Huawei has unexpectedly unveiled the Mate 60 Pro flagship smartphone with Kirin 9000S, IP68, satellite calling and HarmonyOS 4.0 for a price of $960

[LKJ86]

Domestic tech powers latest Huawei phone

The latest smartphone from Huawei's stable, the Mate 60 Pro, does not have 5G written on it. However, those who purchased it after it was launched on Wednesday, claim its download speech exceeds 500Mb per second, which is typically 5G speed.

www.chinadaily.com.cn

Domestic tech powers latest Huawei phone​

By ZHANG ZHOUXIANG | China Daily | Updated: 2023-09-01 06:48

The latest smartphone from Huawei's stable, the Mate 60 Pro, does not have 5G written on it. However, those who purchased it after it was launched on Wednesday, claim its download speech exceeds 500Mb per second, which is typically 5G speed.

The Mate 60 Pro has been making the buzz for some days now. On Sina Weibo, somebody posted a photograph of visiting US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo with the hashtag #Take a photo of Raimondo with Huawei Mate60 Pro#.

Those making the hashtag viral are not acting against Raimondo but instead against the US government, which has, in recent years, made the going tough for Huawei through its tough sanctions against the Chinese company.

Facing the heat of the curbs on the supply of chips for years, Huawei has become like a symbol for Chinese companies fighting injustice in the international sector.

That's why the buzz around Huawei's new range of products is not for the company alone, but rather for Chinese companies as a whole.

When people care to check whether the new model has a 5G processor, they are actually checking whether the Kirin 9000s processor inside, manufactured by HiSilicon of which Huawei is a parent company, has an advanced chip. Given that it does, there is hope that Chinese companies will be able to tide over the US government's sanctions and restrictions on chip supply.

Several professionals have evaluated Mate60 Pro and the Kirin 9000s processor inside. Huawei has not disclosed what kind of chip the new product uses, but even if it has to live under the US government's unreasonable sanctions, support from the Chinese people will ensure its constant growth. After all the Chinese people love Chinese brands and want Made in China to keep getting bigger and better.

 

[LKJ86]

 

[casual]

most likely 7nm SMIC process. Good to see SMIC 7nm process advanced to produce SOC chips. If it's anything else I'd be very surprised.

 

[Song Hong]

Engineer explain.

Most likely not 7nm. There are ways to use 14nm process to achieve 7nm node -- by overlay lithography. The result is likely production cost increase by 5x. Also people may ask will Huawei loss monies. Answer is Huawei may even have profit. IC fabrication opex is crazily cheap while capex and intellectual cost is crazily expensive. Remove capex and intellectual cost, profit margin is 1000%.

Also it may not be SMIC fab but rather Huawei own fab.

If Huawei use SMIC, there is a chance US will sanction SMIC. Note that SMIC still rely of ASML.

Also likely there are government subsidy,

 

[antonius123]

Or 14nm with 3D stack to achieve 5nm performance.

 

[Song Hong]

Using DUV to produce 5nm node, no need EUV. There are many more discussion on this topic.


****

“We underestimated the demand for DUV” – Bits&Chips

bits-chips.nl

Nikon says that for 7nm and 5nm chips, you don’t need EUV, but that still seems to be mostly a marketing message born out of necessity. In theory, the message is true. 7nm and even 5nm details can also be produced if you use multiple immersion exposures for one layer.

 

[BHAN85]

Some more than one decade ago Huawei was almost nothing, today is top.

I think the same will happen to all Chinese brands, sooner or later.

 

[KAL-EL]

Hisense U8H

 

[Song Hong]

Actually USA is interest is under very big threats with Mate 60 -- for a point that many people missed, Mate 60 has satellite comms.

Right now, most people already quite aware that equipments make by Western companies have backdoors that allowed US to spy. Many terrorist got killed by dones for just picking up a handphone call.

The Huawei Mate 60 satellite call allow insurgence to bypass western communication system.

 

[LKJ86]

Has Huawei overcome U.S. sanctions by developing its own 5G chip?

The surprise launch of the latest high-end smartphone from Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) has triggered an international guessing game over what is inside it.

www.reuters.com

Has Huawei overcome U.S. sanctions by developing its own 5G chip?​

Reuters
September 1, 20235:35 PM GMT+8 Updated an hour ago

SHENZHEN, China, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The surprise launch of the latest high-end smartphone from Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) has triggered an international guessing game over what is inside it.

The company, which has been heavily targeted by U.S. government restrictions, began selling its latest Mate 60 Pro for 6,999 yuan ($964) online on Tuesday, raising eyebrows over its decision not to do any prior advertising and prompting widespread speculation over whether it could be 5G capable.

Following is what we know and don't know about the phone, and why it matters.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?​

From 2019, the U.S. cut Huawei's access to chipmaking tools essential for producing the most advanced handset models, with the company only able to sell limited batches of 5G models using stockpiled chips.

The U.S. and some European countries have called Huawei a security risk, which the company denies.

The restrictions devastated the business of a company that once competed with Apple and Samsung to be the world's biggest handset maker, with its consumer business peaking at 483 billion yuan in 2020 before plunging almost by half a year later.

But Huawei has repeatedly said it is fighting back and research firms told Reuters in July they believed it was plotting a return to the 5G smartphone industry by the end of this year, using its own advances in semiconductor design tools along with chipmaking from China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC) (0981.HK).

If Huawei and China were capable of producing their own 5G chips, it would mark a significant advancement in their capabilities and a blow to U.S. efforts to limit its progress.

IS THE MATE PRO 60 A 5G PHONE?​

Huawei has kept mum, only saying that the smartphone is the "most powerful Mate model ever".

Buyers of the phone have been posting tear-down videos and sharing speed tests on social media that suggest the Mate 60 Pro is capable of download speeds exceeding those of top line 5G phones, suggesting it is in a similar playing field.

The phone contains a new Kirin 9000s processor from Huawei's HiSilicon chip division, which appears to use advanced technology from SMIC, according to Dan Hutcheson, an analyst with TechInsights.


If it uses 7+nm or 5nm processes, production would likely be a very expensive process, Hutcheson said.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION?​

The release sent Chinese social media users and state media into a frenzy, while tear-down firms around the world have raced to get their hands on the phone to see what is inside.

An initial batch of the phone quickly sold out online. Huawei's flagship store in the city of Shenzhen and its website say new stocks will only arrive at the earliest by mid-September.

The state-backed tabloid Global Times was triumphant, noting in one of several editorials that the phone had launched as U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was visiting, and calling it proof the U.S. had failed with its "extreme crackdown on China".

State media did not cite any sources or evidence for their assertions.

Social media users were also jubilant, with Huawei searches trending for several days on the Weibo messaging platform and likening it to the mythological Monkey King escaping from under a mountain.

WHAT NEXT?​

Several Huawei staff said the phone's launch had taken them by surprise, with its official release initially scheduled for Sept. 12.

Nicole Peng, senior VP of Mobility at Canalys, has said it would be crucial for Huawei to provide clarification on its technology, given the high level of market interest.

($1 = 7.2628 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen, Mo Yelin in Beijing and Max Cherney in San Francisco; editing by Robert Birsel

 

[LKJ86]

Huawei profits double, as observers hail 'turning point' for firm - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

Huawei profits double, as observers hail 'turning point' for firm
By Global Times
Published: Aug 31, 2023 02:01 AM

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies reported a slight rise in first half revenue compared with the same period last year, but its net profit more than doubled, and market insiders said this represents a turning point for the company amid the ongoing US tech crackdown.

The company said that it generated revenue of 308.29 billion yuan ($42.33 billion), up 3.2 percent year-on-year. Its net profit reached 46.523 billion yuan, surging by 218 percent year-on-year, according to the company's half year report released on Wednesday.

It shows that the company is on an upward trend after it suffered losses for years, and this can be seen as a crucial turning point, Ma Jihua, a Beijing-based senior industry analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Ma attributed the results to a significant push in research and development (R&D) spending, which reached 82.604 billion yuan, an increase of 4.4 percent year-on-year, the report said.

In comparison, it reported a net profit of 35.6 billion yuan for 2022, a slump of 69 percent year-on-year, while revenue inched upward by 0.9 percent to 642.3 billion yuan, a result company executives said was in line with expectations.

Huawei on Tuesday unexpectedly announced the opening of preorders for its high-end Mate 60 smartphone series, which runs on the firm's latest Harmony 4.0 operating system and can access its self-developed Pangu artificial intelligence model.

Most importantly, some have speculated that it's equipped with a domestically made 5G chip, one close follower of Huawei who has already received and tested the new Mate 60 Pro told the Global Times on Wednesday. However, Huawei didn't release any specific details of the Mate 60 chip.

"If the Mate 60 series is equipped with a full package of 5G parts, it means the technology crackdown launched by the US has failed," said Ma.

The US government has shown its eagerness to ruin Huawei by cutting off it from American supplies of tech components.

Washington barred Huawei from buying advanced 5G chips and software from US companies in 2019, which dealt a heavy blow to its high-end smartphone businesses and left it able only to launch limited batches of 5G models using stockpiled chips.

The new Huawei Mate 60 Pro, which has been priced at 6,999 yuan, sold out within an hour on Tuesday, according to the Shanghai Securities News.

Ma noted that after several years of sliding revenue in the smartphone business due to the US crackdown, Huawei's latest products can still generate market interest, with consumers supporting its struggling spirit.

Coincidentally, the Mate 60 series launch came amid the visit to China by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, with the US currently considering new sanctions on Chinese high-tech industries. Some netizens said that the debut is the "best souvenir" for Raimondo, and it's a reminder to the US when it attempts to use tech restrictions as a "bargaining chip."

Global Times

 

[LKJ86]

ASML to ship advanced chip tools to China till year-end

www.chinadaily.com.cn

ASML to ship advanced chip tools to China till year-end​

By Ma Si | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-09-01 10:37

The Dutch semiconductor giant ASML confirmed to China Daily on Friday that it has obtained a license from the Dutch government that allows it to continue shipping certain high-end immersion lithography systems to China this year.

The comments came as the Netherlands' latest chip export control measures took effect on Friday.

ASML said: "We have applied for export licenses to ship our NXT: 2000i plus systems. The Dutch licensing authorities have issued the licenses we need as of September 1 to be able to continue shipments of the NXT:2000i and subsequent systems this year."

"Under the new export control rules, we are able to ship these systems until the end of the year. We can fulfill our contractual obligations to our customers," ASML said.

"As we stated earlier, we do not expect the export control regulation to have a material impact on our 2023 financial outlook or on our longer-term outlook."

The company added: "Our customers are aware of the export control regulations so they know that, as of January 1, 2024, it is unlikely we will receive export licenses for these systems for shipment to domestic Chinese customers."

China's Commerce Ministry spokeswoman Shu Jueting said at a news conference on Thursday that China hopes that all parties, including the Netherlands, will uphold an objective and fair stance, and abide by the spirit of contracts and international rules.

The Chinese government maintains communication and exchange with relevant countries in the field of export control and China hopes that all parties, including the Netherlands, will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, Shu said.

 

[OIO]

Because China-made lithography machines similar to 2000i will be available next year.

 

[casual]

The last American tools to try to trip up Chinese development is being invalidated. Time for china to hit back. I predict rare earth minerals will become much more expensive going forward.

 

[hirobo2]

Betcha this time next year at the Pentagon, they won't be having a secret meeting about how to sanction more Chinese companies but about how they will survive the oncoming onslaught of China counter-sanctions!