Rumored ARM-based Huawei Kirin PC chip reportedly delayed to next year
There have been multiple reports about a Huawei Kirin PC chip, but the Chinese manufacturer hasn't officially shared anything about it yet. One rumor from August of this year claimed that the ARM-based chipset features a unified architecture similar to the Apple M series chips, while another from April said it reportedly trades blows with the Apple M3.
Huawei was even rumored to launch the Kirin PC chip this year, but so far, there's no word about it from the company. Now, @BeijingDigitalMaster, a Weibo tipster, reports that the rumored ARM-based chip has been delayed to Q1 2025. The tipster didn't share any further details on why the delay happened, but it's likely due to efficiency concerns.
While the Chinese manufacturer made a breakthrough with the 5G-enabled Kirin 9000S last year, that chip and the ones that followed are fabricated using an older manufacturing process. To fill you in, the recently released Mate XT comes with the Kirin 9010, and it is based on a 7 nm process. In comparison, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Dimensity 9400 are built with a 3 nm node.
The Snapdragon X series for PC, on the other hand, is based on a 4 nm process. As you may know, power consumption scales with the size of the transistor. So, the smaller the transistor, the better the efficiency. Huawei's current 7 nm Kirin, for example, is way less efficient than the current-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300.
So, even if the rumored Kirin PC chip trades blows with the Apple M3, it won't be able to offer better battery life if it's being fabricated at 7 nm. SMIC, the semiconductor manufacturer Huawei relies on, was recently reported to be capable of producing 5 nm chips. If this holds true, Huawei may just be waiting for a better yield in the process.
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