Technology
Chinese networking giant Huawei has recently unveiled its first artificial intelligence (AI) chip for mobile devices, the Kirin 970 calling it the “future of smartphones”.
Huawei Introduces a New Era in Smartphone Innovation
“As we look to the future of smartphones, we’re at the threshold of an exciting new era,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group.
“Mobile AI = On-device AI + Cloud AI. Huawei is committed to developing smart devices into intelligent devices by building end-to-end capabilities that support coordinated development of chips, devices, and the cloud.
By combining the power of the cloud with the speed and responsiveness of native AI processing, Huawei is bringing AI experiences to life and changing the way we interact with our devices.
“The ultimate goal is to provide a significantly better user experience. The Kirin 970 is the first in a series of new advances that will bring powerful AI features to our devices and take them beyond the competition,” asserted Richard Yu.
In essence, the Kirin 970 is an improved version of the Kirin 960, which powers the current Huawei flagships, the Mate 9 and P10 and its technical data is quite impressive. Huawei’s Mate 10 series, which will be unveiled mid-october, will introduce the Kirin 970 processor.
The Kirin 970 chipset with built-in AI is the size of a thumbnail and is powered by an 8-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, which Huawei said delivers 25x greater performance and 50x greater efficiency compared to a quad-core Cortex-a73 CPU cluster. Simply put, the Kirin 970 can perform the same AI computing tasks faster and with far less power. In a benchmark image recognition test, the Kirin 970 processed 2,000 images per minute, which was faster than other chips on the market.
Internet giants have been investing heavily in creating software to help machines think more like people, ideally acting as virtual assistants.
Artificial intelligence built into new chips can help make phones more personalized, or anticipate the actions and interests of their users. Such capacities form a more cognitive device of user needs, making the experience more personalized and accessible through understanding as well as assisting people.
Moreover, Huawei is hoping to position the Kirin 970 as an “open platform for mobile AI”, meaning it is opening up the chipset to developers and partners, allowing them to find new and innovative uses for the AI processing capabilities.
Being the first to give us a glimpse of the future, Huawei’s vision will definitely break barriers with its advanced AI mobile chip especially in its new Mate 10 Series, which will be launched this October. And this is definitely something to keep an eye on.