A few weeks ago, the company chairman noted that chip sourcing is their biggest problem, and it’s putting their future at risk. Huawei is the designer, but no company can produce these chips due to the U.S. ban. However, the Chinese OEM has come with a solution. According to Phonearena, Huawei wants to ditch 5G from its new smartphones and use the 4G versions of Snapdragon 778G and 898 chipset for its upcoming devices. This will allow the company to continue trades with its business partners without worrying about the U.S. chip ban. The P50 is the latest lineup from the company that is equipped with Snapdragon 888 SoC. Samsung Foundry produces the chip. However, Huawei expected to look for 4G versions of Snapdragon 778G for its mid-range phones. The Nova 9 series is the most probable candidate to receive the chipset. Huawei also wants to place an order for 4G versions of Snapdragon 898 SoC for flagship devices. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset is currently used in some top-tier devices like Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. Its next-generation will power Huawei’s flagship phones, of course without support for 5G.
Lunching phones without 5G support is a big risk
Today, even mid-range smartphones are gradually adding 5G support. Launching phones and even flagship phones without 5G support is more like a crazy move in such a competitive market. However, there is no plan B, and that’s the only way for Huawei to stay alive. The Kirin 9000 SoC was the latest chip from Huawei that could be used in the company’s P40 and Mate 40 series. The Mate 50 is expected to launch with 4G versions of Snapdragon 898. Moreover, the phone is planned for 2022, which shows a delay due to chip sourcing problems. For now, Huawei 4G Snapdragon chips are the only way out. The U.S. chip ban caused many problems for Huawei and even made them enter new segments of business like mining and car technology. However, the company has decided to continue with 4G Snapdragon chips to keep its brand in the market. Of course, U.S. sanctions are not limited to hardware. Huawei even lost its access to some of Google’s services, and that’s why they are investing in building a new operating system called HarmonyOS. The company is also trying to replace the Google ecosystem with its Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) to be completely independent.
