Huawei Kirin A1 chip to launch in India next month

The new ultra-low-power chip is said to enable more useful functionality for wearables

Huawei has announced that the Kirin A1 chipset will be coming to India in December. The new Kirin A1 SoC is designed specifically for wearables and is the only one that supports Bluetooth 5.1. The company is looking to expand its wearables portfolio in the Indian market and this also signals the launch of the FreeBuds 3 truly wireless earbuds and Huawei Watch GT 2 smartwatch in India.

Huawei in a press note did not confirm the names of the wearable devices it plans to launch in India, but it would be safe to assume they will be the FreeBuds 3 and Watch GT 2. These are the first set of Kirin A1-powered devices that Huawei announced in September. The Kirin A1 SoC rivals Apple’s H1 processor that powers the AirPods.

The Kirin A1 chip touts an advanced Bluetooth processing unit and offers low latency along with ultra high-definition audio output, among other things. Kirin A1 is equipped with an energy efficient Cortex-M7 processor that brings with it powerful multi-sensors. This combined with a capacitive sensor, optical heart rate sensor, and additional sensors such as accelerometer sensor and six axis sensor will allow Huawei to offer a powerful wearable product to “disrupt” the market.

Huawei’s announcement teases the launch of the FreeBuds 3 and Watch GT 2 in India. The Huawei FreeBuds 3 are the world’s first open-fit active noise cancelling earphones. Meanwhile, the Watch GT 2 will succeed the Watch GT in India with a 14-day battery life, circular OLED display and improved health tracking.

“As a consumer-centric brand, Huawei has always been at the forefront of technology innovation driven by deep-rooted consumer insights. The Kirin A1 is a very powerful chipset and is anticipated to bring in a paradigm shift in India’s wearable market. In line with our legacy of eliminating consumer pain points- Products powered by this chipset will provide unparalleled performance, power efficiency and connectivity,” Tornado Pan, Country Manager, Huawei Consumer Business Group, Huawei India, said.