In the face of tightening export controls limiting its access to advanced semiconductor chips, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has introduced its latest smartphone, produced with a Chinese made microprocessor, according to a new Bloomberg report. The device appears to be the first product from the company with a 5G chip since the United States clamped down on its access to American technology three years ago.
According to a number of online reviews of the new smartphone, which went on sale in August, it will have wireless speeds on par with that of Apple’s latest iPhones, will support 5G, and will be able to perform satellite calls.
Based out of Shenzhen, Huawei has been battling to recover after US sanctions which were enacted in 2020 that restricted the company’s access to crucial technologies like semiconductors and other advanced components from major chip-makers.
In testing by Bloomberg, the new Huawei Mate 60 Pro was found to be capable of achieving speeds of over 350 megabits per second, which gave it bandwidth similar to other 5G smartphones.
Bloomberg analysts Charles Shum and Sean Chen wrote, “Huawei’s new 5G chip, which powers its newly-released Mate 60 smartphone, is likely fabricated by SMIC. This marks a milestone in China’s semiconductor progression. Yet we expect limited financial uplift for SMIC in 2024, given production yield challenges and material constraints.”
The outlet said that it was still unclear what chips were used to produce the new device.
Huawei was widely considered a global leader in the smartphone sector, led only by Samsung and Apple. The company’s products, however were heavily reliant on technology and components which were made in the United States, or which were produced by companies which had licensed American Patents.
Once US trade restrictions were imposed, the Chinese company lacked the hardware which was required in chipsets and 5G modems, and could no longer compete globally.
Huawei is China’s largest domestic phone vendor, with Huawei phones accounting for roughly 30% of the domestic market last year. In July, the company’s share of the global market was estimated at roughly 4%.
