Despite its aggressive push in getting its own HarmonyOS and revamped EMUI skin to an outsized number of its current phones, Huawei should be in trouble as far as making new devices go. It’s crippled in its ability to shop for the newest and greatest mobile processors from Qualcomm also as making its own Kirin silicon. Huawei, however, is keen on finding loopholes and workarounds, and its latest strategy could be to easily drop 5G from the Snapdragon 778G and therefore the upcoming Snapdragon 898 that it’ll be buying from Qualcomm.
Huawei‘s sanctions within the US revolve around 5G, prohibiting it from buying or accessing products associated with the new network technology. It is, for instance , unable to shop for Qualcomm chipsets that have integrated 5G modems, and it’s also banned from buying components and materials it could have wont to manufacture its own 5G processors. However, those restrictions have a rather convenient loophole that would still let Huawei purchase Qualcomm products that don’t have 5G.
According to tipster Digital Chat Station, Huawei are going to be ready to buy a version of the Snapdragon 778G that has been stripped of its 5G capabilities. This 4G-only chip will eventually find its thanks to the subsequent Huawei Nova 9 series expected to debut this month.
However, perhaps more interesting is that there may additionally be a 4G-only version of the unannounced SM8450 or Snapdragon 898, the presumed commercial name of Qualcomm’s next flagship application processor (AP). Ready to |this may|this might|this could”> this is able to be an equivalent strategy that Huawei and Qualcomm wont to be able to equip the Huawei P60 series with a Snapdragon 888 without violating the US ban. Counting on Qualcomm’s schedule, this Snapdragon 898 4G could debut during a Huawei Mate 50 or, more likely, next year’s Huawei P60.
This workaround conveniently allows Huawei to deliver the high-end performance that current smartphones are expected to possess while ablation a feature that isn’t widely available yet anyway. However, it remains to be seen how long this loophole will remain open, as many of us within the United States government are moving to stay Huawei, including its former subsidiary Honor, on a tighter leash.
