4G Snapdragon Chips for Huawei Phones
US government adding Huawei to the Entity List seems more flexible, as it slowly allows companies to transact with Huawei anyway. We’ve seen this in AMD and Intel cases, as they were earlier allowed to supply chips for Huawei’s laptops. And now, it allows Qualcomm to aid its smartphone business. In the latest story by Reuters, a Qualcomm spokeswoman has confirmed that they have obtained a US government license to supply 4G chips and other products to Huawei. This is the least possible way to happen, as giving a license to deal with banned companies hasn’t happened much. And this could happen more often now, or wave off the sanctions against Huawei completely, considering Joe Biden becoming the latest US president. The Chinese company was accused of spying on its citizens and sharing data with the Chinese government. Since then, the US government has ordered all American companies to stop selling technology to Huawei. This forced Huawei to make its own in-house silicon chips, try a new search engine called Petal Search against Google’s, and form an Android alternative. While it coped up with software, it struggled with hardware. Today, all the advanced chip makers like TSMC are using American technology, and barring them from Huawei hits it more. And now, allowing 4G chips from Qualcomm is a much-needed thing. Though Huawei uses its own Kirin chips in flagships like Mate 40 series, it equips Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm in its mid-rangers. Thus, allowing 4G chips is a relief, helping it survive a part of the business.
