As soon as the news of Huawei's self-developed instruction set was launched, it aroused heated discussions among the majority of netizens. Huawei's self-developed chips have been a topic of concern in the industry, and this self-developed instruction set is even more exciting. In the past, Huawei's mobile phone chips and server chips were based on the ARM architecture, but due to the licensing of ARM, Huawei's technology development has been limited to a certain extent. In the case that ARMV9 is no longer licensed to Huawei, Huawei's self-developed command integration is an inevitable choice to get rid of dependence on ARM and avoid technical barriers.
As a manufacturer with full-stack hardware and software self-development capabilities, it is not difficult to develop an instruction set from a technical point of view. However, in order for the self-developed instruction set to make great progress and truly surpass the existing ecosystem, it is necessary to solve the problem of ecological support. As the article points out, whether it is the PC field of x86 architecture or the Android field of ARM architecture, the key reason why they can dominate is the construction of a strong ecosystem. There are many software and hardware manufacturers in the ecosystem, forming a huge ecosystem that cooperates and promotes each other. Emerging instruction sets like RISC-V and Loongarch are marginalized because their ecosystems are relatively small and difficult to compete with mature ecosystems like x86 and arm.
For Huawei, in addition to breaking down technical barriers, Huawei's self-developed instruction set also needs to make major breakthroughs at the ecological level. Otherwise, even if the instruction set chip is successfully developed, if it cannot be integrated with the existing Wintel and A-A ecosystems, it will face the problem of software adaptation and it will be difficult to achieve large-scale application. Of course, Huawei has an advantage, that is, the self-developed HarmonyOS system. With the compatibility of the HarmonyOS system, Huawei can build its own unique ecosystem, similar to Apple's ecosystem. However, this work requires a long time and hard work and cannot be accomplished overnight.
1. Ecological support for x86 and ARM architectures
In the PC world, the X86 architecture has an irreplaceable position, thanks entirely to the integration with the Windows operating system. The Windows operating system and the x86 architecture have formed a close ecological relationship, and this ecosystem includes thousands of software and hardware vendors, jointly building a huge ecosystem. One of the main reasons why users choose the x86 architecture is because they can get more software support and a better user experience. Similarly, the success of the ARM architecture in the field of mobile devices is also due to the A-A ecosystem formed with the Android operating system. There are also thousands of software and hardware manufacturers in the Android ecosystem, which provide sufficient support for the ARM architecture. The sheer size and well-functioning nature of these ecosystems has enabled the x86 and ARM architectures to steadily occupy market share.
2. Challenges and opportunities of self-developed instruction sets:
If Huawei successfully develops its own instruction set and breaks down technical barriers, it actually shows Huawei's technical strength and independent innovation capabilities in the chip field. However, the challenges of self-developed instruction sets cannot be ignored. To make a breakthrough, Huawei needs to do the following at the ecosystem level:
1) Build a huge ecosystem: Huawei needs to attract more software and hardware vendors to join its ecosystem. This requires Huawei's technical support, resource investment, and market incentives, as well as good treatment of ecosystem partners. Only by building a huge ecosystem can we provide strong support for the promotion and application of self-developed instruction sets.
2) Promote the developer ecosystem: A successful ecosystem is inseparable from the contributions of developers. Huawei needs to work hard to attract developers, provide comprehensive developer tools and support, and encourage developers to actively participate in Huawei's ecosystem. Only with a wealth of applications can more users choose Huawei's instruction set chips.
3) Compatibility and migration support: In order to quickly popularize the self-developed instruction set, Huawei also needs to provide compatibility and migration support. This means enabling existing applications to run smoothly on the new instruction set chips, or at least providing a solution for smooth migration. In this way, the migration cost of enterprises and developers can be reduced, and the widespread application of instruction sets can be promoted.
The emergence of Huawei's self-developed instruction set marks that Huawei has further strengthened its independent R&D capabilities and will accelerate the development of China's semiconductor industry. Under the influence of existing technical barriers and sanctions, Huawei's self-developed instruction set provides a feasible way for Huawei to get out of the predicament and achieve technological breakthroughs.
However, in order to realize the impact of the instruction set, Huawei still needs to face many challenges. In addition to the technical threshold of the self-developed instruction set, ecological support will be a difficult hurdle for Huawei to overcome. Huawei needs to strengthen cooperation with software and hardware partners to jointly build a competitive ecosystem. At the same time, Huawei needs to continue to invest in R&D resources to continuously improve the performance and functionality of the instruction set to meet the changing market demand.
In short, the road to Huawei's self-developed chip instruction set is full of ups and downs and challenges, but it also contains huge opportunities and prospects. How to effectively overcome technical barriers and ecological challenges will be the key to Huawei's future development. We believe that with Huawei's firm and independent innovation, Huawei's self-developed instruction set will shine brightly and inject new impetus into China's semiconductor industry. Let's wait and see, and look forward to Huawei's success in the field of instruction set self-development!