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Huawei Technologies’ latest smartphones, the Pura 70 series, feature a version of an advanced China-made chip, which was found in its flagship phone Mate 60 Pro last year, Bloomberg News reported citing TechInsights.
The Chinese tech giant last week launched the Pura 70 series, which features the Kirin 9010 chip. This is a follow-up to the Kirin 9000s made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International (OTCQX:SIUIF) for the Mate 60 Pro, the report added.
Last month, it was reported that Semiconductor Manufacturing International used gear from Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX) to make an advanced 7-nanometer chip for Huawei last year.
Huawei surprised many in August 2023 by quietly launching its new flagship smartphone, Mate 60 Pro. The chip inside the phone ignited concerns in the U.S. and raised questions about how it was possible, without the company being able to access critical technologies. The phone also prompted an evaluation by the U.S. to learn the details of the chip inside, which was the most advanced semiconductor China had manufactured.
TechInsights noted that it found “with high confidence” that the Pura smartphone featured a Huawei Kirin 9010 processor fabricated using Semiconductor Manufacturing International’s so-called 7nm N+2 process, an enhanced version of typical 7nm manufacturing.
Huawei was once in competition with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) to be the world’s biggest handset maker until U.S. restrictions, starting in 2019, began to curb its access to chip manufacturing tools needed to produce its most advanced models.
However, the Chinese company has been gaining ground. Apple slipped to the third spot in China’s smartphone market as local rivals Honor and Huawei were tied for the first place in the first quarter of 2024, according to research firm International Data Corporation.
Apple’s smartphone shipments in China tumbled 19% in the first quarter of this year, data from Counterpoint Research showed. It was the phone’s worst performance in China since COVID hit around 2020.
