The US government is curious to learn more about a Chinese smartphone called the Huawei Mate 60 Pro since it has an advanced CPU.
Customers experience the newly released Huawei Mate 60 Pro flagship phone at Huawei’s flagship store in Shanghai, China, September 5, 2023. The phone comes with Huawei’s latest Hormony 4.0 system, a Kirin 9000s chip, a satellite phone and 5G standard Internet speeds. (Source: CNN)
China Releases Its New Flagship Smartphone
The new flagship device, which reportedly includes a new 5G Kirin 9000s processor developed specifically for Chinese manufacturer Huawei, recently surprised industry experts who were perplexed as to how the company could have the expertise to make such a chip in the aftermath of the US’ massive efforts to restrict China’s access to foreign chip technology. During a news conference at the White House on Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that the US needs “more information about precisely its character and composition” to determine whether parties skirted American limits on semiconductor exports to create the new device.
In 2019, the government prohibited US corporations from supplying software and equipment to Huawei and prohibited overseas chipmakers from cooperating with Huawei if they used US-made technologies. The government cited perceived national security concerns, such as the possibility of Chinese government cyberattacks or spying. The addition of a custom-built 5G chip would be a significant milestone for Huawei as it deals with the effects of US limitations on its device business.
Huawei did not reply quickly to a request for comment. David McQueen, a director at market research firm ABI Research thinks that the reaction in China appears to be one of mass excitement because Huawei, which was once vying to be the number one smartphone brand in the world, is seen to be fighting its way back into the smartphone market with Chinese-made silicon, and has no doubt been trading on a ‘Made In China’ mantra,” said. However, he stated that the unveiling raises issues about how Huawei was able to sell the phone after spending the previous four years under US constraints prohibiting access to 5G technology.
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The US was Thinking about How was 5G smartphones managed to Outsource Components after the Restriction
McQueen was wondering while having access to 5G for the chipset is one thing, he is not sure how the company managed to source all of the other components that need to go into a 5G smartphone, such as power amps, switches, and filters. When Huawei announced the Mate 60 Pro smartphone late last month, it did not provide much information on the processor on its product page, other than the fact that it offers improved communication and a more stable network connection. However, consultant firm TechInsights disassembled the Mate 60 last week to get a better look at the chip, which seemed to be a 7-nanometer processor built by China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).
SMIC, a predominantly state-owned Chinese firm, was included in the US government’s export bans enacted several years ago. Sullivan stated that regardless of the verdict, the United States should maintain its “narrow yard, high fence” set of technology restrictions focused only on national security considerations.
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