Kirin 990 SoC To Debut Early Next Year With 5G Modem

The Kirin 980 was unveiled by Huawei earlier this year. It is the only Android Chipset made using the 7nm manufacturing process in the market right now. The chipset is seen on the flagship devices like the Mate 20 series and the Honor Magic 2. Now, new reports suggest that a successor to the processor is set to launch soon, named the Kirin 990. The Kirin 990 will most probably have the same 7nm manufacturing process as the 980. But will have 5G support as well.

What’s New

While the manufacturing process remains the same, this does not mean that the 990 can’t be any better than the 980. Sources say that the Kirin 990 will consume upto 10% lesser battery and offer more than 10% improvements in performance. The chipset is reportedly under testing already and the company will make it official in Q1 of 2019. 

In terms of 5G connectivity, the chipset might arrive with the Balong 5000 modem. 5G is the next big thing in the smartphone industry with almost all major manufacturers rushing towards it. Xiaomi and OnePlus have already announced their 5G compatible phones which will be out next year. Other manufacturers are also jumping on to the bandwagon with Qualcomm already having developed modems for the same. However, Apple only plans to launch 5G devices in 2020. As they are waiting for the proper infrastructure for the same to be developed soon.

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Additionally, other industry sources claim that the testing of the Kirin 990 chipset is already under way. According to them, the cost of testing the chipset is also very high, with each test costing around 200 million Yuan. While the chipset maybe announced soon, it is highly unlikely that it will enter production at the time. The Kirin 980 was recently announced and has made its way to only a handful of phones. Huawei will make sure that the Kirin 980 is present in a good number of devices, before pushing out the Kirin 990.