Huawei unveils Kirin 990, a 5G chip for its Mate 30 smartphone

Huawei unveiled Friday a new 5G processor for its mobile devices, targeting competitors like Qualcomm and showing that it would continue to boost its chip technology despite the political headwinds.

The Chinese tech giant has introduced the new Kirin 990 5G chip at IFA 's consumer electronics show in Berlin. Huawei said the processor would power its next flagship smartphone called the Mate 30, which will be released later this month in a bid to compete with Apple's new iPhones.

Huawei's announcement underscores the company's ambitions to take control of its supply chain under US political pressure. Earlier this year, Huawei was listed on a list of US entities that limits its ability to purchase and license technology to US companies. The Chinese company is currently using US companies for its components such as laptops and smartphones.

The Kirin 990 is a 5G all-in-one artificial intelligence chip, also available in 4G version. Huawei said the 7-nanometer chips are faster and more energy efficient than its competitors' 5G processors, just like Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855. The seven-nanometer technology is the latest in the semiconductor industry.

"Kirin 990 reaffirms Huawei's chip and 5G ambitions and will be an important factor in lowering the price of Huawei 5G devices," said Geoff Blaber, an analyst at CCS Insight, CNBC. "However, the progress of the chipset hardly meet the broader limitations caused by its list of US entities.Qualcomm remains at the top of the rankings by taking the 5G on a diverse range of devices and pricing. "

The Huawei Mate 30 smartphone will be unveiled at an event held on September 19 in Munich. But the launch could be marred by the fact that the restrictions of the list of US entities prevent Huawei from obtaining a license for Google services. Huawei will instead seek to use an open-source version of the Android operating system, told CNBC a source informed directly of the situation last week. In addition, the company will continue to go ahead with an international launch of the device, the source said.

Technology companies like Huawei and Samsung are also increasingly developing their own chip technology to control costs and production against a backdrop of sluggish smartphone sales. Earlier this year, Apple bought Intel's wireless chip unit for $ 1 billion, which analysts see as a play to develop its own 5G chips.

5G wireless networks promise to accelerate download times and allow devices to communicate faster with each other. Until now, the deployment of 5G has been limited in countries around the world. Samsung and Huawei, the two biggest smartphone vendors in the world, have launched their first 5G device this year. Analysts predict that Apple will launch an iPhone 5G by 2020.

Huawei also released an updated version of its competitor to the Apple AirPod: the FreeBuds 3. The wireless headphones will be powered by a new Huawei Bluetooth chip called Kirin A1.

Sales in Apple's apparel category, which includes the AirPods, have grown strongly in recent quarters, and Huawei appears to be willing to share some of that growth. The FreeBuds 3 will be available in two colors: white and black. The company did not immediately reveal prices and availability.

– CNBC Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report