Huawei‘s upcoming Mate 70 series phones are expected to be powered by Kirin 9100 chip. A previous report suggests that this chip might outperform Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of performance. Now, it looks like the SoC price will also be similar to Snapdragon processors.
According to a tipster on China’s Weibo platform, the Kirin 9100 could cost manufacturers around 1100 yuan to 1300 yuan (roughly $157 to $186). While verifying component costs is notoriously difficult – chip manufacturers rarely share such details – this leak suggests the Kirin 9100 might fall within the same price range as upcoming flagship processors from Qualcomm and MediaTek.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is reportedly priced at $190 for phone makers, while MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 sits at a slightly lower $155. If the Kirin 9100 rumor holds true, it aligns closely with these competitors in terms of cost.
Kirin 9100: What we know so far
A previous report suggests that Huawei is planning to use a “domestically developed n+2/3 process” to manufacture its next Kirin chip, which translates to a 5nm node. The chip will be produced using Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography with multiple patterning.
China-based chipmaker SMIC is reportedly developing a 5nm process using DUV lithography and is expected to manufacture Huawei’s next-gen Kirin 9100 chip.
However, a report from July also suggests the company is facing yield and production cost issues with 5nm DUV lithography, so the Kirin 9100 could still be a 7nm chip.
Even if SMIC successfully achieves a decent yield from its 5nm process, it will not still match the leading-edge EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography used by TSMC and Samsung.
As a result, it would be hard for the Kirin 9100 to match the performance or efficiency of the latest offering from Qualcomm or MediaTek. However, as mentioned earlier, its performance will reportedly be on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
(Source)
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