Huawei reportedly plans to relaunch 5G telephones as early as subsequent yr in an effort to regain market share that was misplaced within the fallout from US sanctions.
A Monetary Occasions report printed Thursday says Huawei might attempt to circumvent US sanctions by redesigning its smartphone to accommodate “much less superior” chipsets made by Chinese language corporations that can allow 5G. Nonetheless, this method dangers impacting consumer expertise, the report says. Previous to Washington tightening sanctions, a Huawei subsidiary designed the chipsets earlier than it was manufactured by main chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor.
The report went on to say that Huawei was additionally contemplating cellphone circumstances with built-in modules that allow 5G connectivity. Such circumstances are already in the marketplace.
Huawei pointed to the restrictions on what it could provide and the way that impacts its operations.
“Huawei strictly follows the legislation in all nations the place we function. On account of sanctions, we are able to solely provide shoppers 4G smartphones,” a Huawei spokesperson instructed CNET in an e mail on Friday. “Regardless of this, we are going to proceed to innovate and preserve bringing a greater consumer expertise to shoppers.”
Earlier this yr, Huawei launched a virtually $2,000 foldable cellphone, referred to as the Mate XS 2, nevertheless it’s solely suitable with 4G networks on this period of 5G, the next-generation wi-fi expertise.
Analysts say that even when Huawei manages to launch new 5G telephones, it will face an uphill battle in reclaiming worldwide market share with out Google. US sanctions have additionally restricted Huawei’s entry to Google, which implies its telephones don’t run well-liked apps such because the Google Play Retailer or Gmail.
In 2021, Huawei’s revenues for its smartphone-led client enterprise plunged by 50% in comparison with the yr earlier than.
The US has lengthy alleged that Huawei maintains a tight relationship with the Chinese language authorities, creating concern that tools from these producers could possibly be used to spy on different nations and corporations. Huawei has repeatedly denied that its merchandise pose a safety risk.
In 2020, the Trump administration leveled harder sanctions on Huawei, which restricted any overseas semiconductor firm from promoting chips developed utilizing US expertise to the Chinese language agency, with out first acquiring a license to take action.
