Tech war: Huawei reveals Kirin chip inside 5G smartphones as firm overcomes US sanctions

Huawei Technologies has revealed that the new Pura 80 handsets are powered by its Kirin 9020 system-on-a-chip, marking the first time in about five years that the US-sanctioned company has lifted the veil of secrecy behind its advanced smartphone processors.

The name of Huawei’s chipset, which was designed by semiconductor design subsidiary HiSilicon, was found prominently displayed in screenshots shared online by Pura 80 users after a system update of the handset.

Information about the processors used by Huawei on 5G smartphones, including the Mate 60 Pro and Mate 70 series, was previously uncovered only via third-party teardown analyses, without any official confirmation from the Shenzhen-based company.

Huawei’s Kirin 9020 reveal reflected the firm’s confidence in its silicon design capabilities and its strong comeback in the 5G smartphone market, despite rigid US tech restrictions on China.

The Kirin 9020, first seen in Huawei’s Mate 70 smartphones last year, was made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) using the advanced 7-nanometre production process, according to a report by Canadian research firm TechInsights published in December.