Huawei HiSilicon is BACK!!! Set to launch a new flagship Kirin chip

According to earlier rumours, Huawei might bring back the Kirin processor. Do you await it with joy? In line with the prior claim, the Kirin CPU has an upcoming product; however, details of this new chip is still under wraps. This device may go by the name Kirin 9100 or Kirin 9 Gen 1 (most unlikely). In addition, tech blogger  @RODENT950 previously posted a notice of a Kirin chip with the codename KC10. His report claims that this chip is an iterative version of Kirin 9000 called Kirin 9010. On  AnTuT, this chip may achieve 1.3 million points, surpassing Snapdragon 8+.

The chip is merely a test piece. It only showed up on the engineering model for testing and validation purposes. In terms of mass production, it is not possible at the moment.  Yet, with things as they are, it seems unlikely that Kirin will introduce such a high-end CPU, even if it returns. The upcoming mid-range Huawei Enjoy 60 may use a HiSilicon Kirin processor. This chip has somewhat better performance than the Kirin 710F.

Huawei Kirin 710F?

Huawei unveiled the Nova 3i mobile phone, powered by the Kirin 710 processor, in July 2018. The TSMC 12nm process is used to create the 8-core Kirin 710 CPU. The Kirin 710F uses an 8-core architecture, consisting of 4 A73 large cores and 4 A53 small cores. The Mali-G51 MP4 GPU operates at a maximum frequency of 2.2GHz and is similarly produced using a 12nm tech.

According to Huawei Mall, the Kirin 710 processor series includes Kirin 710F and Kirin 710, both of which are consistent in terms of functional parameters. This is in contrast to the difference between Kirin 710F and 710 that netizens are more concerned about as a result of the use of multiple packaging processes in production. And this F might stand for flip-chip chip-scale packaging, also known as FCCSP (Flip Chip Chip Scale Package).

History of Huawei Kirin chips

The history of Huawei Kirin chips began in 2012 with the release of the K3 series chip. This is Huawei’s first self-developed chip for mobile devices. The K3 was used in the company’s flagship mobile phone, the Huawei Ascend D Quad. In 2013, the Kirin 910 chip hit the road. This chip is for mid-range mobile phones at the time. The Kirin 920, a 2014 chip follows closely. This is Huawei’s first 64-bit octa-core chip. The Huawei Ascend Mate 7, a flagship phone at the time is the first to use this chip.

In 2015, the Kirin 950 hit the public with the Huawei Mate 8. This chip is also the first to use ARM’s Cortex-A72 CPU and Mali-T880 GPU. In 2016, Huawei released the Kirin 960, which was used in the Huawei Mate 9 mobile phone. This chip was the first to use ARM’s Mali-G71 GPU, which provided significant improvements in graphics performance.

The Kirin 970 hit the road in 2017 and the Huawei Mate 10 mobile phone is the first to use this SoC. This processor was the first to use an AI-specific processing unit and it boosts the AI processing capabilities. The Kirin 980 is another flagship SoC which hit the road in 2018. The Huawei Mate 20 is the first mobile phone to use this chip. It is also the first SoC to use a 7nm manufacturing process.

In 2019, Huawei released the Kirin 990, which was used in the Huawei Mate 30 smartphone. This processor was the first to integrate 5G capabilities, which provided significant improvements in network connectivity. In 2020, the company released its last major chip, the Kirin 9000 which is a flagship SoC.

HiSilicon Kirin chips fold up

Despite their technological advancements, Huawei Kirin processors have faced challenges in recent years due to US trade restrictions that have limited the company’s access to key components and technologies. This has resulted in limited production and availability of Huawei smartphones that use Kirin processors.