Huawei and the Chinese state are playing the same game – i.e., a game of the future, which includes smart phones and even automated vehicles as well as other AI based goods. Although the ban against Huawei is expected to be catastrophic to its business, leading to near extinction of Huawei’s smart phones in Western states since 2019, the resoluteness of Huawei due to support from the Xi Jinpin and
Unveiling Mate 60 Series: A Defiant Move
After introducing the Mate 60 series boasting of the 5G Kirin 9000s chip, Americans have felt irked, even to anger. Challenging the assumptions of the USA and its partners are the Kirin 9000s, whose 7-nanometer manufacturing process is considered more primitive than that of the Apple 15A17 Pro which uses only 3 nanometers. Surprisingly enough, this looks like a very ordinary phone with only a minor set of features, however it has all necessary functionality including a 5G modem — it was exactly what the ban wanted to take out of Huawei.
The defiance is driven by intensive work since 2019, when Huawei got caught unawares with the ban. Recently, Bloomberg investigates that a China-based investment fund offered support in overcoming the challenges faced by the company operating out of a city known as Shenzhen, Huawei’s base. After the U.S., Japan and Netherlands imposed embargo due to holding virtually a monopolistic supply of relevant products, Huawei accepted such large responsibility.
Bloomberg reports that Huawei hired an ex-employee of Dutch lithography expert ASML and sent around dozen fundamental patents of the machinery development to the Chinese company Xisicarretai. Huawei worked hand in hand with key SiCarrier engineers. The Kirin 9000s project was a cumulative process involving recruitment of high profile personnel from abroad (mostly from Nederlands), the synergy with SiCarrier. It might be the first of the five 5G SoCs that SMIC manufactures using the designs supplied by Huawei.
It is not possible to deny that there are certain gaps related to technology, specifically when it comes to upper class market, between a three nanometers SoC like the A17 Pro and a seven ones like the Kirin 9000s, for instance. While Huawei and other companies admit that their production is five years behind the world’s best (according to Bloomberg), the ban was projected to delay Huawei eight years into the past. The Kirin 9000s were used in the Mate 60, Mate 60 Pro, Mate 60 Pro+ as well as the Mate X5. Huawei successfully managed to make it without external support. Most of these devices are assembled using Chinese parts like BOE for displays, Ofilem for cameras, and Sunwoda for batteries.
According to Huawei, these successes were not supported by any help from the Chinese government. However, regardless of the behind-the-scenes details, the facts speak for themselves: however, the ban was not as successful as expected.