After using Snapdragon 888 in the P50 and P50 Pro series, Huawei seems to be returning to using chips from Qualcomm in the Mate 50 Pro.
Snapdragon 898 seems to be the chip that will be used in the Mate 50 Pro. However, just like the Snapdragon 888 in the P50, the integrated modem is not 5G, but 4G.
This is Huawei's way of circumventing various restrictions imposed by the US Government. That is by not using a chip with a 5G modem so that they can still use the chip from the US company.
Huawei itself can actually design its own chips, and that's what they previously did with Kirin. However, without a business partner who can produce the chip design, Huawei can do nothing, and this has been acknowledged by Huawei Chairman Guo Ping.
"Currently, the biggest obstacle for us is the mobile phone business. As we know, chips for cellphones need advanced technology because they are small and have low power consumption. Huawei can design its own chips but no one else can produce them for us," said Guo. ping.
These various regulations have also delayed the launch schedule for Huawei's flagship phones. For example, the P series, which focuses on photography, are usually released at the beginning of the year, only to be showcased to the public last July.
Then the Mate series which is usually released in Q4 every year, but for the Mate 50 Pro it seems that it will only be released in 2022. Although there are also rumors that Huawei will show off the phone in October 2021.
It is the Digital Chat Station, through a post on Weibo, which reports that Huawei is testing the latest system on a chip (SoC) that Qualcomm will release at the end of 2021, namely Snapdragon 898.
Snapdragon 898 itself is a chip made by Samsung through the 4nm process, and because it is made using technology belonging to a US company, Huawei can only use the Snapdragon 898 that has been circumcised, that is, without 5G support.
Huawei itself actually has the Kirin 9000 used in the Mate 40 Pro, and this chip supports 5G. However, the US blocking prevented Huawei from having enough Kirin 9000 supply, so it couldn't be used on the P50 Pro.