Retail News CRM

Tag: Huawei

  • Huawei AppGallery is rising fast, attracting millions of developers

    Huawei AppGallery is rising fast, attracting millions of developers

    Huawei’s AppGallery seems to have done quite well for itself this past year despite everything, according to recently released numbers. In a press release this week, Huawei revealed that the platform boasts 2.3 million registered developers today—nearly 80% more than last year. Globally, 530 million users are using the platform on a monthly basis, spread over 42 countries compared to 25 in 2019.

    Huawei’s fast-growing mobile ecosystem has been particularly attractive to Chinese developers, who have released over 10,000 apps to the world, many of which are known titles such as Clash of Kings, Game of Thrones, and Asphalt 9.

    In fact, gaming has been at the forefront of Huawei’s expansion initiatives, with the AppGallery boasting five times more games than last year. App downloads in total reached 384.4 billion in 2020, nearly doubling the previous year’s numbers.

    “We continue to see strong growth across markets in Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.” -Mr. Zhang Zhe

    Having established itself solidly in the top three app marketplaces in the world, Huawei has developed its own HMS Core mobile service framework to provide basic infrastructure services such as HUAWEI ID and in-app purchases, allowing for smooth app integration across different devices. Now, Huawei has announced that it offers 120,000 apps integrated with HMS Core on the AppGallery: a 118% increase from last year. One of Huawei’s main objectives is to maximize the relevant apps it offers in every area of news, entertainment, social media, and productivity.

    They have also spoken out about their 1+8+N strategy—а vision for developing a full-fledged mobile ecosystem consisting of the smartphone (1), Huawei-developed peripherals (8) and third-party IoT devices that are connected using Huawei HiLink and Huawei Share technologies. Huawei is essentially striving to be able to offer an all-in-one package to equal what Samsung and Apple can provide, and its exponential growth this past year has at least proved it can stand on its own two feet.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei launches 5GtoB solution to facilitate industry digitalisation

    Huawei launches 5GtoB solution to facilitate industry digitalisation

    The 5G industry has been developing faster than expected, with operators already seeing commercial returns from the first wave of 5G rollouts. The 5G user base and the number of 5G devices in commercial use have exploded since 2019. By the end of 2020, 380 5G devices had hit the market, 8 times more than there were the year before. The mobile 5G user base had also reached 220 million and wireless home broadband connections reached 1.05 million, a 17 and 21 times YoY increase, respectively. Ding claims these numbers will triple in 2021.

    The prices of 5G phones are also dropping rapidly. There are already multiple units on the market priced at under US$150 and about 30 mid-range and low-end phones priced below US$300. According to Ding, the 5G mobile phone ecosystem will become as mature as 4G over the next one to two years as network rollouts continue and the user base keeps growing.

    In the markets that deployed 5G first, operators have already begun reaping commercial returns. In China and South Korea, operator revenue continued to increase as their 5G user base grew faster than in other countries. Finnish operator DNA and Saudi operator Zain also achieved impressive financial results in the early phases of their commercial 5G deployment.

    At the event, Huawei also officially released its 5GtoB solution which is aimed at creating new value for every player across the industry value chain. Ding stated that building on its experience in connectivity, computing, and industry digitalization, Huawei has worked with operators and other industry partners to develop a one-stop solution that covers sales, operations, and services – the 5GtoB solution. This solution will simplify transactions for enterprise users, help operators monetize their network capabilities, and allow partners to innovate more efficiently, creating new value for every player involved.

    The Huawei 5GtoB Solution includes four parts: 5GtoB Network, 5GtoB NaaS, 5GtoB App Engine, and 5GtoB Marketplace. With 5GtoB Network serving as the infrastructure of the 5G solution, Huawei will continue building its capabilities in providing scenario-based 5GtoB services, including network planning, construction, maintenance, and optimization.

    With 5GtoB NaaS, network capabilities can be orchestrated into offerings before they are released, making it easier for enterprise users and application developers to use 5G networks and enabling enterprise users to manage 5G campus networks themselves.

    The 5GtoB App Engine is an application innovation center, where application developers and system integrators can access operators’ 5G network capabilities. It makes 5GtoB application development more efficient and application integration easier. It also serves as a bridge between 5G network capabilities and 5GtoB applications, enabling agile service development and launch.

    The 5GtoB Marketplace is an all-in-one digital supermarket on the cloud, where enterprise users can purchase the industrial 5G solutions they need.

    Ding said that Huawei has worked with operators, partners, and enterprise users to apply the 5GtoB solution first in the steel industry. With their capabilities and experience embedded into this platform, industrial 5G solutions like automated billet rotation, AR-assisted remote assembly, and steel surface quality inspection, can be standardized and rapidly replicated.

    At the end of his speech, Ding emphasized that industry digitalization will be a huge market, but that digital infrastructure developments vary greatly across industries and application scenarios also vary. In addition, related digital standards are not in place yet. As such, he called on all industry players to work together to establish comprehensive 5GtoB standards and ecosystem to drive further industry digitalization. He closed his speech by reiterating Huawei’s commitment to investing in the ecosystem and standards and supporting industry digitalization.

  • Looking to replace lost smartphone sales, Huawei turns to pig farming

    Looking to replace lost smartphone sales, Huawei turns to pig farming

    Huawei should have been the top smartphone manufacturer in the world last year. The company had a plan in place to take over the top spot by 2021 and despite losing access to its U.S. suppliers (including Google) in 2019, by early 2020 the company had topped Samsung and Apple to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. But then the other shoe dropped. Exactly one year to the day that the U.S. Commerce Department put Huawei on the entity list forcing the Chinese firm to stop doing business with Google, the U.S. made an export rule change. All of a sudden, foundries using American sourced tech were no longer allowed to ship to Huawei without a license.

    Obtaining the most cutting-edge chipsets for its phones and 5G base stations became impossible. In an ironic twist, even chips designed by Huawei were off-limits to it and the firm’s smartphone sales plunged 42% during the fourth quarter when the ban started. The U.S. considered Huawei, ZTE, and some other Chinese firms to be national security threats due to its alleged ties with the Communist Chinese government.

    In November, Huawei sold its Honor sub brand so that the latter would not be banned from obtaining chips and U.S. components because of its association with Huawei. The $15 billion that Huawei received in the sale was certainly needed and now the company could end up the seventh-largest smartphone manufacturer this year. Huawei’s smartphone production could drop by 60% this year although the company could not confirm the figure. A Huawei spokesman said, “The issue here is not like there’s any problems with our quality or experiences of the Huawei products. It’s not a level playing field for Huawei as Huawei is caught in between the geopolitical tensions.”

    The company has been looking for other sources of income which has led it to the pig farming industry. That’s right, Huawei, the company behind one of the most technologically advanced smartphone lines in the world, is in the business of farming pigs. This is a major industry in China where 50% of the world’s live hogs are located. Huawei is actually bringing tech to the industry with facial recognition used to identify individual pigs. Farms are using other technology to monitor pigs’ diet, weight and exercise. A Huawei spokesman, discussing the tech firm’s entry into pig farming, said, “The pig farming is yet another example of how we try to revitalize some traditional industries with ICT (Information and Communications Technology) technologies to create more value for the industries in the 5G era.”

    Besides pig farming, Huawei wants to branch out into the mining industry. Company founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei introduced a mining lab earlier this month. Using Huawei technology, Ren wants to turn miners into white collar workers allowing them to wear suits and ties to work. With the company’s technology, the mining industry will see “fewer workers, greater safety, and higher efficiency.” The executive added that Huawei will continue expanding its television, tablet, and computer lines.

    This is important because Ren doesn’t see the U.S. removing his company from the entity list. Even so, he states that “We can still survive even without relying on phone sales.” And even though the company is looking at new sources to bring in revenue, it hasn’t given up on the phone business. Huawei is still expected to release its two flagship models this year, the P50 and the Mate 50 lines. The company is expected to use its home-grown HarmonyOS for both models.

    While Huawei might be losing market share in smartphones, it still remains the top provider of networking equipment in the world. Still, Huawei needs to be careful with how it proceeds. After all, there is a long-time saying on Wall Street: “Bears make money, bulls make money and pigs get slaughtered.”

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei and China Mobile deploy world’s first 4.9 Ghz 5G indoor network with peak rate exceeding 3Gbps

    Huawei and China Mobile deploy world’s first 4.9 Ghz 5G indoor network with peak rate exceeding 3Gbps

    Huawei and China Mobile Shanghai deployed the world’s first 4.9 GHz commercial LampSite network in Shanghai, China. This is the first time that an aggregate bandwidth of 200 MHz on the 2.6 and 4.9 GHz bands and distributed Massive MIMO have been simultaneously implemented in digital indoor networks. With the peak rate exceeding 3 Gbps, the performance is comparable to that of an active antenna unit (AAU), satisfying the network requirements to provide premium service experience at large stadiums where the traffic demand and user density are high.

    This deployment was completed at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) where Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai, an annual telecom industry event, is hosted. In 2019, nearly 60,000 people attended this event. The latest 4.9 GHz LampSite units supporting a bandwidth of 100 MHz were adopted to work together with the incumbent 2.6 GHz band to ensure a bandwidth of 200 MHz through carrier aggregation. This enhances the coverage of indoor networks at capacity-demanding indoor hotspots, including stadiums, airports, and railway stations, to deliver premium experience to mobile users.

    China Mobile Shanghai has been a leading telecom carrier in developing 5G networks. To date, it has constructed more than 13,000 5G sites, basically achieving continuous coverage in the city.

    This telecom carrier boasts leading networks and evident technological advantages. It has been working with Huawei to explore innovative solutions to guarantee mobile excellent user experience in various scenarios. 4.9 GHz is an ideal option for telecom carriers to enhance coverage in indoor hotspots, ensuring premium indoor experience for toC services. This band is also important to ensure 5G coverage in high-quality toB applications.

    China Mobile Shanghai will continue to work with Huawei to accelerate the deployment of 5G sites to deliver the continuous coverage required to ensure premium service experience across the city. It will also continue to promote the collaboration of the telecom industry with other industries, such as finance, shipping, and trade to cement Shanghai’s leadership in applying 5G to vertical industries by leveraging their respective leading advantages.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei founder and CEO says Apple makes the best 5G phones

    Huawei founder and CEO says Apple makes the best 5G phones

    Huawei is not the company it was a couple of years ago when it was on its way to becoming the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. Restrictions placed on the firm by the U.S. forced Huawei to sell its Honor sub-brand in order to get Honor out from under the thumb of the U.S. The manufacturer that could have been number one this year is more likely to be number seven by the end of the year.

    Huawei is aware that in one major regard, it is much closer to being like Apple than it is to be like other Android manufacturers in its class such as Samsung and arguably Google. Like Apple, Huawei has more control over both the hardware and software used on its phones. The head of Huawei’s U.K. consumer business told Forbes last year that “we are one of only two companies globally that can have this hardware and software solution for our own ecosystem… Only Huawei and Apple can do this—it’s our long-term strategy.”

    A couple of years ago, Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei admitted that he uses an iPhone and even buys them for his family. Ren said in 2019, “iPhone has a good ecosystem and when my family are abroad, I still buy them iPhones, so one can’t narrowly think the love for Huawei should mean loving Huawei phones.” That same year, the executive said,”Apple is the world’s leading company… Apple is my teacher; it is advancing in front of us.” When Ren’s daughter, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in 2018 under a U.S. warrant for fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, she had in her possession a MacBook, an iPad, and an iPhone.

    Zhengfei says that the 5G iPhone 12 series features the best 5G enabled handsets currently available. He calls them “the world’s best” 5G phones and has talked up the quality of the technology found in the 2020 iPhone lineup. He has also used Apple’s 5G iPhone models as a way to promote the quality of Huawei’s 5G networking equipment; Huawei remains the world’s largest supplier of networking equipment. “We support the progress made by Apple’s iPhone 12,” Ren said, pointing out that the device “has been able to achieve download speeds of 1.82 Gbps, making it the best in the world… We helped build the best 5G networks in many cities around the world: Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Zurich, Geneva, Amsterdam, Vienna, Barcelona, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Riyadh… Our networks in Europe top global network performance tests.” As the company started just last week, “Huawei has undertaken hundreds of 5G networks worldwide. According to the results of 5G network experience test in global major cities conducted by many third-party organizations around the world, in cities such as Seoul, Amsterdam, Madrid, Zurich, Hong Kong, and Riyadh, Huawei’s contracted operators ranked number one in 5G network experience.”

    Ren also complimented Apple’s dominance of the high-end premium phone sector and said that Huawei’s networking equipment is good for iPhone users. Ren commented that “Many high-end device users in Europe use iPhones, and the way those phones operate on our networks in Europe actually is a sign we are also doing well. The fact high-end users can use the iPhone 12 to its fullest effect on our 5G networks in Europe is a testament to the quality of our networks. This is helping balance opinions towards Huawei in Europe.” Zhengfei pointed out last year that “there are only two big players with ecosystems,” he said, “Apple and Google. It will not be a problem to have a third one. In any industry, three top players is reasonable.” Huawei has since added its own ecosystem and we could see the company’s own HarmonyOS debut on a smartphone with the upcoming P50 line.

  • Huawei’s founder reveals plan to beat U.S. sanctions

    Huawei’s founder reveals plan to beat U.S. sanctions

    Last week we told you that starting on March 31st, Android phones uncertified by Google, including those made by Huawei, will no longer have access to the Google Messages app. While not too many Android handsets are uncertified by Google, Huawei’s newer models are because of its inclusion on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List which prevents the Chinese manufacturer from using parts made by American suppliers. That includes software and since Google is a U.S. firm, Huawei cannot have the version of Android that is certified by the company.

    One Google app that Huawei users have been able to use without certification from Google is video chat app Duo. But just as Messages will be unavailable on uncertified Huawei devices this coming Spring, the same fate will befall the Duo app. According to XDA, strings of code found on version 123 of Duo reveal sentences that say, “Duo is going away soon,” and “Because you’re using an unsupported device, Duo will unregister your account on this device soon. Download your Clips and call history to avoid losing them.

    Note that the strings of code for Duo refer to unsupported devices as opposed to uncertified devices as with Messages. While unsupported phones do not comply with the Google Mobile Service ecosystem and are treated mostly the same as uncertified models, the difference is that after Duo shuts down for these handsets on March 31st, there will be a grace period of 14 days during which users will be able to save and download their data from Duo before the service shuts down.

    Right now, Duo can be installed and used on the Huawei P40 Pro series without requiring the phone to be running Google Mobile Services (GMS). This will end on March 31st unless Huawei is removed from the Entity List and is allowed to install GMS on its models missing Google’s ecosystem. For this to happen, the new U.S. president will have to decide what to do about the Chinese manufacturer in general. So far, there hasn’t been any word from the new administration on how it plans to treat Huawei, TikTok, Xiaomi, SMIC and other Chinese tech firms.

    Meanwhile, Huawei founder Ren Zhenfei had given a speech last June explaining how Huawei could survive the sanctions placed on it by the U.S. The speech was just published last week and ended up in the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Zhenfei, who is also Huawei’s CEO, said that the company needs to decentralize its operations, focus on making profits, simplify product lines, and freeze pay for three to five years. The 76-year old executive said that U.S. actions against Huawei have made it hard for the company to put its original globalization plans into play and have forced Huawei to develop its own production lines. As Zhenfei said, “There’s a big mismatch between our ability and strategy. It’s our weak link, and we are forced to start from the beginning like elementary school students.”

    Zhenfei says that Huawei will not be defeated, nor will it become resentful of the U.S. Speaking to Huawei back during the summer, Ren stated, “Please don’t be upset because of the temporary US pressure, or give up on our globalization strategy. There’s no future without embracing globalization (in development and research).” Besides having to motivate employees while keeping pay frozen for the next three to five years, Ren said that Huawei needs to focus on the bottom line. “We must gradually shift focus from the top line to the bottom line. All product lines … must not blindly pursue becoming No 1 … we don’t have the conditions to always fight to be No 1,” Ren said. “We must create value and reasonable profits to ensure healthy growth.” So instead of worrying about the number of units Huawei is shipping, the company’s founder says that it needs to focus on profitability.

    According to Ren, the U.S. wants Huawei to die. He said, “At the beginning, we thought we might have done something wrong in compliance and we carried out self-examination; but then the second blow and third blow followed. Then we realized that they want our death … but the desire to survive has also motivated us”

    Lees ook:

  • Uncertified Android phones will lose support for an important app in March

    Uncertified Android phones will lose support for an important app in March

    The latter is making changes to its Messages app that will prevent some devices from receiving texts. One group of Android users that won’t be able to receive new texts will be those who own one of the latest Huawei models. Starting this coming March, Android phones considered to be “uncertified” will not be allowed to install and use the Messages app; this will affect millions.<

    Because of its placement on the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List (due to its alleged ties to the Communist Chinese government), Huawei is not allowed to access its U.S. supply chain. That means that its phones cannot use Google software including the licensed version of Android. Because recent Huawei models like the P40 series and the Mate 40 series no longer feature security permissions from Google, the latter considers those Huawei models to be uncertified. Certified Android models are allowed to have Google's Android apps installed along with the Google Play Services ecosystem.

    Uncertified Android handsets are hard to find. But in the case of Huawei, the manufacturer's newer models are impacted by the firm's placement on the Entity List. If you install the latest listing of Google Messages from the Play Store (which is version 7.2, by the way) on an uncertified device, a message will appear that reads, "On March 31, Messages will stop working on uncertified devices, including this one." The warning is intended to prevent Huawei owners from sideloading Google Play Services onto their device which could allow them to install Google Messages on it despite any ban. The Messages app is not preinstalled on most Android phones and must be downloaded from the Play Store.

    Google might have decided to make this change because of the end-to-end encryption that has recently been added to the Messages app. Android phones without certification, including newer Huawei devices that have Play Services sideloaded, have not been able to have their security vetted. Thus, users who think that messages they are sending to friends, family members, co-workers and others using an "uncertified" device are protected by encryption, could actually be disseminating secrets that strangers are viewing.

    While there has been some hope that the punishments received by Huawei might be reversed under the Biden administration, so far there has been no word from the new president about his intentions vis-a-vis Huawei.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Even though President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House this coming Wednesday, he took the time to spank the Chinese phone and networking equipment manufacturer Huawei one last time. In May 2019, Trump cited security issues for his decision to put Huawei on the Entity List. This move prevented the firm from accessing its U.S. suppliers without permission from the Commerce Department. Despite this move which resulted in the loss of Google as a supplier, Huawei persevered; for a brief period of time this year, it was the top phone manufacturer on the planet in terms of shipments.

    Exactly one year to the day that it was placed on the Entity List, Huawei received another big blow from the Trump administration. Starting last September, any foundry manufacturing chips using American-sourced technology needs a license from the U.S. to ship to Huawei. The latter was the second-largest customer of the world’s largest foundry, TSMC, and was blocked from receiving cutting-edge chips that it had designed itself. The U.S. also browbeat its allies over the last few years in an attempt to prevent them from using Huawei’s networking equipment on their 5G networks.

    American lawmakers were quick to call Huawei a national security risk because of the company’s alleged tie to the Communist Chinese government. Concerns that Huawei’s phones and base stations contain backdoors used to spy on U.S. consumers and corporations have never been proven. The U.S. also banned rural carriers from using the Universal Service Fund (managed by the FCC) to purchase networking gear from Huawei and is forcing these firms to remove any Huawei equipment used in their networks.

    In the final days of the Trump administration, licenses allowing U.S. firms to sell to the Chinese manufacturer are being revoked and applications from U.S. suppliers to obtain such licenses are being rejected. Reuters has seen an email sent from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) that documents the Commerce Department’s recent actions. In the email, the SIA notes that the Commerce Department had released “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.” The SIA email stated that a broad range of products was included in the latest action and many U.S. companies have been waiting months to hear whether they would be allowed to sell to Huawei. More than 150 license requests were pending amounting to $120 billion worth of goods and technology.

    Just last week, the Trump administration blacklisted Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi by demanding that U.S. investors divest themselves from any investments made in the company by November 11th, 2021.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei will end up among the globe’s top smartphone manufacturers this year

    Huawei will end up among the globe’s top smartphone manufacturers this year

    Back in 2015, the head of Huawei’s consumer products unit, Richard Yu, made a bold forecast. He said that in two to three years, Huawei would surpass Apple to become the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. He added that in five years, Huawei would top Samsung to become the world’s largest producer of smartphones. And sure enough, that is basically what happened. Huawei passed Apple and last year it finished second to Samsung. Earlier during the second quarter of this year, Huawei outshopped Samsung and for a brief period of time it was the top smartphone manufacturer on the planet.

    Despite meeting its goals for a short period of time, the long term outlook for the phone and networking equipment manufacturer is not good. That’s because the U.S., considering Huawei to be a national security threat, has made doing business difficult for the company. Last year, it placed Huawei on the Entity List preventing it from accessing its U.S. supply chain without permission from the Commerce Department. As a result, heavyweights like Micron and Google have stopped supplying memory chips and software to Huawei respectively.

    And the Trump administration aimed right at Huawei’s Achilles heel this year by adding new export rules that prevent foundries using American sourced technology from shipping chips to Huawei, The latter can’t even take delivery of cutting-edge chips that it designed itself. The U.S. actions against Huawei led it to sell its sub-brand Honor division for $15 billion. And even if President-elect Joe Biden, when he takes office in two-weeks, were to remove all sanctions against Huawei, the company will still see a sharp drop in shipments. Part of that will be due to Honor becoming a rival of Huawei instead of a sub-brand. Research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics estimated that in the first half of last year, Honor made up 28% and 38% of Huawei’s shipments respectively.

    So what is expected from Huawei this year? According to research firm TrendForce, Huawei will drop from its third-place finish last year to seventh place this year. That is a rather large fall for a company that has been considered one of the top smartphone manufacturers in the world. In 2018, Huawei delivered 208 million handsets. In 2020 that figure declined to 170 million and a further decline to 45 million is forecast for this year; that is a 73.5% decline for this year. The decline will also result in Huawei losing much of its share of the 5G market from 30% last year to 8% this year, also a 73.3% decline.

    TrendForce says that global smartphone shipments will rise 9% this year to 1.36 billion units, an anemic rebound from the 11% decline in smartphone production last year. The top six smartphone manufacturers this year could be, in order, Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Transsion. These six brands will make up 80% of global smartphone shipments this year. Transsion is a phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China and is popular in Africa. The researchers also say that the number of 5G phones produced will rise this year to 500 million units from the 240 million made in 2020. Chinese brands could make up as much as 60% of 5G phones produced in 2021.

    Huawei recently released its new Mate 40 flagship series and early next quarter we could see the unveiling of the photography-based P50 line. This year, Huawei could finish seventh with Honor right behind at number eight. Besides its one-time standing as a top global smartphone producer, the company is also the world’s top networking equipment manufacturer.

    The U.S. considers Huawei to be a national security threat because of its alleged ties to the Communist Chinese government.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei, Qualcomm, and Oppo are arguably the three most innovative firms in wireless technology

    Huawei, Qualcomm, and Oppo are arguably the three most innovative firms in wireless technology

    This might not come as a surprise to some people living in China, or to those who make a living by following the goings on of the wireless world, but there is a good case for calling Huawei the most innovative outfit in this realm. The company’s Mate series phones are traditionally one of the top technologically based smartphones in the world each year. However, the powerful 5nm chips it designed for this year’s Mate 40 line can no longer be shipped to the company because of a new U.S. export rule. The rule bans foundries like TSMC from shipping cutting-edge chips to Huawei without a license if said chips were produced using American technology.

    An industry report cited by the South China Morning Post states that from the beginning of this year through the end of October, Huawei filed 8,607 patent applications related to wireless technology. That put the firm at the top of the pack, well ahead of San Diego, California based chip designer Qualcomm; the latter sought 5,807 patents during the same January to October time period. Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo was third with 5,353 patent applications. Database provider incoPat, headquartered in Beijing, is responsible for the data used to compile the list.

    According to incoPat, both China and the U.S. led the way with each making up 32% of the patents filed from January through October. Japan was next with 15% followed by the 7% submitted by South Korea. IncoPat says that the information it uses comes from patent filings available to the public in the field of wireless communications. This includes patents filed to protect inventions related to 5G technology. The report issued by incoPat notes “As a key area of modern communications, wireless communication network technology has always been a very important part in the 5G research and development process. With the new technological competition and new globalisation situation, wireless communication network technology is becoming an important strategic choice for enterprises to face international competition.”

    5G is the next generation of wireless connectivity and the countries that control 5G will have an advantage economically. That is why, seeing how innovative Huawei is and not wanting to be left behind, back in June the U.S. Commerce Department amended the entity list ruling that prevents Huawei from working and doing business with U.S. based firms. Now, American tech companies are allowed to work alongside Huawei to help create global 5G standards. The U.S. feared that being left out of the meetings attended by Huawei would hold the U.S. back in terms of the development of 5G.

    Huawei is also the leader in helping the 3GPP develop standards for 5G. 3GPP (the 3rd Generation Partnership Project) is a term that covers standards organizations that help create protocols for mobile telecom. After Huawei, Ericsson and Qualcomm provide the most contributions to 3GPP for 5G standards. According to SCMP, this year 3GPP completed its next set of standards for 5G which include possible applications for 5G such as autonomous driving, smart factories, and remote surgery.

    Earlier this month, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that the country has built nearly 700,000 base stations in 2020 topping its original target of 500,000 for the whole year. As the world’s leading provider of networking equipment, Huawei is also an important supplier of 5G base stations. In fact, published reports indicate that Huawei will replace Ericsson this year to become number one in 5G base stations. Ericsson is expected to see its market share decline from 30% last year to 26.5% in 2020. Huawei, on the other hand, should see its 5G base station share rise from 27.5% last year to a leading 28.5% in 2020. That is, along as it can find enough 5nm Kirin 9000 chipsets to power these base stations. As we mentioned earlier in this article, the U.S. is preventing Huawei from receiving cutting-edge chips from TSMC.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei sells Honor to consortium of resellers including Suning

    Huawei sells Honor to consortium of resellers including Suning

    Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is selling its budget brand smartphone unit Honor to a consortium of over 30 agents and dealers in a bid to keep it alive, the company and the consortium said on Tuesday.

    The deal comes after U.S. government sanctions have restricted supplies to the Chinese company on grounds the firm is a national security threat – which it denies. The consortium issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the purchase, which will be made via a new company, Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology. Huawei will not hold any shares in the new Honor company after the sale, the statement said.

    In Huawei’s statement, the company said its consumer business has been under “tremendous pressure” due to the “persistent unavailability of technical elements” for its phone business.

    “This move has been made by Honor’s industry chain to ensure its own survival,” Huawei said.

    The change of ownership will not impact Honor’s development direction, both statements said. Sources with knowledge of the matter say U.S. government restrictions have forced the world’s second-biggest smartphone maker – after South Korea’s Samsung Electronics – to focus on high-end handsets and corporate-oriented business. One source said on Tuesday the U.S. government will have no reason to apply sanctions to Honor after it separates from Huawei.

    Honor sells smartphones through its own websites and third-party retailers in China, where it competes with Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo in the lower-priced handset market. It also sells phones in Southeast Asia and Europe, and ships 70 million units annually, according to the Huawei statement.

    Electronics products and appliance store Suning.com is listed among the buyers, which include several state-owned investment firms in Huawei’s hometown of Shenzhen.

    Honor will look for more investment partners in the future, with the possibility of an eventual listing, the source said.

    Reuters reported earlier this month that Huawei was in talks to sell Honor in a 100 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) deal to a consortium led by handset distributor Digital China and the Shenzhen government.

    Digital China was not part of the final buyer group, the source said.

    Huawei has said its higher-end smartphone line is also under threat from the U.S. sanctions, with the head of its consumer business saying in August that it would be unable to continue making the Kirin chips that power its premium models.

    Offloading Honor will give Huawei some “breathing room” on the sourcing side for its premium business while it focuses on developing its proprietary HarmonyOS for smartphones, said Nicole Peng, vice president of mobility at industry research consultancy Canalys.

    The sale will help to sustain the brand, while allowing the possibility of buying Honor back some day, said Will Wong, an analyst at IDC.

    “It will be easier for Huawei to make a potential buyback in the future from this consortium, which might not be so easy if they sell it to other smartphone or electronics makers,” he said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei’s breakthrough Petal Search app helps users install content banned by the U.S.

    Huawei’s breakthrough Petal Search app helps users install content banned by the U.S.

    You might remember that back in May, we told you about Huawei’s plan to work around the manufacturer’s inclusion on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List. The U.S. put the company on this list because it considers the firm to be a national security threat. Placed on the Entity List, Huawei is not allowed to access its U.S. supply chain which means that it cannot license the Google Mobile Services version of Android. It also means that Google’s Android apps like Search, Maps, YouTube, the Play Store, Drive, and Gmail can not be installed on a Huawei phone. Most of Google’s apps are banned in China anyway, so only the international variant of the company’s phones are impacted.

    The Entity List placement also means that Huawei cannot work with U.S. firms including app developers. So Huawei’s phones, both inside and outside China, do not give users a selection of popular U.S. based apps to use. For example, in Huawei’s own AppGallery Android app distribution platform, you won’t find apps like Amazon, Snapchat, Speedtest.net, and AccuWeather. But as we pointed out in May, Huawei developed a new search engine called Petal Search. Petal Search will not only list “daily weather forecasts and top news; live sports scores and schedules; video, image, and music searches; and financial news and stock market updates.” When it comes to travel, it will “search millions of hotels worldwide and book rooms; and check flights and travel info for top global destinations.” Petal Search will also “look up local services and businesses with comprehensive directories.” But that isn’t the exciting cool feature.

    When you open up Petal Search and tap in the name of an app, the search engine looks for the one that you have in mind. If it finds the title in the AppGallery, it will be installed on your Huawei handset. If Petal Search can’t find a listing, it will search for it on third-party app stores. If it finds the app, a simple tap of the Install button will handle the task of downloading it on your phone.

    When we first heard about Petal Search, we told you that the idea behind it was to help Huawei customers find and install apps that are blocked due to the U.S. ban. These include Google’s own Android apps and U.S. developed social media and entertainment apps. And now, according to Forbes, Petal Search has become a full-service search engine as well. Petal even got some promotion during last week’s unveiling of the new flagship Mate 40 series.

    With the U.S. continuing to be offended by Huawei’s will to survive, the company could end up having to leave the smartphone industry and concentrate on providing an ecosystem to other phone manufacturers. Huawei created its own Mobile Services ecosystem that has over 700 million users, a 32% annual gain from last year. More importantly, the number of app developers registered by Huawei has risen 76% year-over-year to 1.6 million. This is of major importance because the larger the number of developers working on content for HMS, the more of a challenge Huawei becomes to other phone manufacturers.

    The main challenge that Huawei has at the current time is finding a foundry that can produce cutting-edge chips without using American-made technology. Back in May, the U.S. Commerce Department changed its export rules preventing foundries like TSMC from shipping chips to Huawei without a special license issued by the U.S. Recently it was discovered that the Chinese manufacturer ordered 15 million units of its 5nm Kirin 9000 chipset but received only 8.8 million of them. The new export rule started to take effect on September 15th.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei welcomes a thorough examination of its 5G technology to prove it’s not a security threat

    Huawei welcomes a thorough examination of its 5G technology to prove it’s not a security threat

    Since 2012, Chinese phone and networking equipment manufacturer Huawei has been considered a national security threat. Perceived ties with the Communist Chinese government have the current administration concerned that Huawei collects personal and corporate data using back doors placed inside the company’s handsets and networking gear. Even though this has never been proven and has been denied by the company, President Donald Trump cited “security” for placing Huawei on the Entity List last year preventing the firm from accessing its U.S. supply chain.

    Being placed on the Entity List forced Huawei to scramble to find replacement suppliers for some of the key parts it needs to build phones and networking gear. Losing the ability to license the Google Mobile Services version of Android also meant that Google’s Android apps like Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Drive, and others could not be installed on Huawei phones. In China, where Google’s apps are banned anyway, the absence of these apps wouldn’t affect sales of the manufacturer’s phones. But outside of the firm’s home country, sales of the International Models were reportedly impacted by Huawei’s inability to license Google’s Android ecosystem.

    On the first anniversary of its placement on the Entity List, the U.S. tightened the screws a little more by changing certain export rules. Now, a foundry anywhere in the world must obtain a license before shipping chips made with U.S. technology to Huawei. That includes new cutting-edge 5nm Kirin 9000 semiconductors that are supposed to power Huawei’s most technologically advanced phones this year, the Mate 40 series. These chips are also vital to the production of two-way radios and other gear required for the firm’s 5G networking equipment. The number one provider of such equipment worldwide, the U.S. had asked its allies last year not to use Huawei gear for their 5G networks. Some countries followed the U.S. request while others, like Britain, did not. But now Britain is feeling buyer’s remorse and is thinking about stripping Huawei’s parts out of its new networks.

    According to Reuters, the head of Huawei’s Italian unit, President Luigi De Vecchis, said that the company is ready and willing to have its facilities examined with a fine-tooth comb to prove that its technology does not create a security risk to those countries that use Huawei’s gear in their 5G networks. In Rome on Wednesday, De Vecchis spoke at the opening of the company’s new cyber-security center and stated, “We will open our insides, we are available to be vivisected to respond to all of this political pressure. I am speechless that a country the size of the United States attacks another country through the demolition, via groundless accusations, of a company of that country.”

    Coincidentally, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Italy to begin a two-day visit to the country at the same time that Huawei was opening its cyber-security center. De Vecchis added that the company will not leave the Italian market and in fact is looking to create products for the country in different fields including the energy industry. The Huawei executive said, “It’s extremely unlikely Huawei will leave the market because of the current situation.”

    The U.S. continues to put pressure on Chinese tech firms. U.S. companies now need a license to export certain materials to SMIC, China’s largest foundry (SMIC). And the Trump administration is thinking about adding SMIC to the Entity List as well. Of course, we’ve been closely following what is going on between the White House, short-form video app TikTok, and the latter’s parent ByteDance. Once again it comes down to the same fear over the safety of personal data belonging to American consumers and corporations. And yet, there has been no smoking gun to date.

  • Huawei says that it will release a HarmonyOS phone next year

    Huawei says that it will release a HarmonyOS phone next year

    Last year, after the U.S. Commerce Department banned Huawei from its U.S. supply chain, the Chinese phone and networking equipment manufacturer scrambled to find new sources. The one stateside supplier that it missed the most was Google since the ban prevented the latter from delivering the Google Mobile Services version of Android to Huawei. While it didn’t matter in China where most of Google’s Android apps are banned, not being able to equip its international models with the Google ecosystem might have cost the manufacturer some sales.

    In August of 2019, Huawei announced that it had developed a new operating system called Harmony. Many assumed that this new operating system would be immediately used by Huawei to replace Android. This turned out not to be the case. Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer group, pointed out that Harmony is based on a microkernel allowing it to be used on a wide range of devices such as smart speakers, tablets, smartwatches, computers, autos, and smartphones. Huawei also noted that HarmonyOS will work on devices equipped with a small amount of RAM and those requiring hundreds of gigabytes of memory. Thus far, Harmony OS has been available for consumers only on television sets.

    Mr. Yu said today that in 2021, Huawei will ship its first handset powered by HarmonyOS. What set off this announcement by the long-time Huawei executive was the word that the company plans on introducing a second version of Harmony OS this coming Thursday, September 10th, during the 2020 HDC Developers Conference. Several new devices powered by the operating system will soon be announced and this year Huawei says that its new smartwatches will be driven by HarmonyOS.

    Yu did admit that Huawei has been sitting on a phone running HarmonyOS, but the company has had to wait because of an agreement it has with Google. But that doesn’t mean that the company doesn’t have high hopes for the platform in the future. The executive says that HarmonyOS will eventually become a worldwide platform.

    In a previous speech, Yu said that the upcoming Huawei Mate 40 series will be powered by a new series of 5nm Kirin chips, the Kirin 9000. Not only will these components be produced using the new 5nm process, but they will also have more powerful 5G and AI capabilities, CPUs, and GPUs. But a new export rule put into place by the U.S. prevents foundries from shipping chips to Huawei that were made using U.S. technology. Yu notes, “Unfortunately, under the sanctions of the United States, TSMC only accepted orders before September 15th. By September 15th, it will not be able to produce chips for Huawei. So Kirin 9000 may be our last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips.”

    Huawei was TSMC’s second-largest customer after Apple last year but the world’s largest individual foundry will not be allowed to ship to the Chinese manufacturer after September 14th. Until that date, TSMC is reportedly running its assembly line 24 hours a day to produce as many as chips that it can until it isn’t allowed to ship to Huawei. China’s largest foundry, SMIC, is not a viable replacement since it is several process nodes behind TSMC. Chip designer Mediatek has reportedly been seeking permission to develop cutting-edge chips for Huawei. It would seem unlikely for the company to get that permission from the U.S., especially considering that Mediatek relies on TSMC to produce its chips. Additionally, administration officials in the U.S. have complained about Huawei’s ability to skirt the Entity List ban.

    Assuming that Huawei has been able to stock up on 5nm chips, the company has a little time-not much mind you-to find a new source of 5nm SoCs.

    Lees ook:

  • Huawei says existing devices will continue receiving Android updates

    Huawei says existing devices will continue receiving Android updates

    Huawei has confirmed that its devices will continue to receive software and security updates, reports Huawei Central. Last year, Google stopped providing non-public software to the company to comply with a US blacklist.

    The company was provided a temporary relief which allowed it to provide software updates to its existing phones. Handsets launched after the trade ban come with an open-source version of Android and lack key services and apps.

    The temporary general license expired recently and this raised speculations that older Huawei and Honor phones would stop receiving Android updates from Google.

    Huawei says that phones that were released before it was put on the entity list have not been impacted and will keep getting updates.

    As for the new devices which do not feature Google Mobile Services (GMS), updates will be managed through Huawei’s AppGallery. Google had previously said it would keep providing updates as long as the government lets it do so. There is no indication from its side that it will continue sending out updates now that the temporary general license has expired.

    The Commerce Department recently said that the license will not be extended.

    The US shows no intention of letting Huawei off easily as is evident by a recent move that aims to make it even harder for the company to source chips. The company recently said it could no longer make its own chips because of restrictions imposed by the US government and that the Mate 40 will be its last phone to have a Kirin chip.

    Later this year, the manufacturer is expected to launch its first phone with Harmony OS, its own operating system.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: