[News] Huawei’s Kirin X90 Spotted in State Report, Expected to Power AI PC with HarmonyOS

According to a Tom’s Hardware report, a Chinese government assessment on CPU reliability and security has revealed the HiSilicon Kirin X90, a previously unannounced system-on-chip (SoC). Developed by HiSilicon, Huawei’s wholly owned semiconductor subsidiary, this chip is reportedly intended for Huawei’s upcoming AI-powered PCs, as the report indicates.

The report highlights that Huawei is preparing to launch a new AI PC powered by HarmonyOS in April, suggesting the Kirin X90 could play a key role in the company’s PC ambitions. The chip is expected to serve as the successor to the aging Kunpeng 920 architecture, which was first introduced in 2019, as indicated by the report.

While specific details regarding the chip’s process technology, specifications, and intended applications remain undisclosed, the report indicates that the Kirin X90 is likely fabricated using SMIC’s 7nm process.

As noted by a report from Wccftech, since Huawei is largely limited to using SMIC’s 7nm process, the Kirin X90 may not match the performance levels of Apple’s latest M4 series or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus.

Meanwhile, the chip is expected to incorporate Taishan V120 cores based on either the Armv8 or Armv9 architecture—both of which are not subject to US trade restrictions.

Kirin SoCs are mainly utilized in Huawei’s mobile devices and have taken on a crucial role in China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency following the implementation of U.S. sanctions. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, the Kirin 9000S, Kirin 9000S1, and Kirin 9010 are Huawei’s first domestically developed chips, manufactured using SMIC’s 7nm process and featuring custom Arm-based Taishan cores.

Notably, the Kirin 9020, which powers Huawei’s Mate 70 series, is built on the Taishan V120 architecture and, as the report points out, achieves Geekbench single-core performance on par with AMD’s Zen 3 cores.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)