Second-gen 7nm chipset being developed by Huawei, 5G modem and improved performance on board

Kirin 980, the first 7nm chipset on Android, only recently premiered on the members of Huawei's Mate 20 lineup. With this feat, Huawei effectively produced the fastest Android phones of 2018, and if the latest report from China is anything to go by, the tech giant is already working to preserve its lead for next year.

According to CNMO, a successor to the Kirin 980 is already in the works. Citing unnamed industry chain sources, the publication states that Huawei is developing the aptly-called Kirin 990 in collaboration with TSMC - the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry. Using TSMC's second-generation 7nm process, the new SoC will supposedly feature a performance increase of 10% while simultaneously consuming 10% less power than its predecessor. Furthermore, the Kirin 990 will also come equipped with Huawei's first 5G modem, allowing for ultra-fast download speeds and lower latency (if a 5G network is available, of course).

Production of the new chip is expected to begin in Q1 2019, which means that there's a chance of it powering Huawei's next P-series flagships. The Kirin 990 will compete with Qualcomm's next 800-series chip, who will also be built on a 7nm process. Still, keep in mind that this information is unofficial and should be taken with a grain of salt. In any case, more details about the emergence of this chipset should come out soon, so stay tuned for more news.