Huawei has officially launched its Pura 80 series, but under the hood, it still runs on the 7nm Kirin 9020 chip-first seen in last year’s Mate 70 lineup.
Despite rumors of an impending 5nm leap, don’t expect to see any devices with that tech this year or even in 2025.
The current Kirin 9020 is built using SMIC’s N+2 process, a refined version of 7nm manufacturing. While it’s a notable achievement considering the heavy sanctions Huawei faces, the company seems to have hit a technological wall. Sources suggest that while a 5nm Kirin chip is in development, mass production won’t happen anytime soon due to severe limitations in China’s chipmaking infrastructure.
SMIC, China’s largest semiconductor foundry, has reportedly made strides with 5nm manufacturing using deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography. However, without access to the far more efficient extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines-blocked by U.S. export restrictions-the path forward remains rocky. Multi-patterning with DUV can achieve similar results, but it’s slower, more expensive, and prone to errors due to the high number of masks and complexity involved.
To address the equipment gap, China has been developing its own EUV systems, with pilot runs possibly starting as early as Q3 2025. If successful, Huawei and other local tech giants could significantly reduce their dependence on Western technologies. Still, even with homegrown equipment, there are more pieces to the puzzle-like EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools. These are critical for designing chips and have also been restricted by recent U.S. policies.
Despite these roadblocks, Huawei has made progress in EDA for older nodes and managed to support the 7nm Kirin 9020. Whether this same groundwork can be used for future 5nm designs remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that commercial 5nm Huawei phones won’t be on shelves this year or next. The industry now looks to 2026, when the next true leap in Huawei’s chip journey might finally arrive.