Now that Huawei has publicly acknowledged that it will no longer be able to deliver smartphones equipped with its proprietary Kirin processors, a race is underway for the company to fill this gap. MediaTek already has a relationship with Huawei, being launched several devices with Taiwanese processors from the Chinese manufacturer. However, Qualcomm seems to want to become a supplier of components for Huawei, after last year it already received a collaboration license, but not on the hardware side, apparently.
Qualcomm wants to replace Huawei’s Kirin processors with Snapdragon models
Last fall, Qualcomm officials said they already had a license from the US authorities to work with Huawei. But it was most likely about licensing certain patents or collaborating with international associations that develop new standards and technologies. Now that the rumors of the spring have been confirmed directly, Qualcomm would also like a hardware distribution license to the Chinese company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Qualcomm representatives are now lobbying the US government to receive such a license, which will allow it to offer its Snapdragon processors, most likely produced in the TSMC factory, the same one that is preparing to stop deliveries to Huawei in September. . The article says that if the US authorities do not offer Qualcomm such a license, it could win market competitors such as Samsung and MediaTek those contracts, the money reaching the economies of South Korea and Taiwan.
“If Qualcomm is subject to export licenses, but its competitors in other countries are not, the US government’s policy will cause a rapid change in the 5G chip market in China and elsewhere. That would be an unacceptable result for US interests. ” (Statement by Qualcomm Representatives and reported by WSJ)
Huawei Mate 40 will most likely be the company’s latest series of top smartphones that will benefit from a Kirin chipset in the near future. The company could launch these devices exclusively in China, only in limited quantities, within the limits of the processor stocks that the company will receive from TSMC before the September 15 deadline.