HUAWEI Technologies’s latest smartphones carry a version of the advanced made-in-China processor it revealed last year, independent analysis revealed, underscoring the Chinese company’s ability to sustain production of the controversial chip.

The Pura 70 series Huawei unveiled last week sports the Kirin 9010 processor, consultancy TechInsights found in a teardown of the device. That’s a newer version of the Kirin 9000s made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) for the Mate 60 Pro, which alarmed officials in Washington who thought a 7 nanometre (nm) chip beyond China’s capabilities.

Huawei has enjoyed a resurgence since the Mate’s August debut, riding a wave of celebration around its ability to realise sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing despite escalating US technology export curbs. US officials are now weighing additional sanctions intended to ringfence the company and China’s semiconductor ambitions more broadly.

TechInsights, which was the first to identify the original 9000s in conjunction with Bloomberg News, said it found “with high confidence” that the Pura contained a Huawei Kirin 9010 fabricated using SMIC’s so-called 7nm N+2 process, an enhanced version of typical 7nm manufacturing.

Formerly known as the P series, the Pura line has traditionally sold on the strength of their camera capabilities. Giving domestic users a fresh option could apply further pressure on the iPhone, which is not due for an upgrade until September.

For Huawei, it’s another step towards rebuilding a consumer business devastated by Trump-era sanctions. The company was roughly on par with Apple in terms of Chinese market share in the first quarter, underscoring the way it’s eroded the iPhone maker’s domestic market share in past months. BLOOMBERG

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