Russian smartphone chips will require co-design with device makers, Baikal CEO says

Domestic processors for smartphones could be designed once local device makers are ready to work with chip developers on future models, Baikal Electronics CEO Andrey Yevdokimov said.

Russian chips are more likely to appear first in tablets and laptops, where domestic manufacturers have more experience, Yevdokimov said in an interview with Radio RBC. A smartphone is a tightly integrated system, he said, so a processor must be designed around a specific device and its software. That requires a partner among handset makers and joint work on a model expected several years ahead.

REGLAB chief executive Andrey Ulyanov said Chinese partners are already assembling automation systems in China using Russian-made controllers. He said the systems are supplied as part of packaged equipment bought by large customers in Russia. In this arrangement, some control systems for such equipment are made in China using Russian controllers.

The two interviewees said Russia has the necessary stages for microelectronics production, but they still need to be developed to international standards. They named domestic DCS systems built around chips produced at Russian plants as a goal for 2030. That is a stated target, not confirmation that the industrial outcome has already been achieved.