Huawei unveils Mate 90 series with redesigned chip architecture

Huawei Mate 90 Launch and Chip Constraints

Speaking to reporters ahead of the launch, Huawei consumer business chief Richard Yu acknowledged that the company still faces tight supply constraints for advanced processors. “Advanced semiconductor capacity remains very limited in China, and Huawei’s Ascend AI chips also draw on that same capacity,” Yu said on Tuesday, adding that smartphone chip capacity remains strained despite rising device prices curbing overall shipment volumes.

The new Mate 90 lineup succeeds the Mate 80 series launched in November 2025. Premium models, including the Mate 90 Pro Max, run on Huawei’s Kirin 9050 Pro. This system-on-chip utilizes a manufacturing technique called “LogicFolding,” which restructures internal wiring in three dimensions rather than a conventional flat layout to achieve denser and faster processing, though it requires more wafers to produce.

While Huawei did not disclose the manufacturer of the Kirin 9050 Pro, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, known as SMIC, is widely believed to produce the chips for the Mate series and Ascend AI processors. SMIC did not respond to a request for comment. Yu noted that China’s advanced chipmaking still relies on deep ultraviolet lithography machines, with extreme ultraviolet technology remaining a future goal for domestic manufacturers.

Pricing Strategy and Market Shipments

Rising memory and component costs have driven Chinese smartphone makers to increase prices and shift shipments toward premium models. Yu reported that rising memory prices added an average of $200 to the cost of each handset, impacting Huawei’s profit margins and forcing price hikes at a slower pace. The Mate 90 Pro Max featuring 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage is priced at 9,999 yuan ($1,491), marking an increase of 2,000 yuan over its predecessor at launch, while standard and Pro models start at 5,999 yuan and 6,999 yuan respectively. Huawei reports the top-end Mate 90 models deliver a 31% performance increase over the previous flagship generation.

Domestic market dynamics show shifting trends. According to the International Data Corporation, China’s overall domestic smartphone shipments fell 7% year-on-year between January and August, while Huawei’s domestic shipments rose 13%. The average selling price for smartphones in China climbed 11.3% year-on-year in the second quarter to $543, whereas the average price of Huawei smartphones declined 14.7% to $628.

Competition in the Foldable Phone Market

Apple announced its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, last month, entering a market segment previously dominated by Samsung Electronics and Chinese competitors like Huawei. Yu welcomed Apple’s entry, stating he was pleased to see peers launch similar products. Huawei currently maintains approximately a 75% share of China’s foldable phone market. Following the iPhone Duo’s launch, Huawei saw weekly sales of its Pura X Max foldable phone jump 76% between September 10 and 13, with total shipments of the model exceeding 1.2 million units in China since its April release. Counterpoint Research projects Apple will ship 6 million iPhone Duo units in 2026, with China accounting for nearly a quarter of that total.

Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max specs and pricing

What processor powers the Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max?

The premium Mate 90 Pro Max is powered by Huawei’s Kirin 9050 Pro, a system-on-chip built using the “LogicFolding” three-dimensional wiring technique.

How much does the Mate 90 Pro Max cost at launch?

The Mate 90 Pro Max with 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage is priced at 9,999 yuan ($1,491).

What operating system does the Mate 90 series use?

The new phones run on Huawei’s homegrown, Android-free HarmonyOS 7 operating system.

How is Huawei responding to rising component costs?

Rising memory prices have added an average of $200 per handset, prompting Huawei to increase device prices at a slower pace and shift shipments toward premium models.