Huawei's newest Kirin X90 chip allegedly manufactured on new SMIC 5 nm node

Huawei's touted 'Mac Killer' launched as the new MateBook Pro variant. It ran HarmonyOS and a mysterious X90 chip from HiSilicon. One leaker states it is a repurposed Kirin 9010 with a slightly different CPU core layout. We should know for sure in the coming days when in-depth reviews of the chip surface. A Chinese news channel has, however, revealed some spicy new information about Huawei's latest offering.

The Kirin X90 is supposedly manufactured on SMIC's 5 nm N+3 node. This sits in line with a report from last year which stated SMIC's 5 nm node was operational. An X user speculates it has a density of 125 million transistors per mm², making it slightly less dense than TSMC N5 (~138 million transistors per mm²). That figure is stellar because SMIC achieved this using DUV lithography. The cutting-edge ASMC EUV machines used by TSMC, Intel and others are effectively walled off by US sanctions.

However, its yields are less than ideal. One analyst has learned SMIC produces 3,000 wafers per month with 20% yields. This isn't exactly feasible for mass production, but it is about setting a precedent than producing a commercially viable node. That said, Huawei has once been caught trying to pass off TSMC chips as its own, and it's best to wait until third parties take the Kirin X90 apart.