Recently, Huawei ** two trademarks related to chip instruction sets, Chinese name "Lingxi instruction set", English name "linxiisa". This means that Huawei is likely to abandon the ARM instruction set and fully develop its own chips. The instruction set is the collection of commands that control the execution of functions by the chip, and the most well-known instruction sets in the world are x86 and arm. However, due to the control of ARM by the United States, domestic chip manufacturers usually use the ARM instruction set. However, with the launch of the V9 version by ARM and the fact that it is not licensed to Huawei, Huawei's Kirin and Kunpeng chips may be restricted. Therefore, Huawei needs to make changes and try to develop its own instruction set to cope with the possible limitations. However, compared with self-developed instruction sets, it is more challenging to establish a sound ecological environment. In this article, we will delve into Huawei's self-developed instruction set and its possible impact.
The chip instruction set is the core command that controls the work of the chip, which can be said to be the soul of the chip. At present, x86 and ARM are the most mainstream instruction sets in the world. However, both instruction sets are under the control of the United States. As a leading chip company in China, Huawei has been using the ARM instruction set, such as Kirin and Kunpeng chips, both of which use the ARM architecture. However, ARM's latest V9 architecture has not been licensed to Huawei, although the V8 architecture has been licensed to Huawei. This situation makes Huawei may face the dilemma of lagging chip performance.
Huawei recognized this problem and began to develop its own instruction set. This "Lingxi instruction set" may be the origin of Huawei's spare tire, although before the ARM instruction set was not restricted, it was only the status of a spare tire, but in the event of a possible supply outage, it has the ability to provide Huawei with a continuous chip architecture. As an enterprise with full-stack capabilities, Huawei's self-developed instruction set from the underlying hardware to the user app is not surprising or difficult to implement.
However, while it may not be difficult to develop your own instruction set, it is a daunting task to build a well-developed ecosystem. In order for the self-developed instruction set to be successful, the first problem that Huawei needs to solve is to build an ecosystem that is compatible with its instruction set. The most important reason why the x86 instruction set is so successful is that the Windows operating system only supports the x86 architecture, and Windows has become an indispensable operating system. Similarly, the reason why the ARM instruction set is so good is also because of the strong ecosystem formed with Android. Currently, both Android phones and Apple phones use the ARM instruction set. Therefore, it is not difficult for Huawei to launch its own instruction set, but the key lies in how to build a competitive ecosystem based on the self-developed instruction set. Of course, Huawei also has an advantage, which is the HarmonyOS operating system. If the HarmonyOS can grow and have its own ecosystem, then it will be a good solution to make the HarmonyOS compatible with the Lingxi instruction set to form the HarmonyOS-Lingxi ecosystem.
From the perspective of consumers and application developers, multiple instruction sets are not a good thing. Because different instruction sets will lead to fragmentation of the ecosystem, various applications need to adapt to different instruction sets separately, bringing greater workload to developers. However, for Huawei, the impact of the self-developed instruction set is likely to be positive. First of all, the self-developed instruction set will enable Huawei to get rid of its dependence on ARM licensing and no longer be restricted. Second, the self-developed instruction set is expected to improve the performance of Huawei's chips, giving it an edge over the competition. Most importantly, if Huawei can successfully build an ecosystem that adapts to its self-developed instruction set, it will be able to implement integrated products and services from the bottom layer to the application layer, and provide a better user experience.
However, achieving this goal will not be easy. Based on its self-developed instruction set, Huawei needs to attract application developers to join its ecosystem and provide them with a variety of applications and services. In addition, Huawei also needs to cooperate with major manufacturers to promote the development of the HarmonyOS system and match its compatible instruction set to build a complete ecosystem. Only in this way can Huawei's self-developed instruction sets truly achieve competitiveness and compete with giant instruction sets such as X86 and ARM.
Judging from the current situation, Huawei's self-developed instruction set is imminent. In the face of ARM's restrictions and monopoly, Huawei must find a new way out, and its self-developed instruction set is undoubtedly a countermeasure. However, self-developed instruction sets can only really work if they have established an ecosystem that adapts to them. This requires a lot of effort and resources from Huawei to attract partners and promote the development of the HarmonyOS system. Only by doing this can Huawei's self-developed instruction set succeed and occupy a place in the competition.
Personally, I am looking forward to the future of Huawei's self-developed instruction set. As an enterprise with full-stack capabilities, Huawei has the ability to independently develop an appropriate instruction set, and has accumulated rich experience and technology. With the advancement of the HarmonyOS system, I believe that Huawei will be able to create a competitive ecosystem that will bring a better experience to users." However, as a consumer and application developer, I also hope that the industry can agree on the use of instruction sets to avoid the inconvenience caused by ecological fragmentation. After all, multiple instruction sets will increase the burden on developers and reduce overall efficiency and user experience.
Overall, Huawei's self-developed instruction set is Huawei's response to real-world challenges, as well as to improve chip performance and remove dependence on external authorization. However, for the self-developed instruction set to be truly successful, Huawei needs to build an ecosystem that adapts to it and attracts application developers and partners to join. This is a difficult and challenging task, but I am confident that with Huawei's strength and experience, Huawei's self-developed instruction set will make great progress in the near future.