Huawei Mate 30 Pro phones no longer contain US-made components, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday quoting UBS and Japanese technology laboratory Fomalhaut Techno Solutions.
The report said Huawei has made great progress in getting rid of American parts and chips.
Besides that, teardown of the the Huawei Mate 30 Pro by companies such as iFixit and Tech Insights Inc. also reached similar conclusions.
Prior to the ban, Huawei purchased chips from American companies such as Qorvo and Skyworks. Since the ban, Huawei has obtained some chips from Qorvo, but has abandoned buying chips from Skyworks while including Japanese company Murata as a new supplier for the part.
Similarly, Huawei stopped purchasing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips from Broadcom and now relies on its own chips.
The report said that Huawei was aware of the possibility of a US supply chain ban as early as 2012 when it was called a national security threat by US lawmakers.
As a result, the company started stockpiling parts, a move that helped keep Huawei running after the ban took effect.
In addition, Huawei began looking for suppliers from countries outside the United States, and also began developing its own replacement parts. The company has the advantage of Hisilicon Semiconductors, which designs chips such as Kirin SoCs and Baron modems. These are designed by Hisilicon and manufactured by TSMC. The latter said it will continue to supply to Huawei.
But Huawei cannot easily replace a US supplier, Google. Huawei can no longer license the Google Play services version of Android, which means that its newer phones won't work with Google's core Android apps like Play Store, Search, Gmail, Maps, etc.
The Wall Street Journal said not only Huawei smartphones can no longer use US components, but also its network equipment.
Huawei is the largest global supplier of such technologies, with a 28% market share. As operators spend a lot of money to build their new 5G network, Huawei has been producing 5G base stations without US components and software.
Base stations are the main part of the new 5G network under construction. At present, Huawei can only produce 5,000 5G base stations per month. By next year, Huawei should be able to produce 125,000 per month.
John Suffolk, the company’s top cybersecurity official, said the company is now capable of producing—without U.S. components—the 5G base stations that are a key part of the infrastructure needed for the high-speed network.
“All of our 5G is now America-free,” Mr. Suffolk said. “We would like to continue using American components,” he said. “It’s good for American industry. It’s good for Huawei. That has been taken out of our hands.”
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