Could Huawei turn to Samsung's mobile processors? A possibility envisaged by the manufacturer, in case of tougher U.S. sanctions and a breakdown of partnership with its current founder TSMC.
Credits: Samsung
The situation between Huawei and the Trump administration is not improving. The United States wants to suffocate the firm with a very harsh embargo. Among the measures being considered by the U.S. government is a ban on the founder TSMC, Huawei's current partner, from working with the manufacturer. If this threat were to become a reality, Huawei would be devoid of Kirin mobile chips, the same ones that power its smartphones like the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro.
Of course, Huawei cannot afford to take such a hit, which would further affect the manufacturing process of its smartphones. The Shenzhen-based firm is therefore considering alternatives in case TSMC can no longer work with it. "Evenif the United States takes such measures, we will still be able to buy chips from Samsung in South Korea, Mediatek in Taiwan and Spreadtrum in mainland China. This is a common practice in the industry," a spokesman for the manufacturer told the Nikkei Asian Review on Tuesday.
He continues:"Even if we can't make these chips ourselves, I think many chip manufacturing companies in China will grow, and then we could make our products using the chips of those companies, as well as those of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Europe. . . . We don't depend on a single country or supplier," he concludes.
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Tensions between Huawei and TSMC
In any case, Huawei has already begun to change the organization of its SoC production. A small part was in fact entrusted to the Chinese funder SMIC, instead of TSMC. Relations between Huawei and TSMC have deteriorated slightly over the past week following a singular statement.
The Taiwanese smelter has publicly announced that it wants to estimate the costs of building a state-of-the-art chip manufacturing plant. A "Super" factory that would be built in the United States. Shortly before the announcement, Washington suggested that TSMC come to the United States to manufacture its chips for national security reasons. This statement was probably not to Huawei's liking, which partly explains this sudden reorganization of the production line.
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Source: Nikkei Asian Review