Huawei's sustained investment in research and development, coupled with breakthroughs in semiconductor design and its HarmonyOS operating system, underscores the company's strategic pivot away from Western technology dependencies and its ambition to reassert itself in global markets. At an international media roundtable in Shenzhen, Richard Yu, Executive Director and Chairman of the Investment Review Board, detailed how Huawei's consumer business is advancing through homegrown innovation, with significant implications for the global tech supply chain and competition.
Between 2007 and 2025, Huawei invested more than CNY1.8 trillion in R&D, increasing from roughly 10% of annual revenue in early years to over 20% recently. This investment has yielded robust core capabilities, extensive intellectual property, and breakthroughs like the Kirin 9050 Pro chip, which powers the newly launched Mate 90 series. The chip delivers 31% higher overall performance than its predecessor and integrates Huawei-designed components including the Balong modem, image sensor processor, mobile security processor, Lingxi CPU, Maleoon GPU, and a Da Vinci architecture-based NPU. These advancements demonstrate Huawei's ability to optimize system-level performance despite limited access to advanced semiconductor processes.
A key breakthrough is the LogicFolding technology under the Tau Scaling Law, unveiled by He Tingbo, head of Huawei's Semiconductor Business Department. This technology vertically stacks logic layers and restructures circuit layouts to shorten critical paths and reduce latency. Adopted in the Kirin 9050 Pro, it enables the Mate 90 series to run a 30-billion-parameter on-device AI model. Yu confirmed that more phones will use LogicFolding chips in the future, signaling a scalable path for Huawei's chip design amid ongoing capacity constraints. The development of such technologies is crucial as it reduces reliance on foreign semiconductor fabrication and could reshape the competitive dynamics in the smartphone and AI chip markets.
Huawei's HarmonyOS ecosystem has also reached critical mass, with over 90 million devices running HarmonyOS 6 and 7, expected to surpass 100 million by year-end. The ecosystem boasts more than 450,000 apps and services, 11 million registered developers, and over 23,000 app innovation partners. Yu indicated that Huawei is considering gradually bringing HarmonyOS to the global market, which would provide an alternative to Apple's iOS and Google's Android and potentially alter the global mobile operating system landscape. This move could give consumers and developers more choice and reduce the dominance of current duopolies.
Huawei's efforts to overcome supply chain challenges since 2019 have led to a domestic supply chain for chips and materials, with the company claiming to have basically gotten rid of dependence on US technologies. While Huawei's global smartphone market share has diminished, Yu revealed plans to return to overseas markets step by step, leveraging strengths in wearables, where it is No. 1 globally, and growing products like TWS earphones and CPE mobile routers. These devices help connect remote and rural areas, aligning with Huawei's vision to bring convenience to users worldwide.
The broader implications of Huawei's advancements extend beyond the company itself. By developing its own chip design technologies and operating system, Huawei is contributing to China's semiconductor self-sufficiency, which could reduce the impact of export controls and sanctions. This shift may encourage other Chinese tech firms to accelerate their own innovation, potentially leading to a more multipolar technology ecosystem. For global consumers, increased competition could drive innovation and affordability. For industry players, Huawei's progress highlights the importance of investing in core technologies to secure competitive edges. As Huawei continues to push boundaries, its trajectory will be closely watched for its impact on global tech geopolitics and market dynamics.
For a detailed Q&A session, refer to https://www.apmultimedianewsroom.com/multimedia-newsroom/continuous-innovation-securing-our-competitive-edge-through-technological-breakthroughs.
