Huawei has been caught up in the dirty arm wrestling that has been going on for some time between the US and Chinese governments. The Trump administration has repeatedly introduced sanctions, making it difficult for Chinese society to work with American companies. Continuing its crackdown on Huawei, the US Department of Commerce has introduced a new export rule that requires all chip companies, planning to supply components to Huawei, to apply for an additional license that controls the crucial supply chain. . of Chinese society. This sanction means that Huawei cannot have its HiSilicon chipsets manufactured by chipmaker TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). For the uninitiated, TSMC is the largest contract chip maker in the world making contract chipsets for companies like Apple, Huawei, Qualcomm and MediaTek etc.
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(Image credit: OnLeaks)
No more HiSilicon SoC in Huawei phones?
According to this report, TSMC will not be able to ship chipsets to Huawei after September 14, leaving Huawei only time to source the new 5nm HiSilicon Kirin SoC for its upcoming Mate 40 flagship smartphone. Since it will depend on the government of the US authorizing TSMC or any other company to supply components to the Chinese smartphone maker, this leaves Huawei at a solution, as the company may not be able to get enough SoCs for phones whose launch is near. planned. in 2021. The company should launch phones like the P50 and Mate 50 series, as well as all other phones for Huawei and its Honor sub-brand. So you may be forced to look for another one. In an effort to reduce its reliance on TSMC, Huawei has started working proactively with another Taiwanese company, MediaTek, which is known for making low-cost smartphone chipsets and has the ability to produce 5G chipsets for even cheaper phones. There are rumors that Huawei could be trying to indirectly detect TSMC chipsets using its new ally MediaTek. However, there are still fears that the Trump administration will find another decision to exploit this solution. In addition to MediaTek, Huawei would also work with a relatively lesser-known company: SMIC. Although it is the largest foundry in China, SMIC does not have the technology to manufacture advanced 5nm chipsets. It is said that it is still having trouble finding the 7nm and 8nm process due to the unavailability of the required equipment. Therefore, the only company that is capable and equipped with the technology required to manufacture and supply Huawei's flagship quality SoC is Qualcomm.
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(Image credit: Gizmochina)
Will the Trump administration allow Qualcomm to supply chips to Huawei?
Just like any other company, even Qualcomm will have to go through the licensing process to supply Huawei with chipsets, but the US-based chipmaker will most likely get the green light to do so. Interestingly, even Qualcomm chipsets are made by TSMC. There are many benefits to allowing Qualcomm to supply chipsets to Huawei. Since Huawei is a big company and despite all the repressive measures, it still sells a lot of smartphones, a partnership with it means a great financial benefit for any business. Second, Qualcomm has a significant share of the chipset market and this deal could only strengthen its position relative to its competing brands like MediaTek. Finally, working with Huawei could allow US companies to gain in terms of technology transfer because Huawei remains a world leader in terms of 5G technology. Even the Pentagon had in the past countered the Trump administration's decision to impose additional lockdowns on Huawei by claiming that money received from the sale of components to Huawei could allow American companies to invest in essential functions such as R&D. However It remains to be seen if Huawei wants to work with an American company like Qualcomm, because it is trying to distance itself from American companies and wants to overcome these sanctions on its own terms.