Huawei’s Kirin 985 chipset could use Extreme Ultraviolet tech
With almost every new generation of chipsets, we’re seeing manufacturers building these components on smaller and smaller processes, where right now 7nm seems to be the way to go. It is expected that we should be able to expect to see chipsets being built on the 5nm process in the near future, but in the meantime, Huawei could offer up an alternative.
According to reports, Huawei is expected to launch an update to its Kirin 980 chipset later this year in the form of the Kirin 985. Its naming scheme suggests that this won’t be a huge change and it will continue to be built on the 7nm process, but it will also be using TSMC’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology.
To the average user this might not mean anything, but in a nutshell, the idea of making chipsets using a smaller process means that you’re increasing the density of the transistors. The theory is that the shorter the distance between the transistors, the faster and more efficient it can be. This, in turn, translates to smartphones that are faster and are more energy efficient.
While not exactly the same as the 5nm process, EUV is said to allow for up to 20% higher transistor density which could also improve the power efficiency of roughly 10%. We’re not sure if this is something that can be felt by the end user, but on paper, it sounds promising. As we said, there is a good chance that the Kirin 985 could find its way into the Mate 30 series later in the year.
The upcoming Huawei P30 series, which is due to be announced next week, has been rumored to use the Kirin 980 chipset.
Source: GizmoChina (via Android Headlines)