The Kirin 9010 succeeded the Kirin 9000S when Huawei officially unveiled the Pura 70 series earlier this year. However, the company was also working on another version of its latest chipset without keeping anyone in the loop - called the Kirin 9010L. The existence of this silicon was found thanks to a thorough investigation of the newly announced Nova 12 Ultra Star Edition, which differs from the regular version. Here, we look at what differentiates the Kirin 9010 and the Kirin 9010L.
Kirin 9010L is the slower version of the Kirin 9010, with fewer cores running at lower clock speeds
A buyer on the Chinese video-uploading platform Bilibili posted a clip of the Nova 12 Ultra Star Edition, revealing that the latest release is running the new Kirin 9010L. Strangely, Huawei has kept this version under wraps, but if we recall correctly, the company did not divulge much information on the Kirin 9010 either. The decision was likely made to ward off any unwanted attention from U.S. authorities. In a nutshell, the Kirin 9010L is the slower version of the chipset that fuels the Pura 70 family. Instead of a 12-core CPU cluster, Huawei has incorporated a 9-core one, with the performance cores running at a slightly lowered clock speed.
Coming to the configuration, the Kirin 9010L features two performance cores running at 2.19GHz, followed by four medium cores clocked at 2.18GHz, with three efficiency cores operating at 1.40GHz. Compared to the Kirin 9010, the less powerful variant’s reduced frequencies and altered core count mean it will obtain lower single-core and multi-core results. Since the Nova 12 Ultra Edition occupies the non-flagship category of smartphones, Huawei has probably made the right move in equipping this handset with the slower Kirin 9010L.
Given that the Kirin 9010 uses SMIC’s 7nm process, there would likely be lower-tier binned parts that Huawei re-purposed when designing the Kirin 9010L, resulting in higher chipset shipments at a lower manufacturing cost. We expect to see this approach after Huawei announces its first 5nm Kirin silicon when unveiling the Mate 70 series in October later this year. We may also see another Kirin 9010 member powering a Huawei-branded tablet, but that will be a report for another time.
News Source: bilibili
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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