Huawei Rumored to Sell 5G Chipsets to Apple as the US Company is Allegedly Struggling with Rollout of New Products
By Yang Kunyi and Chen Qingqing
Global Times
2019/4/9 19:03:40
China's Huawei Technologies is reportedly considering selling its advanced 5G chips to US smartphone giant Apple, which is allegedly struggling with the rollout of 5G products. A Chinese industry insider said there is a possibility that Huawei is likely to be a chipset supplier for the US company.
Huawei is now open to selling its 5G Balong 5000 chipsets, according to a report by US technology news site engadget.com on Tuesday, citing an anonymous source from the company. However, the Chinese company will only supply one company, Apple, which is also a major competitor in the smartphone business, the report said.
"We won't comment on this market rumor. Let the industry guess," a Huawei spokesperson told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The Shenzhen-based company has been developing modem chips that can support 5G devices for years and is now a global leader in the emerging technology.
The company's 5G Balong 5000 chipsets, which are capable of supporting 3G, 4G and 5G networks on a single chip, were officially launched on January 24 along with the first commercial 5G device powered by them. With the support of Balong 5000 chips, Huawei claims that the devices can reach high speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps in live network tests.
Previously, Huawei had been emphasizing that the 5G chips are for use in its "internal products" only. In a media interview in January, the company said that Huawei will not sell its self-developed 5G chipset to third-party companies.
Apple, on the other hand, has been struggling to find 5G chipset providers to match its 5G device line-up, which was originally planned to roll out in 2020, according to a report by fastcompany.com. Its current partner, Intel, is reportedly failing to meet the deadline to provide a major chipset - the XMM 8160 5G modem - that Apple is counting on to enter the competition, the report said.
Other chipset producers, including Samsung, have also been negotiating with Apple on 5G chipset provision, but have failed to reach a deal, according to media reports. Qualcomm, the US mobile technology company, is unlikely to form a partnership with Apple due to their legal tensions over patent disputes, according to a report by industry news site feng.com.
With the 5G ecosystem gaining rising traction, Apple could be under immense pressure due to the possibility it might miss out on the game without a partner to provide suitable 5G chips for its gadgets.
Neither company has responded to the rumor, and there has been no sign that any conversation about a partnership has been initiated by the two companies. There is still a chance that a deal can be made, according to an industry insider familiar with the chipset supply chain in China.
"Huawei has relatively mature 5G technology, considering it has used the Kirin 970 chipset to power its products, and the possibility cannot be completely eliminated that it has changed its mind and decided to sell chips to other companies," the insider surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Tuesday.
However, Apple will also face pressure if it decides to do so, he noted.
"As the US-led campaign to curb Huawei goes on, Apple will be under tremendous pressure if it uses chips from the Chinese company," he said.
Han Xiaomin, a consultant from the Beijing-based CCID Consulting, told the Global Times that he believes that both companies can benefit if a deal can be reached. For Apple, it can get the suitable chips it needs. By supplying 5G chips, Huawei can also win a competitive edge over its competitors including Qualcomm and Samsung.
"Huawei is now one of the global leaders in the area, with an advanced and mature technology development. I believe that Huawei is confident enough to supply its technology to Apple despite the fact it is one of Huawei's major rivals in the smartphone industry," Han said. "In cooperation with Apple, Huawei can also gain more bargaining power in the market of 5G chips."
The move can also potentially remove some obstacles from Huawei's penetration into the US market, Han told the Global Times.
"Striking a deal with Apple would mean Huawei has won the recognition from the company with some of the highest standards in the industry, both in terms of technology development and safety," Han said, "it can ease some concern over the safety of Huawei's technology and help Huawei's market exploration."
Han also believed that Huawei's technology safety should not be a big concern from a technological perspective.
"Unlike devices from Samsung or Huawei, Apple's devices usually have the basebands and processors separated, and they have always depended on third-party companies like Qualcomm and Intel for their baseband chips. Changing the provider from Intel to Huawei is unlikely to increase safety risk," Han told the Global Times.
So far there has been an active response from Chinese social media. Some people commented that they believe there is a chance that the deal could be reached, and that "it (the partnership) can help Huawei to explore the market in the US," but there are also people expressing concern that Apple would be facing problems from the government if it uses 5G technology provided by Huawei, especially considering the US government's suspicion of the technology provided by Huawei.
"Apple was betting big on Intel but lost its bet. It is still deep in a feud with Qualcomm and Samsung won't help, either. But if Apple, the No.1 company of the US really is using chips from Huawei, that surely will give Donald Trump a stroke."
Global Times
2019/4/9 19:03:40
China's Huawei Technologies is reportedly considering selling its advanced 5G chips to US smartphone giant Apple, which is allegedly struggling with the rollout of 5G products. A Chinese industry insider said there is a possibility that Huawei is likely to be a chipset supplier for the US company.
Huawei is now open to selling its 5G Balong 5000 chipsets, according to a report by US technology news site engadget.com on Tuesday, citing an anonymous source from the company. However, the Chinese company will only supply one company, Apple, which is also a major competitor in the smartphone business, the report said.
"We won't comment on this market rumor. Let the industry guess," a Huawei spokesperson told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The Shenzhen-based company has been developing modem chips that can support 5G devices for years and is now a global leader in the emerging technology.
The company's 5G Balong 5000 chipsets, which are capable of supporting 3G, 4G and 5G networks on a single chip, were officially launched on January 24 along with the first commercial 5G device powered by them. With the support of Balong 5000 chips, Huawei claims that the devices can reach high speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps in live network tests.
Previously, Huawei had been emphasizing that the 5G chips are for use in its "internal products" only. In a media interview in January, the company said that Huawei will not sell its self-developed 5G chipset to third-party companies.
Apple, on the other hand, has been struggling to find 5G chipset providers to match its 5G device line-up, which was originally planned to roll out in 2020, according to a report by fastcompany.com. Its current partner, Intel, is reportedly failing to meet the deadline to provide a major chipset - the XMM 8160 5G modem - that Apple is counting on to enter the competition, the report said.
Other chipset producers, including Samsung, have also been negotiating with Apple on 5G chipset provision, but have failed to reach a deal, according to media reports. Qualcomm, the US mobile technology company, is unlikely to form a partnership with Apple due to their legal tensions over patent disputes, according to a report by industry news site feng.com.
With the 5G ecosystem gaining rising traction, Apple could be under immense pressure due to the possibility it might miss out on the game without a partner to provide suitable 5G chips for its gadgets.
Neither company has responded to the rumor, and there has been no sign that any conversation about a partnership has been initiated by the two companies. There is still a chance that a deal can be made, according to an industry insider familiar with the chipset supply chain in China.
"Huawei has relatively mature 5G technology, considering it has used the Kirin 970 chipset to power its products, and the possibility cannot be completely eliminated that it has changed its mind and decided to sell chips to other companies," the insider surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Tuesday.
However, Apple will also face pressure if it decides to do so, he noted.
"As the US-led campaign to curb Huawei goes on, Apple will be under tremendous pressure if it uses chips from the Chinese company," he said.
Han Xiaomin, a consultant from the Beijing-based CCID Consulting, told the Global Times that he believes that both companies can benefit if a deal can be reached. For Apple, it can get the suitable chips it needs. By supplying 5G chips, Huawei can also win a competitive edge over its competitors including Qualcomm and Samsung.
"Huawei is now one of the global leaders in the area, with an advanced and mature technology development. I believe that Huawei is confident enough to supply its technology to Apple despite the fact it is one of Huawei's major rivals in the smartphone industry," Han said. "In cooperation with Apple, Huawei can also gain more bargaining power in the market of 5G chips."
The move can also potentially remove some obstacles from Huawei's penetration into the US market, Han told the Global Times.
"Striking a deal with Apple would mean Huawei has won the recognition from the company with some of the highest standards in the industry, both in terms of technology development and safety," Han said, "it can ease some concern over the safety of Huawei's technology and help Huawei's market exploration."
Han also believed that Huawei's technology safety should not be a big concern from a technological perspective.
"Unlike devices from Samsung or Huawei, Apple's devices usually have the basebands and processors separated, and they have always depended on third-party companies like Qualcomm and Intel for their baseband chips. Changing the provider from Intel to Huawei is unlikely to increase safety risk," Han told the Global Times.
So far there has been an active response from Chinese social media. Some people commented that they believe there is a chance that the deal could be reached, and that "it (the partnership) can help Huawei to explore the market in the US," but there are also people expressing concern that Apple would be facing problems from the government if it uses 5G technology provided by Huawei, especially considering the US government's suspicion of the technology provided by Huawei.
"Apple was betting big on Intel but lost its bet. It is still deep in a feud with Qualcomm and Samsung won't help, either. But if Apple, the No.1 company of the US really is using chips from Huawei, that surely will give Donald Trump a stroke."
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