Rumor in China says the U.S. will allow Qualcomm to ship 5G chips to Huawei
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Huawei consumer chief Yu Chengdong (you might know him by his Americanized name of Richard Yu) denies that the company is getting access to 5G Snapdragon chips. He calls reports that the U.S. is easing chip restrictions on Huawei inaccurate which means that unless the manufacturer releases some official news, the upcoming Mate 60 line will still be forced to use a Snapdragon chipset tweaked to work with 4G and not 5G.
Could Huawei regain the ability to use 5G chipsets on its phones? In 2020, exactly one year to the day that the U.S. placed the company on the Entity List preventing it from accessing its U.S. supply chain, the U.S. expanded its export rules. Chip foundries using American technology to manufacture chips were not allowed to send cutting-edge silicon to Huawei. With its recent flagship models, Huawei has used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips tweaked so they do not work with 5G signals.
For example, last year’s Mate 50 line and this year’s P60 series were powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 although to receive 5G signals, users could purchase a specific case that supported those signals. But this all could be changing according to Huawei Central. Industry sources are saying that the U.S. has loosened its export rules to allow Qualcomm to ship 5G chips to Huawei.
But it is all speculation until there is an official announcement from the U.S. or Huawei. Still, back in January, Qualcomm’s President, of Technology Licensing (QTL) & Global Affairs, Alex Rogers, said that the U.S. hasn’t stopped Qualcomm from selling chips to Huawei. Rogers stated, “So I don’t think it’s fair to characterize it as the latest restrictions on Huawei. What we’ve seen in our news reports the effect that Commerce is considering not issuing new licenses outweighs. And we haven’t heard anything from Commerce itself” (italics added).
Huawei released an amazing phone last year in the Mate 50 Pro, and being limited to 4G connectivity (unless you bought the 5G case) didn’t seem to hinder sales inside China where long lines and sellouts greeted the device. Now back to its old schedule of releasing two flagship models a year (the photography-focused P series is launched in the first quarter followed by the technologically advanced Mate series in the fourth quarter), the Mate 60 line is expected to be released later in 2023.
If the U.S. does allow Huawei to use 5G chips for the Mate 60 series, the manufacturer’s domestic rivals might sweat a little. After all, China is still the largest smartphone market in the world, and after showing that it can still make solid flagship phones even with U.S. restrictions, having one of those restrictions eased will only make Huawei more dangerous in its home market.
Questions & Answers
Q.What is Huawei's current position on reports of eased U.S. Chip restrictions?
What is Huawei's current position on reports of eased U.S. Chip restrictions?
A.
Huawei's consumer chief, Yu Chengdong, denies these reports, stating they are inaccurate. He indicates that without official news, upcoming phones like the Mate 60 will still use 4G-tweaked Snapdragon chipsets.
Q.How have Huawei's recent flagship phones handled 5G limitations?
How have Huawei's recent flagship phones handled 5G limitations?
A.
Recent Huawei flagship models, such as the Mate 50 and P60 series, have used Qualcomm Snapdragon chips tweaked to work only with 4G signals. Users could buy a specific case for 5G connectivity.
Q.When did the U.S. First impose significant restrictions on Huawei regarding chip supply?
When did the U.S. First impose significant restrictions on Huawei regarding chip supply?
A.
In 2020, exactly one year after being placed on the Entity List, the U.S. Expanded its export rules. This prevented chip foundries using American technology from sending cutting-edge silicon to Huawei.
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