Huawei P70 flagship line rumored to be equipped with a new 5G Kirin chipset،
Huawei stunned the tech world last August when it announced the Mate 60 series. The lineup was Huawei's first phone in three years to be powered by a Huawei-designed Kirin 5G chipset. The chip was built by China's largest foundry, SMIC, and was manufactured on the latter's 7nm process node. This is a shocking announcement given that US sanctions appear to prevent Huawei from producing or obtaining application processors (APs) that support 5G.
The US had allowed Huawei to power its previous flagships, like the P50 series (2022), Mate 50 series (2022) and P60 series (2023), with Snapdragon chipsets modified to not support signals 5G. So when the Mate 60 series was unveiled with the 7nm Kirin 9000s 5G chipset, US lawmakers and officials went crazy and Chinese consumers were overcome by waves of nationalist pride.
Huawei's next flagship series is the P70 series. The “P” series is known for its focus on photography (pun NOT intended). According to Weibo Smart Pikachu leaked (via HuaweiCentral), the series will be powered by a new chip called Kirin 9010 designed by Huawei's HiSilicon semiconductor unit. The chip has not been officially announced and those with long memories may remember that three years ago, Twitter tipster @RODENT950 said that despite the US export ban preventing Huawei from receiving cutting-edge chips, the company was going to get 3nm Kirin 9010 SoCs designed for by Huawei's HiSilicon unit.
Huawei's P60 Pro, released in 2023, is powered by a Snapdragon chipset that does not support 5G
We know that this 3nm chip was never built; The first 3nm chip for smartphones was the A17 Pro AP made by TSMC which runs the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Given that Huawei cannot deal with any foundries capable of shipping 3nm chipsets, it is unlikely that if the Kirin 9010 SoC powers the P70 lineup, it will be manufactured using the 3nm node. Chinese foundry SMIC cannot produce chips with a node below 7nm at this stage.
The Kirin 9010 name received a trademark in 2021 and it is possible that Huawei may simply be able to use this name for new 7nm chips manufactured by SMIC. China's largest foundry will surely be working on ways to make 3nm chips, but until it finds a way around the ban on shipping extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to China, we won't see Huawei get your hands on 5nm or 3nm silicon. unless it is an old stock dating from before the announcement of American sanctions.
For example, Huawei's new laptop is reportedly equipped with 5nm Kirin 9006C chips. But these were made by TSMC before the announcement of US chip sanctions against Huawei and were found in the manufacturer's stock of unused chipsets.
As for Huawei's upcoming flagship series, the P70 ART is said to have an ultra-wide camera backed by a one-inch type sensor and a lens made up of one glass element and six plastic elements. The company is also rumored to launch its own image sensors with the P70 series, which is expected to be unveiled in March.
