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Xiaomi and the US government come to an agreement, averting a ban
Fully resolved following a temporary exemption
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In the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, the US government wanted to follow up the Huawei and ZTE bans with another one, this time aimed at Xiaomi. However, the company was able to get a preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the District of Columbia, removing the restrictions on the business a week before they were scheduled to go into effect. And ass Bloomberg reports, it looks like Xiaomi and the US government have finally come to an agreement, completely removing the company from the entity list.
Huawei might sell off parts of its Honor subsidiary
The company is looking to restructure its business to focus on high-end devices
Huawei's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year continues as chip- and display-makers cut supplies
Can we all just agree to skip the end of 2020?
This year has been rough for a lot of reasons, but 2020 has struck Huawei particularly hard. From the initial US trade ban to the latest restrictions placed on the company, its business in parts of the world that aren't China has been severely impacted. Now it looks like Huawei is in for more bad news, as Samsung reportedly plans to stop selling its displays and chips to the world's largest smartphone manufacturer.
US government tightens ban on Huawei, potentially blocking future updates for some phones
38 new affiliates have been added the entity list additionally
Huawei's temporary license to trade with US companies just expired a few days ago following extension after extension, but the Chinese manufacturer is in for even more trouble. The US Department of Commerce and Department of State have announced that they will further restrict access to US technology and add 38 additional Huawei affiliates to the entity list.
Qualcomm asks the Trump administration for permission to sell 5G Snapdragon chipsets to Huawei
$8 billion in potential sales are at stake
Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors power a lot of Android phones these days, but there are some exceptions. Huawei's tiff with the US government cut the Chinese company off from chip suppliers earlier this year, leading the company to investigate other sources. Now Qualcomm is asking the Trump administration to alter the restrictions placed on Huawei so it can sell more 5G Snapdragon chips.
UK may follow US lead with increased Huawei restrictions
The US sanctions on Huawei could make its products less secure
Huawei has had its share of rough times recently. From navigating through the turmoil of the US banning trade, to figuring out how to sell phones without Google's suite of Play services and apps, it's been a period of adjustment for China's largest telecom. And now it appears that the company is facing renewed scrutiny about the use of its technology in the United Kingdom.
Huawei and Honor may have to ditch their own Kirin chips due to US sanctions
In talks with MediaTek and UNISOC to use their chips
Huawei may soon have to forgo its own Kirin silicon in favor of chips from other manufacturers. That's because the US Department of Commerce's new licensing restrictions for international businesses using US software and technology are stifling the production of the homemade chipsets. Huawei and its subsidiary Honor are thus considering working with MediaTek and UNISOC silicon in anticipation of homegrown chip supply issues, according to reports from CNMO and Nikkei.
Google seeks trade ban exemption from US government to continue working with Huawei
Google isn't ready to give up on one of its biggest partners just yet
A month ago, Austrian Huawei manager Fred Wangfei said the company wouldn't return to Google's apps and services even if the US trade ban lifted. The Chinese conglomerate tried to backtrack on that statement, but it would still make sense for it to work on its independence in case it finds itself caught in the middle of another trade skirmish. For Google, this isn't the best situation as it could lose a lot of revenue if Huawei succeeds. That's why it has made a formal application to the US government seeking permission to trade with Huawei, as reported by the dpa via Heise.
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Huawei got caught in the middle of the US/China trade war and has been cut off from Google's apps and services for more than half a year now. That forced the company to quickly create a Google-less Android variant to ensure phones like the Mate 30 Pro could ship. Even though it looks like the US and China are coming to terms with each other and Huawei's ban might be lifted soon, the manufacturer has told Austrian newspaper Der Standard that it still won't return to Google's services.
Huawei has had a tumultuous year. First came the government ban preventing the Chinese manufacturer from fraternizing with US-based businesses, effectively severing Huawei's license to use Google's apps and services on its popular Android phones. Then came rumors that Huawei was scrambling to release its own mobile operating system to replace Android, which has yet to materialize. Huawei has even forecasted a major revenue hit for the 2019 fiscal year, but a new report regarding the company's ban status yields a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
The ongoing conflict between Huawei and world governments over spying allegations has been a wild ride. The company was initially blocked from trading with U.S.-based companies earlier this year, but temporary extensions have been given to US companies to continue working with Huawei. Unfortunately for Huawei, those extensions likely won't be renewed.
During IFA 2019 in Berlin, Huawei didn't only launch brand new products and devices such as the Kirin 990 5G chipset; it also introduced a new take on its successful zoom camera phone, the P30 Pro. Along with a redesigned back that now sports a two-tone matte and mirrored glass design, the device is also Huawei's first to feature Android 10. However, this re-release doesn't have anything to do with the impending US trade ban. Instead, Huawei tells us that it had planned the new color options for quite some time.
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- According to Nikkei Asian Review, Huawei's folding Mate X may also skip out on Google apps and services when it goes on sale, expected to happen later this month. The phone has already suffered delays pushing the release from June until September. If it had launched on time, it may have been able to sneak in the release before the Google's ability to license software to the company expired.
According to a report published today by Reuters, Huawei's upcoming Mate 30 series of phones may have to eschew Google's apps as a result of the trade ban imposed by the U.S. government. While the phone should still be able to run Android, given the free and open availability of the software, deeper integration with Google's apps and services like the Play Store and YouTube will be missing if an exemption can't be secured.
When the US added Huawei to the Entity List last month, it sparked a series of troubles for the Chinese manufacturer that are beginning to have significant consequences on its shipments and revenue. Indeed, the company has been banned from doing business with US organizations, which means it had to stop its working relationships with chip manufacturers and even Google.
The latest development in the ongoing trade war between China and the US could see Donald Trump sign an executive order that would block all US businesses from buying equipment made by ZTE and Huawei. The order would invoke a national emergency, thus giving Trump the power to implement the ban.
After the U.S. Department of Commerce banned ZTE from importing US-made components, due to the company violating an agreement it made in 2017, ZTE shut down most operations while it fought to lift the ban. The Commerce Department told ZTE it had to pay over a billion dollars in fines and replace its entire senior leadership for the ban to be lifted, which ZTE agreed to last month.