahertz, according to AnTuTu.

Although HiSilicon’s website did not provide any information about that CPU, the firm’s existing Kirin 9000 and 9000e chipsets both support 5G connectivity and artificial intelligence applications, and are built on the advanced 5-nanometer manufacturing process. The new Mate’s download speeds can reach 500 megabits per second, which exceeds the 100Mbps speed requirements for 4G networks, according to independent tests run by some consumers.

The new Mate’s graphics processing unit was identified as another Chinese-designed chip, the Maleoon 910, according to AnTuTu, which did not provide details.

These various test results could not be independently verified by the South China Morning Post.

Huawei said in a statement on Tuesday that the Mate 60 Pro was the “most powerful Mate model ever”, without mentioning its CPU or the handset’s 5G connectivity.

Privately-held Huawei’s deliberate silence on the CPU that powers its latest Mate model reflects the lengths the company has taken to quietly revive its smartphone business, which has been hobbled by US sanctions.

Both Shenzhen-based Huawei and chip design arm HiSilicon were added to the US government’s trade blacklist, known as the Entity List, in 2019.

Under tightened US restrictions imposed in 2020, Huawei cannot obtain advanced integrated circuits (ICs) from major contract chip makers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co or Samsung Electronics.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), which operates mainland China’s largest chip foundry, can only produce 14-nm grade ICs because of Washington-led restrictions on the export of advanced chip-making equipment such as extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.

Still, speculation that SMIC might have progressed in making more advanced chips using less-advanced deep ultraviolet lithography systems saw Chinese chip stocks rally on Wednesday.

Hong Kong-listed SMIC, whose shares closed up nearly 1 per cent to HK$19.22, declined to comment.

The expected beneficiaries of Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro launch include SMIC and IC testing and packaging firm Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Tech, according to a note by Kuo Ming-chi, analyst at TF International Securities, on Wednesday.

Other component suppliers mentioned in Kuo’s report included Japanese filter provider Murata, US-based GlobalFoundries and Taiwanese foundry Win Semi.

The speculation swirling around the technology driving the Mate 60 Pro is expected to be a boost to the market, according to Ivan Lam, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint.

Huawei launched a surprise presale of the Mate 60 Pro, carrying a 6,999 yuan (US$962) price tag, on Tuesday via its online mall, which saw the handset’s inventory run out a few hours later. On Wednesday, the company started pre-orders for basic model the Mate 60, which costs 5,999 yuan.

“[The early release] can test the market’s reaction, providing reference for stock levels amid a slowdown in the industry,” Counterpoint’s Lam said. “This can also help manage expectations regarding its target consumers ahead of Apple’s launch event [in September].”

Huawei previously updated its Mate-series model in September, around the same week as the annual iPhone launch. Apple’s event this year falls on September 12.

The Mate 40 series, released in October 2020, was the last 5G smartphone launched by Huawei, which used the HiSilicon-designed Kirin 9000 system-on-a-chip in the device.

Amid the speculation surrounding the Mate 60 Pro’s 5G CPU, Huawei is still expected to face a number of supply chain challenges such as production yield rates, according to an industry insider who declined to be identified.

Huawei stockpiled critical US components for almost a year after it was added to the Entity List, but the company ran out of its HiSilicon chipsets last year, according to a report by Counterpoint.

Huawei, which briefly surpassed Samsung to lead global smartphone shipments in early 2020, now faces the big challenge of convincing plenty of consumers who have switched to other 5G smartphone brands in the past few years to reconsider its products in the market.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3232861/tech-war-huaweis-silence-over-its-latest-mate-smartphones-advanced-chip-raises-speculation-where-and