HUAWEI Kirin 970: the first AI Platform, Faster, Safer, with a Dedicated NPU

Last year, HUAWEI had unveiled the world's first AI computing platform-Kirin 970, integrated in the HUAWEI Mate 10 series, bringing a new and innovative AI experience and a key new feature: a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which enables cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) and on-device AI to run alongside each other, providing a faster performance. AI technology has officially become an important feature in the smartphone chip industry.

Today, from a performance and application perspective, Huawei Kirin 970 chip is at the top due to its AI integration in the hardware processing unit,

Performance: NPU Technology

In terms of performance, because the artificial intelligence process involves a large number of intensive convolution operations, Huawei adopted the method of integrating independent processing units to the hardware.

Kirin 970 is powered by an 8-core CPU and a new generation 12-core GPU. Built using a 10nm advanced process, the chipset packs 5.5 billion transistors into an area of only one cm².  Huawei’s new flagship Kirin 970 is Huawei’s first mobile AI computing platform featuring a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). Moreover, the Kirin 970's new heterogeneous computing architecture delivers up to 25x the performance of a CPU with 50x greater efficiency. 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, considerably faster than other chips with similar capabilities in the market.

Furthermore, the Neural Processing Unit gives users peace of mind and reassurance about their phone's ability to keep up with their long days effectively and safely. Also, if the phone’s temperature reaches 55 ° C or the internal temperature reaches 60 ° C, the battery management feature supported by artificial intelligence technology turns the phone off automatically, providing maximum safety.

Applications

Artificial intelligence not only requires "hard power" performance but also needs to adapt to "soft power" for application support. Huawei has already integrated AI in its devices, for example HUAWEI’s Kirin 970 processing is already in the market in applications, such as AI camera, AI voice recognition, AI integrated translator, which are all found on the HUAWEI Mate 10 series. Also, one of the benefits for apps using AI running on a Kirin 970 device is the reduced battery power consumption compared to those without the dedicated hardware.

The NPU promotes the development of innovative apps that use on-device AI, giving developers the choice to use either on-device or cloud AI, depending on which option best suits the app.

Conclusion

From a performance and application processing point of view, Huawei Kirin 970 is characterized by strong performance, intelligent speed and maximum safety. Devices powered by the Kirin 970 will be able to truly know and understand their users, while supporting real-time image recognition, voice interaction, and intelligent photography with ease.

With this chipset, Huawei aims to enable broader use of AI technology in mobile apps, and provide consumers with a never-before-seen AI experience right in the palm of their hands.