Huawei's chip development history
After several years of slump, Huawei has finally re-emerged in the chip field as a strong competitor to the global tech giants. All of this is thanks to Huawei's unremitting efforts in independent innovation. As a leader in China's technology industry, Huawei understands the importance of mastering core technologies, so it has been increasing R&D investment, especially in the field of chips.
In 2019, Huawei was sanctioned by the U.S. government and placed on the "Entity List," which prohibits the purchase of U.S. technology and chips. This is undoubtedly a heavy blow, but it has also prompted Huawei to accelerate the pace of independent research and development. After several years of hard work, Huawei has finally made a breakthrough in the field of chips and developed the Kirin series of mobile chips with excellent performance.
The Kirin chip uses 7nm and 5nm process technology to support 5G networks, and performs well in terms of performance, power consumption, and communication technology. The latest chip ladder diagram for 2024 shows that Huawei's Kirin 9300 processor has ranked among the top ranks of Android flagship chips, tied with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen3. This marks Huawei's return to the pinnacle of mobile phone chips after being sanctioned.
In addition to mobile chips, Huawei has also increased investment in computing chips, operating systems, and other fields. HarmonyOS has been applied to mobile phones, tablets, smart homes, and other fields, laying the foundation for Huawei to build a software and hardware ecosystem. Huawei has also developed Ascend AI processors and titanium core server chips to meet the computing power requirements of different scenarios.
Through years of independent innovation, Huawei has initially built a complete ecosystem of chips, operating systems, and devices, laying a solid foundation for future development.
The Challenge
Despite the phased results, Huawei's path in the chip field is still full of thorns. Supply chain shortcomings. Due to U.S. sanctions, Huawei still faces difficulties in chip manufacturing and is unable to obtain advanced process technology and equipment. This seriously restricts the room for improvement in the performance of Huawei's chips.
The pressure of technological innovation. The semiconductor industry is entering a new stage of development, and the competition will be more fierce in the future. To remain competitive, Huawei needs to innovate in advanced process technology, architecture design, software algorithms, and other fields.
Huawei also needs to accelerate the construction of a complete software and hardware ecosystem. Although the HarmonyOS and Kirin chips have laid the foundation, Huawei's ecosystem is still thin compared to ecosystems such as Android, iOS, and Windows. Attracting more developers and app vendors is a huge challenge.
Geopolitical factors have also created uncertainty for Huawei. The U.S. government's sanctions on Huawei are difficult to relax in the short term, and may be increased in the future. Huawei needs to be prepared to withstand pressure for the long term.
future
In the face of many challenges, Huawei must continue to increase its efforts in independent innovation in the future. It is necessary to further increase investment in chip research and development, especially in advanced process technology and architecture design. Only by mastering the most advanced chip technology can Huawei compete with international giants in terms of performance and power consumption.
Huawei needs to accelerate the pace of domestic substitution and build a complete industrial chain. From chip design to manufacturing, from materials to equipment, it is necessary to achieve localization and reduce dependence on foreign countries. This is not only about Huawei's own development, but also the top priority to support the development of China's technology industry.
Huawei also needs to build a sound software and hardware ecosystem. In addition to the HarmonyOS operating system, it is also necessary to expand the ecosystem in many fields such as office software, games, and videos to attract more partners to join. Only by building a strong ecosystem can Huawei truly achieve autonomy and control.
Geopolitical factors also need to be taken seriously. Huawei should strengthen cooperation with countries around the world, expand overseas markets, and avoid over-reliance on a single market. At the same time, it is also necessary to prepare for a long-term response to sanctions and ensure the security of supply chains.