The news comes after the excitement surrounding Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which is equipped with a 7nm chip manufactured by China’s SMIC. This success cast doubt on the effectiveness of US sanctions and made Chinese technologists proud. However, disassembling the L540 paints a different picture.
Instead of SMIC’s achievements, the Kirin 9006C processor in the L540 marks the company’s pre-sanction inventory. Experts estimate that Huawei acquired these chips before cutting ties with TSMC in 2020 due to US pressure.
While the use of older chips does not diminish Huawei’s goal of achieving independence in chip production, it does highlight the challenges it faces. 5nm technology is already considered quite old; the industry is now focused on even smaller 3nm. To become a truly independent player, Huawei needs to fill this gap.
The company is pouring resources into chip research and internal partnerships with government support, but the road ahead remains challenging.
Source: Ferra
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