Huawei confirms Kirin 9020 chip details after five-year gap

Huawei has confirmed that its new Pura 80 smartphones use the Kirin 9020 system-on-a-chip, the first official disclosure of its processor details in about five years.

The Kirin 9020 was designed by HiSilicon, Huawei’s semiconductor design subsidiary, and also powers the Mate 70 series.

Previously, information on processors in Huawei’s recent 5G handsets, including the Mate 60 Pro, was only available through third-party teardowns, with no official statements from the Shenzhen-based company.

Screenshots posted online by Pura 80 users after a system update displayed the chipset’s name.

According to a December 2024 report by TechInsights, the Kirin 9020 was manufactured by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) using a 7-nanometre process.

Huawei continues to face US technology restrictions, which have limited its access to advanced chipmaking equipment.

🔗 Source: SCMP

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Huawei shifts from chip secrecy to strategic transparency

Huawei’s decision to publicly reveal the Kirin 9020 chip name marks a dramatic shift from years of deliberate secrecy around its semiconductor capabilities.

For the past five years, information about Huawei’s smartphone processors was only discovered through third-party teardown analyses, with no official confirmation from the company1.

Now Huawei prominently displays the Kirin 9020 name in system screenshots shared by users, signaling newfound confidence in its chip design capabilities despite ongoing US sanctions.

This transparency contrasts with Huawei’s previous approach of keeping processor details hidden, even as the company continued developing advanced chips like the Kirin 980, which featured 6.9 billion transistors and delivered a 75% performance increase over predecessors2.

The strategic shift suggests Huawei now views its chip capabilities as a competitive advantage worth highlighting rather than a vulnerability to conceal.

2️⃣ Chinese semiconductor ecosystem demonstrates manufacturing alternatives

The Kirin 9020’s production through SMIC using 7-nanometer technology shows how Chinese companies have developed domestic alternatives to traditional Western semiconductor supply chains.