The alleged reason why Huawei backed out of Mate 40's chip announcement at IFA
Huawei's smartphone business is in shambles at the moment and that's probably the reason why it made no mention of its newest Kirin chipset during IFA 2020 (via GSM Arena).
New restrictions imposed by the US means Huawei could neither make its own chips nor procure them from vendors like Qualcomm and MediaTek, although the later is trying to seek approval for that.
According to a Chinese outlet, Huawei didn't unveil the SoC because it's embroiled in other pressing matters. Since the Kirin 9000 will apparently be the first chip to be made using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s 5nm process, Huawei could have bragged about it.
But this is clearly no time to show off. Because of a new US ruling, chip manufacturers must ship all existing orders to Huawei before September 15. TSMC is apparently working round the clock to meet the deadline. Apparently, Huawei is not so sure if TSMC will make it.
Per an earlier report, some suppliers could even ship half-finished, untested components just to honor the deadline.
The US has a stranglehold on almost the entire industry, which is why everyone from chipmakers to camera lens suppliers must abide by the new ban. Huawei is currently stockpiling crucial equipment, but sooner or later, its supplies will run out and if things deteriorate further, it could exit the smartphone market, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
We might see the new Kirin chip this week
This is the first time in years that Huawei didn't unveil a new chip during the trade show and is all the more indication that it is in serious trouble.
That said, it could be that the company is instead planning to announce its new chip during the upcoming Developer Conference that will kick off on September 10. It will also introduce the second version of Harmony OS during the conference. The company also plans on releasing the first phone running its own operating system next year.
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