Huawei brings stacked-circuit chip to new foldable for higher performance

Huawei has placed its new LogicFolding semiconductor architecture inside the Mate XT 2, a triple-screen foldable phone presented in China on Monday. The device uses the new Kirin 9050 Pro processor, which stacks circuits vertically to raise density and performance without depending solely on further transistor miniaturization.

Huawei introduced LogicFolding in May as one of the pillars of its proposed “tau scaling law.” The architecture arranges active circuits in vertically stacked layers and connects them, shortening the routes travelled by signals and allowing a higher transistor density without relying only on smaller manufacturing nodes.

Huawei had said in May that Kirin processors scheduled for the autumn would be the first to use the technology. The Kirin 9050 Pro is also the first new processor in the family whose architecture the company has publicly explained during the launch of one of its flagship phones since the Mate 40 in 2020. Huawei did not disclose the chip’s manufacturing process, a closely watched detail after US sanctions disrupted its access to international semiconductor supply chains.

The company says the Mate XT 2 delivers a 42% improvement in overall performance over the previous generation. Huawei attributes that figure to the combined work of the processor, other hardware, the operating system and cloud services, rather than to the Kirin chip alone.

The phone retains Huawei’s triple-folding design and adds HarmonyOS 7, IP58 and IP59 water and dust resistance, satellite communications and a privacy mode that limits side viewing. The launch comes as China pushes to develop a domestic semiconductor chain and as competition intensifies in the premium smartphone market. Xiaomi presented another foldable with a proprietary processor on the same day, while Apple is preparing its next iPhone generation for Wednesday.