Huawei Mate 90 series debuts with the Kirin 9050 Pro chipset.
Huawei has finalized its new product launch plan for September, with the Mate 90 series flagship smartphone and a brand-new triple-folding screen model appearing on the same stage, while the Mate X8, a large horizontal folding product, will be launched later. Coincidentally, Apple will launch the iPhone 18 series at the same time, and introduce its first foldable iPhone. The two giants will face off in the high-end mobile phone and foldable screen market.
On the hardware front, the biggest highlight of this new phone is its debut of the new generation Kirin 9050 series chip. At the 2026 International Circuit Systems Symposium, He Tingbo, President of Huawei’s Semiconductor Business, officially announced that the world’s first mass-produced mobile phone chip equipped with logic folding technology, the “Kirin 2026,” will be officially launched in the fall of 2026.
The chip abandons the traditional approach of geometric miniaturization to improve performance by shrinking transistor size, instead employing a dual-layer vertical stacking + time miniaturization scheme. This achieves a leap forward in performance and energy efficiency without relying on advanced photolithography processes.
According to product planning, the Kirin 9050 is available in a standard version and a high-end Pro version. The Pro version is exclusively for the high-end Mate 90 model and the new tri-fold flagship, becoming the performance foundation for both products.
In terms of product lineup, the Mate 90 series targets the mainstream high-end market, covering the flagship consumer demand of the masses; the new tri-fold model focuses on the ultra-high-end innovation track, completing Huawei’s full-category matrix of foldable screens.
The simultaneous launch of these two products allows Huawei to complete its product lineup in the high-end market in September, encompassing both candybar and foldable models, covering everything from flagship phones under 10,000 yuan to innovative foldable models over 10,000 yuan. Meanwhile, Apple’s entry into the foldable phone market with the iPhone 18 and its first foldable device marks a new stage in the global high-end smartphone market competition, with foldable screens officially becoming a battleground for the two leading brands.
Editor’s Review:
Huawei’s decision to launch its full range of flagship products at the same time as Apple is a proactive move after its self-developed supply chain matured. The Kirin 9050 breaks through process constraints through architectural innovation, deviating from the traditional chip iteration path and opening up a new R&D direction for domestic SoCs. The simultaneous launch of both candybar and tri-fold products not only consolidates its existing high-end user base but also seizes the incremental market of foldable screens through form factor innovation.
Apple’s entry into the market with its first foldable iPhone has forced the industry to accelerate the implementation of foldable technology. The high-end mobile phone market in the second half of the year may see healthy competition with upgrades in both technology and products, and consumers will be the direct beneficiaries of this battle between giants.
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