Huawei Kirin 985 SoC To Debut In The Second Half Of 2019
Huawei, the second largest smartphone OEM in the world, announced the Kirin 980 mobile processor for use in its flagship smartphones last year. It was the successor to the Kirin 970 and was manufactured on a new, 7nm fabrication process which boasts of increased performance and efficiency. The SoC has since made its way in a number of devices including the Mate 20 Pro and the latest P30 Pro launched last month. According to a fresh report by a Chinese news source, Huawei is working on a successor to the Kirin 980 which will be called the Kirin 985 and will be announced in the third quarter of this year.
Kirin 985 SoC
Kirin 980
According to reports, the upcoming Kirin 985 SoC will not be a significant upgrade over the last generation like its predecessor. It will, however, focus on refining the overall experience and improving the performance and battery life of smartphones featuring it. Like the Kirin 980, it will be featured in Huawei’s and Honor’s flagship smartphones and will be manufactured on a 7nm fabrication process. It will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Noteworthy, TSMC also produces mobile chipsets for use in Apple’s iPhones and iPads.
P30 Pro
The upcoming Kirin 985 SoC will reportedly be manufactured using the FlipChip Package on Package (FC- PoP) method. This method of mobile chipset production allows the vertical stacking of transistors, which will increase its density. Because of the change in the manufacturing process, the performance is touted to increase by up to 20 percent.
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It is also reported the new mobile processor from Huawei will have a 5G modem inbuilt, which insinuates all future smartphones featuring the chipset will have support for 5G networks. The company will start the mass production of the Kirin 980 in the third quarter of this year. The chipset is expected to first feature in the next device in the Huawei Mate series, presumably called the Mate 30.
