The telecom giant Huawei Technology is all set to launch its first advanced chip loaded with artificial intelligence features such as instant image recognition to take on rivals Samsung and Apple.
Dubbed as Kirin 970, this powerful chip is powered by an 8-core CPU and a new generation 12-core GPU and will be available in company’s upcoming flagship Mate 10 and other high-end phones to deliver faster processing and lower power consumption. The chip makes use of Huawei’s first mobile AI computing platform featuring a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). In addition, the company claims that the chip will preserve battery life on phones by up to 50 percent. Huawei will launch the Mate 10 and its sister phone, the Mate 10 Pro, in Munich on October 16.
Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business, believes the new Kirin 970 chip’s speed and low power can translate into features that will give its phones an edge over the Apple iPhone 8 series, set to be unveiled on September 12, and Samsung’s range of top-line phones announced this year. Huawei is the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple.
The 970 chip brings together classic computing, graphics, image and digital signal processing power that have typically required separate chips, taking up more space and slowing interaction between features within phones. The chip is manufactured by using the most advanced 10 nanometer production lines of contract manufacturer TSMC while the designing part is done by Huawei’s HiSilicon chip design business.
