BERLIN: Huawei has introduced its most advanced chipset ever, ahead of the coming launch of a new flagship smartphone, even as uncertainty hangs over whether the device can use the Android operating system.
Richard Yu, CEO for consumer business at the Chinese technology giant, showed off the Kirin 990 chipset at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin on Friday.
Optimised for new 5G networks and packing 10.3 billion transistors into its fingernail size, the Kirin 990 will be the brain powering the Mate 30 phone.
Huawei, the world’s second-largest smartphone maker, plans a global launch for the phone in Munich on Sept 19.
But with the US-China trade war raging, it’s unclear whether the device can use the Android operating system from Google. Sanctions bar US companies from selling technology to Huawei without US government approval, though there are 90-day exemptions for a narrow list of products and services.
Yu revealed little about the Mate 30 as he showcased the company’s other products. He touted the new chip’s lower energy use and superfast 5G download speed.
“This is the latest semiconductor technology,” he said.
Huawei has developed its Kirin line of chips to power some of its phones and reduce reliance on US-based Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and other foreign suppliers. It has also built its own operating system, Hongmeng, though executives have said they hope to be able to keep using Android.
The US and China are locked in tech and economic rivalry, with Washington pressuring allies to ban Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of telecom gear, from new 5G networks.
Beijing on Friday lambasted the US opposition to Huawei after Vice President Mike Pence this week called on Iceland and other governments to find alternatives.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused American leaders of “abusing the concept of national security” to block Chinese commercial activity.
