Huawei's waiver shows transformative effects on US sanctions

 Mate 60 Pro+ and Mate X5 are expected to be based on a locally produced Huawei chip.

Huawei's waiver shows transformative effects on US sanctions

After Huawei's recent surprise launch of the Mate 60 and Mate 60 Pro smartphones, which appeared to be 5G-capable, the Chinese tech giant has introduced two more intriguing devices: the Mate 60 Pro+ and the Mate X5 foldable phone. This marks a significant development as Huawei had been largely restricted to 4G connectivity due to US sanctions. However, Huawei has been tight-lipped about the specifics of their radio technology for these new devices.

Sources close to the matter have confirmed that both the Mate 60 Pro+ and the Mate X5 foldable are indeed 5G-enabled. This information is backed by a speed test conducted by Chinese blogger Vincent Zhong on the Mate X5 foldable, which achieved an impressive download speed of over 1Gbps, despite the absence of a visible 5G indicator on the screen.

What's particularly intriguing is that these smartphones are believed to be powered by Huawei's enigmatic HiSilicon Kirin 9000S chipset. The Kirin 9000S is manufactured using a 7nm process, raising questions about whether the local chip supplier, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), may have breached US sanctions by accessing foreign chip-making technology. Huawei has not yet provided detailed specifications for these phones or clarified the chip's origins.

A teardown analysis of the Kirin 9000S conducted by TechInsights for Bloomberg confirmed the 7nm process used by SMIC. This development was considered improbable due to the import ban on key manufacturing equipment, including advanced EUV lithography machines from Dutch firm ASML, which Huawei had relied on for its 5nm process before the US restrictions.

It is speculated that SMIC may have developed its own high-end lithography machinery, potentially sidestepping the need for ASML's technology. ASML CEO Peter Wennink hinted at this possibility, suggesting that the restrictions had forced the Chinese tech industry to innovate.

Performances benchmark conducted by Chinese tech blog Geekerwan indicate that the Kirin 9000S is comparable to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888, placing it roughly two generations behind. The CPU configuration consists of one large core and three medium cores based on Huawei's proprietary "TaiShan" architecture, along with four smaller cores based on Arm's efficient Cortex-A510. Additionally, the Kirin 9000S is the first mobile processor to support multi-threading, boasting eight cores with 12 threads, although app optimization may be required to fully leverage this capability. In terms of graphics, Huawei has integrated its Maleoon 910 GPU, purportedly on par with the one found in the Snapdragon 888.

Similar to the Mate 60 Pro, the higher-end Mate 60 Pro+ offers satellite call services through China Telecom and satellite messaging via BeiDou. Notable differences include a unique "nanotech metallic double dye process" and enhanced rear camera capabilities. As for the Mate X5 foldable, it closely resembles the slender Mate The rear camera island design has also been subtly modified. Pricing details for these models have not been disclosed, but pre-orders will commence at 6:08 PM local time today.

If all four of Huawei's latest smartphones do indeed run on the Kirin 9000S chipset, it signals Huawei's confidence in its chip production capabilities, potentially posing another challenge to the US sanctions. Speculations suggest that more information about these devices will be unveiled toward the end of September, conveniently avoiding the rush surrounding the release of the iPhone 15.