China continues its quest for technological self-sufficiency at all levels: semiconductors for smartphones and even GPUs for Artificial Intelligence. The new Mate 70 Pro+ is a punch on the table after the American vetoes and represents a major milestone for the Asian country: Huawei has announced that it has achieved 100% domestic production.
A small big step away from dependence on the West
In its journey towards technological independence, China is counting on Huawei, SMC and HiSilicon, three companies that represent resistance to the vetoes imposed by the US in recent years. With limited processor production, the Chinese manufacturer has managed to do the unthinkable using old machinery.
The Huawei Mate 70 Pro+ is more than a milestone, it's already making a big splash in China. The Kirin 9020 succeeds the controversial Kirin 9000S, although there are no major differences: it is manufactured using a 7 nanometer process, but this time with an increase in raw power.
The Kirin 9020 does not appear on the technical data sheet of Huawei's new smartphone: the company was discreet during the launch and only now, when the phone reaches users, do we discover what lies behind this HiSilicon chip. For the first time, a Kirin chip doesn't rely on foreign technology.
It was something that would happen at some point, but we didn't know when. After the launch of the Huawei Pura 70 in April 2024, it became public knowledge that the Chinese company was very close to reaching this milestone. Now, the cycle is closing, marking a new point in the Asian giant's technological development.
On the other hand, SMIC, the main chip maker and a partner of Huawei and HiSilicon, is also benefiting from the latest launches. Its profits have risen considerably due to increased demand. Despite the good times, the companies are trying to cope with US vetoes that have left them without the cutting-edge equipment needed to improve the manufacturing process for their semiconductors.
Still far from Qualcomm or MediaTek
The new Kirin 9020 in the Huawei Mate 70 Pro+ relies on a Big Core, three performance cores and four cores focused on energy efficiency. This architecture is not enough to compete with the level of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, nor even with previous generations of Qualcomm chips. However, performance tests confirm that it outperforms the Tensor G4 in the Google Pixel 9.
Para a Huawei, a potência bruta não é uma preocupação. Os últimos Kirin podem não ser os mais poderosos, mas oferecem um desempenho mais do que adequado: isso foi comprovado quando analisamos o Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, que conta com o Kirin 9010. De qualquer forma, o mais importante para a Huawei é deixar de depender de tecnologia estrangeira, e é por isso que estão comemorando. No software, o HarmonyOS Next substitui o Android e já conta com os aplicativos essenciais para os usuários chineses.
