Intel · Huawei · U.S. · China · TSMC · The Register
Huawei proudly indicates off an entirely un-American chip
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Huawei has launched a new processor it claims is free of US technology and is using it to drive a new three-screen folding phone.
Key facts
- The Chinese company uses the Kirin 950 Pro in its new three-screen phone, the $2,979 Mate XT2
- Analyst firm Counterpoint thinks Huawei will exit 2026 with 24 percent of the total folding phone market, which it believes accounted for 1.6 percent of smartphone sales last year
- The Chinese giant dubbed the new processor the Kirin 950 Pro and says its LinxiCore processor cores, GPU, and neural processing unit all feature its own designs
- That’s strong uptake since Huawei delivered the OS in October 2024
Summary
The Chinese giant dubbed the new processor the Kirin 950 Pro and says its LinxiCore processor cores, GPU, and neural processing unit all feature its own designs. The SoC into which Huawei added them uses the "Tau Scaling” architecture that Huawei says arranges components closer to each other to reduce die size and improve performance without needing the kind of advanced chipmaking processes practiced by TSMC and Intel. As The Register wrote when Huawei announced Tau Scaling last May, analysts think Huawei has done interesting things with its silicon but don’t think the company has made any breakthroughs. Huawei begs to differ and says its new silicon offers 42 percent higher performance than the chip it used in the three-screen phone it delivered last year.