The US company Qualcomm is allowed to sell some of its 4G mobile processors to the mobile phone manufacturer Huawei. Qualcomm has confirmed this to the Reuters news agency. A special license from the US government allows Qualcomm to do limited business with Huawei despite the trade embargo.

However, according to Reuters, this license only applies to 4G -Chips from Qualcomm. Newer 5G chips, which are now expected especially for high-end cell phones, are apparently not part of the special license. It is also unclear which of its various 4G processors Qualcomm is now allowed to sell to Huawei. The license includes “some 4G products”, a Qualcomm spokesman told Reuters.

Huawei’s chip problems This is necessary Special license because the US government has placed a trade embargo on Huawei. It prohibits US companies from working with the Chinese tech giant and is the reason that Huawei cell phones are only allowed to use the free open source version of the Android operating system.

This is the end of Huawei However, there are no problems: Because US technology and licenses are also part of the trade embargo, many hardware suppliers outside the USA also had to stop deliveries to Huawei. Even the production of Huawei’s own Kirin chips is impaired because the contract manufacturer TSMC can no longer take orders. Kirin chips that had already been ordered were only delivered to Huawei until mid-September.

How Huawei smartphones run without Android. Excerpt from the heise show.

Huawei currently relies primarily on chip inventories that the company has amassed over the past few years. According to Reuters, however, this supply could be used up by the beginning of next year.

US companies benefit Qualcomm has been trying to get a special license for cooperation with Huawei for months. The company argued to the US government that companies from other countries could fill the gaps if US companies were prohibited from supplying Huawei. The US company Intel also has a license to supply Huawei with components.

While many international companies had to discontinue their business with Huawei, US companies were able to secure lucrative contracts with special permits. In addition to Qualcomm and Intel, the US chip manufacturer Micron and the Taiwanese company MediaTek, among others, have applied for a special license reasonable, massive impact. Although the smartphone business in China was still excellent recently, sales in Europe and the USA fell sharply. If the components required for production actually run out, business in China would also be at risk.

According to media reports, Huawei is therefore planning to sell its subsidiary brand Honor, under whose seal cheap cell phones are published for young target groups. According to Reuters, Huawei could concentrate on its own upper-class smartphones after the sale. A consortium led by the distributor Digital China and the government of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone are currently trading as potential buyers. The tech company is hoping for a sum of 100 billion yuan (12, 8 billion euros).

( dahe)