Huawei's 5nm Kirin launch is delayed as it seeks to get all its orders out of TSMC before an important deadline

The electronics giant Huawei is now reportedly in a race to accept as many orders of 5nm wafers from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as it possibly can before that foundry has no option but to stop trading with the OEM. Its ability to deliver on this contract may determine the fate of upcoming mobile devices such as the Mate 40 series.

Huawei had previously indicated that these phones were to be the first to feature the next-generation Kirin chipsets (reportedly called the Kirin 1000 series) based on the ground-breaking architecture. To that end, the OEM had allegedly booked out TSMC's 5nm production line to the greatest extent possible, in full cognizance of the fact that it had an ever-narrowing window in which to do business with the supplier.

That company now has less than 10 days in which to fulfil these orders, and is reportedly working flat-out to send 5nm-based components to Huawei. However, even with this effort, there are now hints that it may yet not be enough to ensure a future for handsets such as the Mate 40s or their successors.

For example, Huawei, typically a prominent fixture at the yearly IFA tech expo in Berlin, has a relatively reduced presence at the show: it and its second main brand, Honor, have only introduced products along the lines of wearables or notebooks thus far.

Furthermore, the 5nm Kirin SoCs have not been unveiled at the event as planned, thus potentially casting the health of its mobile device division into even deeper doubt.