Pura 70, Huawei’s latest high-end smartphone, uses more Chinese components, including a more modern processor than the Mate 60 Pro.
Device dissection company iFixit and consulting firm TechSearch International “dissected” Huawei’s Pura P70 for Reuters news agency. They discovered a NAND memory chip (1TB capacity) that could be a product of HiSilicon’s internal chip division along with a number of other Chinese-made components.
Huawei’s resurgence in the high-end smartphone market after four years of US sanctions is being closely watched by both rivals and US politicians, as it has become a symbol of the growing trade conflicts between The US and China and China’s efforts for technological autonomy.
Two important components in Huawei Pura 70. Photo: Reuters
The two companies mentioned above also discovered that the Pura 70 phone runs on an advanced processing chipset manufactured by Huawei called Kirin 9010, which is a slightly improved version of the chip used in last year’s Mate 60 series.
“Although we cannot provide an exact percentage, we believe that the use of domestic components is definitely higher than Mate 60,” commented Shahram Mokhtari, chief technician at iFixit.
Huawei launched four Pura 70 models at the end of April and quickly sold out. Analysts predict it will likely take more market share from Apple, while policymakers in Washington are questioning the effectiveness of restrictions on the Chinese tech giant. Quoc.
Previous analysis of the Mate 60 by companies like TechInsights showed that the device uses DRAM and NAND memory chips manufactured by SK Hynix of Korea. At that time, SK Hynix confirmed that it was no longer doing business with Huawei, and analysts pointed out that Huawei could take from the reserve.
The Pura 70 still contains DRAM chips manufactured by SK Hynix, but the NAND flash memory chips are likely packaged by HiSilicon and made up of 1-terabit capacity NAND dies. It is comparable to products produced by major brands such as SK Hynix, Kioxia and Micron.
However, the companies were unable to identify the wafer manufacturer because the markings on the NAND die were unfamiliar. However, iFixit believes that HiSilicon may have also produced the memory controller.
“Our chip ID experts have identified it as a specific HiSilicon chip,” Mokhtari said.
SK Hynix reiterated them “strictly adhered to relevant policies since the restrictions on Huawei were announced and have also suspended all transactions with the company since then.”
Analysis of the 9010 processor in the Pura 70 shows that Huawei may have made only a few minor improvements compared to the processor in the Mate 60. China’s largest foundry – SMIC – is said to have produced chips for Huawei to use. Using 7nm N+2 process. The fact that the 9010 chip is still a 7nm chip suggests that China’s technological progress has slowed down.
However, iFixit warns against underestimating Huawei, and SMIC is still expected to jump to the 5nm production node before the end of the year.
In addition, Pura 70 also uses a number of other important components designed by HiSilicon such as Wi-Fi modules, Bluetooth and power management chips. Components such as audio amplifiers and LED flash drivers come from domestic suppliers such as Goodix, Awinic. The battery charger is from Richtek (Taiwan, China), the motion and rotation sensors are from Bosch (Germany).
(Theo Reuters)