Huawei Kirin 980 Processor More Details: TSMC 7nm with Cambricon AI

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

Huawei Kirin 980 Processor More Details: TSMC 7nm with Cambricon AI chip

2018/5/9 08:36

Huawei will launch the Mate 20 mobile phone in the second half of this year, equipped with the latest Kirin 980 chip. Although it is still a long way from the Huawei Mate 20 mobile phone, some interesting information about the Kirin 980 processor has now been exposed.

IT Home reports that the Kirin 980 processor is the successor to the Kirin 970, which was used by Huawei for the Mate 10 mobile phone last year and the Huawei P20 series phone this year. Now the China Taiwan Electronic Times News said that Kirin 980 will still be manufactured by TSMC.

It is reported that the upcoming Kirin 980 chip will also use Cambricon (寒武纪 In Chinese) processor IP, Cambrian recently launched the 1M series chip is the company's new generation of TSMC 7nm process technology AI chip, according to rumor, previously Samsung is considered to be the founder of these 7nm chips.

The chips based on the 7nm process will be ready in the second half of 2018. Huawei will use the Kirin 980 in the Mate 20 flagship mobile phone. Industry news said that Kirin 980 chip has begun mass production this quarter.

In addition to upgrading the 7nm process, the Kirin 980 processor will also integrate a new generation of the Cambrian AI core, which is 10 times more powerful than previous generations.

In September last year, Huawei released the Kirin 970 processor and integrated an independent NPU (Neural Network Unit). Later, it was pointed out by the industry that it was the core of the customized Cambrian 1A.

The official said this NPU uses an innovative design HiAI mobile computing architecture, and its AI performance density is significantly better than the CPU and GPU - the data shows that the Cambrian 1A NPU has a floating point performance of up to 1.92TFLOPS.

Compared to the four Cortex-A73 cores, when Huawei NPUs handle the same AI application tasks, the new heterogeneous computing architecture has about 50 times the energy efficiency and 25 times the performance advantage, and the image recognition speed can reach 2000 sheets per minute.

However, compared to the iPhone X's "neural engine can perform 600 billion operations per second", it is still in the case of being suspended. Therefore, Kirin980 may use the 1M AI core of the Cambrian third-generation product to greatly enhance AI performance.

According to previous news, the Cambrian 1M is expected to use the TSMC 7nm process, and the 8-bit computing (FP8) operation energy efficiency can reach 5 Tops/W (5 trillion times per watt), and the performance can be more than 10 times that of the previous generation.

The Cambrian company will also provide 2T/4T/8T (8 Thread, up to 8 threads should be server-oriented) with three different specifications of the NPU core, but it is unclear which scheme the Huawei Unicorn 980 will use.

According to Huawei's product launch strategy, Kirin980 should be released in the second half of 2018, first for Mate 11 series phones, and later for glory V20 (the previous generation was V10) models.

Http://www.c114.com.cn ( 2018/5/9 08:36 )

 

[war&peace]

And there is not an iota of information about the processor other than it is successor to 970...what a crap of news is this.

 

[xunzi]

LOL I already knew it but I won't tell you why. Let say I have inside information on Huawei better than anyone on this board.

@jhungary As I already told you, the benchmark on Kirin 980 ain't no joke and you will see the world first 7nm coming out this year.

 

[jhungary]

LOL I already knew it but I won't tell you why. Let say I have inside information on Huawei better than anyone on this board.

@jhungary As I already told you, the benchmark on Kirin 980 ain't no joke and you will see the world first 7nm coming out this year.

So? That doesn't mean anything.

Kirin 980 is not the TSMC 7nm exclusive, if and when TSMC push forward their 7nm processor date, they will supply to all their launch customer, not only Kirin.

This is not a Huawei Issue (because they don't manufacture 7nm processor) this is a TSMC issue.

Beside, what I said is still hold, if and when there is an engineer sample already (Which is a big question mark as this is everybody guess) Would Huawei employee stupid enough to bench it, and even stupider enough to post the score on an internet forum so everyone can see? Either that score is fake or they do have a 7nm fab and bench it, and believe you me, you would want to be the first case. Chip maker don't like their engineer sample to be bench so competitor knows what ball-park figure they are looking at. That would mean serious repercussion for Huawei if that Mate-20 bench is legit.

And I have insider information on both Qualcomm and TSMC, believe it or not.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

In September last year, Huawei released the Kirin 970 processor and integrated an independent NPU (Neural Network Unit). Later, it was pointed out by the industry that it was the core of the customized Cambrian 1A.

Kirin 980 is manufactured by TSMC and uses the Cambricon processor IP. It is an AI chip with 7nm process technology.

According to the exposure, Kirin 980 will integrate ARM's latest A77 core architecture, still eight cores, four A77+4 A55s, with a maximum clock speed of 2.8GHz; on the GPU side, the performance is about 1.5 times that of Adreno 630. In artificial intelligence NPU, upgrading to the Cambrian second-generation AI processor, in addition to its own performance improvement, can also cooperate with the GPU, pre-provisioning resources, to achieve the highest 3 times the graphics performance. In addition, there is also the baseband on the handle, integrating the 4.5G baseband balong 765 released at the beginning of the year, supporting cat19, and a maximum download speed of 1.6Gbps.

According to the news, Kirin980 has entered the mass production phase and is expected to debut in the second half of this year.

 

[xunzi]

So? That doesn't mean anything.

Kirin 980 is not the TSMC 7nm exclusive, if and when TSMC push forward their 7nm processor date, they will supply to all their launch customer, not only Kirin.

This is not a Huawei Issue (because they don't manufacture 7nm processor) this is a TSMC issue.

Beside, what I said is still hold, if and when there is an engineer sample already (Which is a big question mark as this is everybody guess) Would Huawei employee stupid enough to bench it, and even stupider enough to post the score on an internet forum so everyone can see? Either that score is fake or they do have a 7nm fab and bench it, and believe you me, you would want to be the first case. Chip maker don't like their engineer sample to be bench so competitor knows what ball-park figure they are looking at. That would mean serious repercussion for Huawei if that Mate-20 bench is legit.

And I have insider information on both Qualcomm and TSMC, believe it or not.

I have told you before that I know about Huawei products more than anyone you can imagine. Let me just say I have friends who work directly with the Kirin chipset.

You been doubting Huawei ability to produce the world 1st 7nm chip this year and will be proven wrong again and again. As I said before, there are many things we do to test a product and allow a sample to get benchmark for lab experiment and twist before introducing commercially. This can easily be a case of a soft leak to garner public excitement but at the same time keeping quiet to keep with the legality and marketing sale. I won't spill too much info and bean now. LOL

 

[Beast]

I have told you before that I know about Huawei products more than anyone you can imagine. Let me just say I have friends who work directly with the Kirin chipset.

You been doubting Huawei ability to produce the world 1st 7nm chip this year and will be proven wrong again and again. As I said before, there are many things we do to test a product and allow a sample to get benchmark for lab experiment and twist before introducing commercially. This can easily be a case of a soft leak to garner public excitement but at the same time keeping quiet to keep with the legality and marketing sale. I won't spill too much info and bean now. LOL

Loser and sourgrape will always be sourgrape and loser. They will find 1000 excuses to prove they are mentally win but in reality, they are bad loser in real facts

 

[jhungary]

I have told you before that I know about Huawei products more than anyone you can imagine. Let me just say I have friends who work directly with the Kirin chipset.

You been doubting Huawei ability to produce the world 1st 7nm chip this year and will be proven wrong again and again. As I said before, there are many things we do to test a product and allow a sample to get benchmark for lab experiment and twist before introducing commercially. This can easily be a case of a soft leak to garner public excitement but at the same time keeping quiet to keep with the legality and marketing sale. I won't spill too much info and bean now. LOL

First, You do know Huawei did not produce 7nm chips, right? That chip is build by TSMC...…….which Huawei is using it to build Kirin CPU as an OEM....

And no. if you are in the field, you would know no 2 bits technician will get their supposedly top secret next gen chip and bench it, let alone leak it. If Huawei actually did that, that is too dumb and stupid to operate on. As I said, let see if TSMC push forward the release date of their 7nm, if not, it's a moot point.

 

[Huan]

Details: TSMC 7nm with Cambricon AI chip
Now the China Taiwan Electronic Times News said that Kirin 980 will still be manufactured by TSMC.

Http://www.c114.com.cn ( 2018/5/9 08:36 )

So, when can mainland China actually start producing 7-nm or 5-nm chips on its own before relying on Taiwan for too long? Any contingencies if Taiwan one day decides to impose an embargo on these exclusive chips to China?

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

So, when can mainland China actually start producing 7-nm or 5-nm chips on its own before relying on Taiwan for too long? Any contingencies if Taiwan one day decides to impose an embargo on these exclusive chips to China?

When we reunited Taiwan province,it would be natural enough!Yankees!

 

[Beast]

So, when can mainland China actually start producing 7-nm or 5-nm chips on its own before relying on Taiwan for too long? Any contingencies if Taiwan one day decides to impose an embargo on these exclusive chips to China?

You think Taiwan dare to impose embargo on mainland China? Taiwan depend on large number of export from China. Chances of TSMC restricted export the China is as good as zero.

 

[cirr]

Huawei smartphone sales surge in Europe as Apple and Samsung stumble

CHRIS O'BRIEN@OBRIEN MAY 9, 2018 4:14 AM

Above: Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, speaks in Paris at the launch of the company's new flagship phones.

Image Credit: VentureBeat/Chris O'Brien

If Europe is any indication, Apple and Samsung might be in trouble should the major Chinese smartphone brands ever get a significant foothold in the U.S. market.

According to a new report from market research firm Canalys, China’s Huawei saw sales of its smartphones in Europe grow 38.6 percent to 7.4 million units in the first quarter of 2018, a big jump compared to the same period a year ago.

It’s an impressive gain, given that the overall smartphone market in Europe declined 6.3 percent in Q1, the firm reported. And those Huawei figures don’t include the impact of the new P20 and P20 Pro that the company announced in a splashy ceremony held in Paris at the end of March.

During the same period, Samsung shipped 15 million smartphones in Europe, a drop of 15 percent from Q1 2017. Apple shipped 10 million iPhones, a drop of 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to Canalys, which also noted that the iPhone X remained the single best-selling phone in Europe.

While Apple continues to post record revenues thanks to its higher-priced phones, like the iPhone X, its unit sales have been relatively flat over the past three years. Meanwhile, Samsung debuted its new Galaxy S9 flagship series in late February but has been gradually letting go of the lower-end market in search of more profitability.



But Huawei’s surge here is notable given that the company only significantly entered the European market three years ago. To a lesser degree, China’s Xiaomi is also making inroads in Europe, but it is still relatively new to the market.

European carriers seem perfectly comfortable partnering with the Chinese giants, whereas U.S. carriers have so far refused to strike such deals — thanks to political concerns that Huawei’s and Xiaomi’s relationship to China’s government could make their products a security risk.

This means that — for the moment — Apple and Samsung remain largely shielded from competing with the two Chinese brands in the U.S. Consumers in the U.S. can purchase Huawei and Xiaomi phones online at full price, but the companies don’t benefit from the marketing muscle of telecom partners or the subsidies they offer new customers.

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/09/...surge-in-europe-as-apple-and-samsung-stumble/

 

[TaiShang]

Huawei right now has the best phone available in the market. They look like are enjoying the ride

 

[cirr]

Huawei right now has the best phone available in the market. They look like are enjoying the ride

Sterling performance, especially in consideration of Huawei being denied the US market for stupid political reasons.

 

[Huan]

You think Taiwan dare to impose embargo on mainland China? Taiwan depend on large number of export from China. Chances of TSMC restricted export the China is as good as zero.

With Taiwan under the crazy DPP leadership, I would not count it out just yet. President Tsai might become more paranoid over time as China gets even stronger.