According to research firms, China's Huawei Technologies is planning to enter the 5G smartphone market by the end of this year, marking a comeback after a U.S. ban on equipment sales destroyed its consumer electronics sector.
According to three independent technological research organisations covering China's smartphone market, Huawei should be able to obtain 5G chips domestically utilising its own advancements in semiconductor design tools and chip production from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC).
Due to confidentiality agreements with clients, the firms spoke on the condition of anonymity and cited sources in the sector, including Huawei suppliers.
There were no comments on the issue from Huawei.
An entry back into the 5G phone market would be a triumph for the business, which for almost three years said it was only operating in "survival" mode. Revenue from Huawei's consumer division reached a peak of 483 billion yuan ($67 billion) in 2020 before falling by over 50% the following year.
Prior to rounds of U.S. limitations starting in 2019, the Shenzhen-based tech giant competed with Apple and Samsung to be the largest handset manufacturer in the world. These restrictions restricted its access to chipmaking tools necessary for developing its most cutting-edge models.
Governments in the U.S. and Europe have accused Huawei of posing a security concern; Huawei disputes this. Since then, Huawei has only sold a small number of 5G devices utilising processors that were already on hand.
When sales hit a low point last year, Huawei dropped from most global rankings since it was stuck selling outdated 4G smartphones. However, the company rose to a 10% market share in China in the first quarter, according to consultancy Canalys.
One of the research companies predicted that Huawei would adopt SMIC's N+1 manufacturing method, but that 5G shipments would be restricted to between 2 million and 4 million units due to a predicted yield rate of usable chips below 50%. Without offering any additional information, a second company predicted that shipments may total 10 million units.
According to Canalys, Huawei shipped 240.6 million smartphones in 2019, its highest year, before selling its Honour division, which was responsible for nearly a fifth of those shipments.
The state-sponsored This month, the China Securities Journal stated without mentioning a comeback of 5G phones that Huawei has increased its 2023 mobile shipment target to 40 million units from 30 million at the beginning of the year.
According to the three research firms, Huawei could launch new models in early 2024 and produce 5G versions of flagship models like the P60, which competes with the iPhone, this year. They added that their predictions were based on information they had obtained through checks with contacts in Huawei's supply chain and recent company announcements.
However, U.S. regulations prevent Huawei from accessing Google's Android operating system and the suite of developer services, which serve as the foundation for the majority of Android apps, which reduces the appeal of Huawei handsets outside of China.
Research companies recognised In March, Huawei said that its electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips manufactured at and beyond 14 nanometre (nm) technology had advanced.
Before semiconductors are mass produced in fabs, chip design companies utilise EDA software to create the blueprints for the chips.
According to the research firms, which are quoting their own industry sources, SMIC's N+1 manufacturing method and Huawei's EDA software might be combined to produce chips with a size similar to 7 nm, the potent semiconductors that are commonly seen in 5G phones.
Washington forbade SMIC from acquiring an EUV machine, a cutting-edge chip manufacturing tool from the Dutch company ASML that is essential to the production of 7 nm devices.
However, some experts have discovered evidence that SMIC has still been able to make 7 nm devices by modifying smaller DUV machines it could still readily purchase from ASML.
The second research company reported that it has seen Huawei ask SMIC to make chip components for 5G products below 14 nm this year.
According to Doug Fuller, a researcher on chips at the Copenhagen Business School, the anticipated yield rate of less than 50% suggests that 5G chips "are going to be expensive."
"I guess if Huawei wants to eat the cost they can do this, but I don't see such chips as price competitive," Fuller said.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
According to three independent technological research organisations covering China's smartphone market, Huawei should be able to obtain 5G chips domestically utilising its own advancements in semiconductor design tools and chip production from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC).
Due to confidentiality agreements with clients, the firms spoke on the condition of anonymity and cited sources in the sector, including Huawei suppliers.
There were no comments on the issue from Huawei.
An entry back into the 5G phone market would be a triumph for the business, which for almost three years said it was only operating in "survival" mode. Revenue from Huawei's consumer division reached a peak of 483 billion yuan ($67 billion) in 2020 before falling by over 50% the following year.
Prior to rounds of U.S. limitations starting in 2019, the Shenzhen-based tech giant competed with Apple and Samsung to be the largest handset manufacturer in the world. These restrictions restricted its access to chipmaking tools necessary for developing its most cutting-edge models.
Governments in the U.S. and Europe have accused Huawei of posing a security concern; Huawei disputes this. Since then, Huawei has only sold a small number of 5G devices utilising processors that were already on hand.
When sales hit a low point last year, Huawei dropped from most global rankings since it was stuck selling outdated 4G smartphones. However, the company rose to a 10% market share in China in the first quarter, according to consultancy Canalys.
One of the research companies predicted that Huawei would adopt SMIC's N+1 manufacturing method, but that 5G shipments would be restricted to between 2 million and 4 million units due to a predicted yield rate of usable chips below 50%. Without offering any additional information, a second company predicted that shipments may total 10 million units.
According to Canalys, Huawei shipped 240.6 million smartphones in 2019, its highest year, before selling its Honour division, which was responsible for nearly a fifth of those shipments.
The state-sponsored This month, the China Securities Journal stated without mentioning a comeback of 5G phones that Huawei has increased its 2023 mobile shipment target to 40 million units from 30 million at the beginning of the year.
According to the three research firms, Huawei could launch new models in early 2024 and produce 5G versions of flagship models like the P60, which competes with the iPhone, this year. They added that their predictions were based on information they had obtained through checks with contacts in Huawei's supply chain and recent company announcements.
However, U.S. regulations prevent Huawei from accessing Google's Android operating system and the suite of developer services, which serve as the foundation for the majority of Android apps, which reduces the appeal of Huawei handsets outside of China.
Research companies recognised In March, Huawei said that its electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips manufactured at and beyond 14 nanometre (nm) technology had advanced.
Before semiconductors are mass produced in fabs, chip design companies utilise EDA software to create the blueprints for the chips.
According to the research firms, which are quoting their own industry sources, SMIC's N+1 manufacturing method and Huawei's EDA software might be combined to produce chips with a size similar to 7 nm, the potent semiconductors that are commonly seen in 5G phones.
Washington forbade SMIC from acquiring an EUV machine, a cutting-edge chip manufacturing tool from the Dutch company ASML that is essential to the production of 7 nm devices.
However, some experts have discovered evidence that SMIC has still been able to make 7 nm devices by modifying smaller DUV machines it could still readily purchase from ASML.
The second research company reported that it has seen Huawei ask SMIC to make chip components for 5G products below 14 nm this year.
According to Doug Fuller, a researcher on chips at the Copenhagen Business School, the anticipated yield rate of less than 50% suggests that 5G chips "are going to be expensive."
"I guess if Huawei wants to eat the cost they can do this, but I don't see such chips as price competitive," Fuller said.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
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