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Tag: Honor

  • Qualcomm: Phone Makers to Unveil iPhone-Style Satellite Tech

    Qualcomm: Phone Makers to Unveil iPhone-Style Satellite Tech

    Qualcomm has said more phone manufacturers plan to roll out satellite connectivity, much like Apple’s latest iPhone.

    The iPhone 14 included a first for Apple’s phone: the ability to send an emergency SOS via satellite. According to PCMag, Qualcomm has revealed that Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi plan to use the company’s tech to bring similar features to their own phones.

    Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite relies on Iridium, a leading satellite communications provider. The company also claims its chips will enable emergency SOS support worldwide, as opposed to the iPhone 14, which only offers the ability in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe.

  • Huawei Sales Down 32% As Company Reels From Sanctions

    Huawei Sales Down 32% As Company Reels From Sanctions

    Huawei sales are down 32% from last year as the company continues to struggle with sanctions from the US and its allies.

    Once a leader in the network equipment and smartphone markets, Huawei came under scrutiny for its close ties to Beijing and the Chinese intelligence community. US intelligence agencies, as well as those from other countries, viewed the company as a threat to national security and took steps to ban it from participating in 5G network rollouts.

    The US also took action to cut Huawei off from the semiconductors and supplies it needed to build its own line of smartphones, crippling the company to the point that it ended up selling off Honor, one of its smartphone brands.

    According to The Seattle Times, the various sanctions have had a devastating impact, with Huawei’s sales down 32% in the first nine months of 2021, compared with last year.

    Huawei has been pivoting to other businesses, such as cloud computing and software, areas less vulnerable to sanctions, but those endeavors have yet to make up for the company’s lost business.

  • Honor Magic3 Sports Google Software

    Honor Magic3 Sports Google Software

    Honor has introduced its new flagship phone, the Magic3, and its biggest feature is Google’s software.

    Honor was once owned by Huawei, but the company was forced to sell the brand amid the ongoing sanctions it experienced. As a result of security concerns, the US and its allies banned the company in one market after anther. The US even took measures to cut the Chinese firm off from its chip suppliers, as well as from Google’s software, critical to a smartphone running Android.

    Now that Honor is owned by a consortium of companies, none of whom are Huawei, it’s no longer blacklisted from using Google’s software. Thursday, the company released its flagship Magic3 and, according to CNET, the phone once again sports Google’s software.

    The return of Google Mobile Services, as well as Google’s apps, is good news for fans of the Honor brand.

  • Huawei Looking at Patent Licensing to Stay In 5G Game

    Huawei Looking at Patent Licensing to Stay In 5G Game

    Huawei is turning to its portfolio of 5G patents in an effort to offset the losses its traditional 5G business has suffered.

    The Chinese firm has been under pressure around the world, as governments have banned the company from participating in their nation’s 5G networks. At the heart of the issue is Huawei’s perceived ties to the Chinese government, which many nations see as a threat to their national security.

    Huawei is now turning to other sources of revenue. The company is rumored to be looking into electric vehicle production, and recently sold its Honor smartphone line.

    The company is now looking to profit from its portfolio of 5G patents by licensing them to other companies. Along with Ericsson and Nokia, Huawei helped develop the 5G standard. As a result, the company has a broad portfolio of patents, especially in technologies that help interoperability between networks.

    Jason Ding, Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Rights Department, said, “Innovation has been at the core of Huawei’s business since the company was founded. Our 2020 white paper lists the number of patent applications Huawei filed, or our R&D and innovation activities, in the late 90s and early 2000s.” He also stated, “Huawei’s worldwide patent applications were on par with other industry leaders in the early 2000s, and Huawei’s success today is a result of its long-term investment in innovation and R&D.”

    According to Ding, Huawei estimates its patent business will generate between $1.2 and $1.3 billion between 2019 and 2021. The company is striving to charge a reasonable royalty rate per handset, capped at $2.50 per unit.

    “Huawei has been the largest technical contributor to 5G standards, and follows fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) principles when it comes to patent licensing,” added Ding, “we hope that the royalty rate we announced today will increase 5G adoption by giving 5G implementers a more transparent cost structure that will inform their investment decisions moving forward.”

  • Huawei May Be Pivoting to Electric Vehicles

    Huawei May Be Pivoting to Electric Vehicles

    After suffering devastating losses as a result of US sanctions, Huawei may be preparing to pivot to electric vehicles.

    Huawei quickly found itself a target of the Trump administration, amid claims the company represented a national security threat. While all Chinese firms are required to cooperate with Beijing, Huawei was widely believed to have unusually close ties with the government and intelligence community. As a result, the Trump administration banned the company from participating in US networks, and there is no indication the Biden administration will reverse those measures.

    Other countries have followed suit, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Multiple governments and intelligence agencies have joined the US in branding Huawei a threat.

    The bans and sanction have taken a toll on the company, once an almost unstoppable force in the tech industry. Sanctions against the company have even resulted in it selling its Honor line of smartphones and cutting production of its flagship line, due to not being able to buy enough semiconductors.

    According to Reuters, the company is now exploring a strategic shift to electric vehicle manufacturing as a result of the challenges it’s facing. Reuters sources say the company is preparing to make electric vehicles under its own brand, and the first models could arrive as soon as this year.

    A company spokesman denied the claims, although the denial left plenty of room for interpretation.

    “Huawei is not a car manufacturer. However through ICT (information and communications technology), we aim to be a digital car-oriented and new-added components provider, enabling car OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to build better vehicles.”

  • Huawei Will Cut Smartphone Shipments by More Than 60% in 2021

    Huawei Will Cut Smartphone Shipments by More Than 60% in 2021

    Huawei has informed suppliers that it will cut smartphone shipments by at least 60% in 2021.

    The Trump administration banned the Chinese company from participating in US networks, and pressured its allies to do the same. Government and intelligence officials around the world have cited the security risk Huawei poses, given its close ties with Beijing and the Chinese intelligence community. The company has been banned from one country after another, cut off from its smartphone chip suppliers and dropped to the third-place smartphone company, behind Samsung and Apple.

    According to Nikkei, the company is only securing enough components to ship 70 to 80 million smartphones in 2021, down from the 189 million it shipped in 2020.

    The company’s woes even forced it to sell off its Honor brand of budget phones, but it remains hopeful things will turn around for its flagship line.

    The company was pinning its hopes on the Biden administration taking a software stance and lifting the restrictions. So far, however, it appears the new administration has no intention of changing direction, leaving Huawei with little recourse.

  • Huawei Throws In the Towel, Decides to Sell Smartphone Business

    Huawei Throws In the Towel, Decides to Sell Smartphone Business

    Huawei is selling its Honor line of smartphones in the midst of crippling sanctions by the US government.

    The US has been waging a campaign to isolate Huawei, painting the company as a threat to national security. While all Chinese companies are required to cooperate with the Chinese government, Huawei is believed to have stronger ties with military and intelligence officials than many companies. As a result, US officials have accused the company of being part of Beijing’s spying apparatus, a claim Huawei has vehemently denied.

    Despite the denials, the US has banned Huawei and pressured its allies to do the same. The UK, Australia and New Zealand have instituted similar bans, as have a number of other countries around the world. The US also used the Entity List and Foreign Direct Product Rule to cut Huawei from its suppliers, specifically TSMC, which manufactured Huawei’s line of smartphone chips. The company was forced to work out a deal with Qualcomm, with the latter receiving an exception to sell 4G chips to Huawei.

    It appears those measures were not enough to stave off disaster, as Huawei is selling Honor to salvage the smartphone unit. According to The Houston Chronicle, the buyers are a group of 40 Chinese companies, including a number of retailers that carry Honor. The deal is reportedly worth as much as $15 billion and will leave Huawei with no ownership stake in the smartphone line.

    It remains to be seen if this will result in sanctions being lifted.