SemiAnalysis Deep Dive into Huawei HiSilicon 9030 Pro: Architecture and Performance Significantly Improved, Advancement of Chinese Advanced Process Nodes Unhindered

**SemiAnalysis STEEL Lab’s June 15 teardown report on the Huawei Mate 80 Pro (powered by the Kirin 9030 Pro) confirms the chip uses SMIC’s N+3 process node, which has a 32.5nm minimum metal pitch—roughly 10% tighter than Intel’s 18A node (36nm).** Via aggressive DUV multi-patterning and DTCO optimizations, SMIC’s N+3 achieves a logic density of ~113.4 MTr/mm², slightly higher than TSMC’s N6 (107.7 MTr/mm²). But this performance comes with major tradeoffs: far higher process complexity, increased production costs, and steeper yield control challenges. The Kirin 9030 Pro is an evolution of the Kirin 9020, with a similar die size but better component utilization. Key improvements include adding one extra big CPU core, boosting GPU compute units (CUs) from 4 to 6, expanding the NPU’s Tiny core, and growing cache capacity. Notably, core areas shrank dramatically: the big core is down 22%, and GPU CUs are cut by 28%. This drove significant performance gains over the prior generation—GPU 3DMark scores rose 70-79%. Still, the chip lags behind today’s top flagships (like Apple’s and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite), with a clear energy efficiency gap that’s roughly on par with Android flagships from nearly three years ago. SemiAnalysis points out export controls haven’t halted China’s advanced semiconductor progress—they’ve only forced SMIC to take a more complex DUV route, relying on tighter design rules, backside power delivery, and Huawei’s LogicFolding stacking tech moving forward. The N+3 node highlights the Chinese semiconductor industry’s resilience, though it still trails leading global process nodes; maturity and cost remain its biggest constraints. **[Call to Action] Click the original link to join BlockBeats’ Feishu AI News Channel for 24/7 monitoring of global AI hot topics and updates.**