Huawei might release 5G phones by the end of the year

Huawei might be returning to the 5G smartphone market by the end of the year.

Industry sources including Huawei suppliers reportedly told third-party research firms that the Chinese company is likely to purchase 5G chips from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC). One research firm says Huawei is expected to use SMIC's N+1 manufacturing process along with its EDA software to build the 7nm 5G chips. 

However, the forecast yield rate of below 50% suggests that 5G shipments could be limited to between two to four million units. Another research firm estimates the 5G shipments at 10 million units. The poor forecast yield rate could also mean Huawei is paying more to get these 5G chips.

5G variants of Huawei's flagship phones could be launched in early 2024. These 5G models will not run on Google's Android OS, apps and services due to the suspension of Huawei's Android license in May 2019 over fears that Huawei is a national security threat. Therefore, Huawei's 5G phones might have limited appeal outside of China.

Due to the U.S trade restrictions, Huawei lost its ability to compete overseas and saw its global phone sales dropped drastically. Even though Huawei shared earlier this year that it managed to replace more than 13,000 parts in products that were banned by the U.S, the Chinese company is not out of the woods yet as the Biden administration is planning to ban the export of 4G, Wi-Fi and AI chips.

Source: Reuters

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