Honor has apparently signed partnership deals with key chip suppliers after its separation from its former parent company, Huawei. The brand has now partnered with Intel and Qualcomm.

According to a Reuters report, the Chinese budget smartphone maker is only able to partner with these major chip suppliers due to its separation from Huawei. The latter is suffering from the impacts of US sanctions, which have crippled its smartphone business and also disrupted its supply chain. For those unaware, Huawei sold off Honor last year, to a consortium of 30 of its subsidiary’s agents and dealers in an effort to save its budget smartphone sub brand.

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Earlier today (22nd January 2021), the company launched the Honor V40, which was sold out in just over 3 minutes. This marks the first device that the brand has launched after the split, and it seems like the company is off to a positive start. Now, it is even partnering with key suppliers from across the globe, including AMD, MediaTek, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Sony.

According to George Zhao, “the last five months have been an extremely difficult but meaningful time for Honor. We feel the weight of expectation from industry partners and consumers.” After its independence from Huawei, Honor is expected to also launch mid to high end smartphones in the near future while also focusing on expanding its presence in the overseas market. It would also make efforts in launching IoT (internet of things) products and other smart connected products as well.

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With the US deadline fast approaching, Huawei and its suppliers are rushing to meet the shipping goals for mobile chips for the Chinese tech giant. An industry source close to the matter has revealed that the company is fighting for survival after pressures from recent US sanctions.

According to a Nikkei report, Huawei Technologies is stockpiling 5G mobile processors, WiFi, radio frequency, display drivers, and other key components from chip developers. The suppliers include major names like MediaTek, Realtek, Novatek RichWave, and more. The race to meet the shipping goals arrives as the US deadline is right around the corner.

For those unaware, the US government had previously announced on 17th August 2020 that foreign chipmakers are banned from supplying chips that use American technology to the Chinese smartphone maker. To do so, one must acquire a special license issued by the government. However, to account for existing orders, the suppliers were permitted to complete such transactions but with a deadline that lasts only till midnight of 14th September 2020, which is less than a month away now.

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Analysts have predicted that Huawei’s smartphone shipments could possibly fall by as much as 75 percent next year if it runs out of these crucial parts. Thus, to meet the tight schedule and deadline, chipmakers have agreed to ship half-finished products or wafers that have note been tested or assembled. Generally, complex integrated circuits built on to wafers which are then processed for packaging and testing when chips are made.

A source stated that “It’s not unusual for Huawei to call suppliers at 4 a.m. or have conference calls at midnight recently. Huawei is in a chaotic survival mode now, and changing its own plans constantly recently.” While another industry insider said that “We will fully comply with U.S. regulation but try to meet customer’s needs. … We have only three weeks left that we can ship products to Huawei, so we will ship some finished chip products as well as some half-finished products or chip wafers just out of the plant that have not yet been packaged and tested.”

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Samsung is currently preparing to launch its next-generation Galaxy S-series smartphone early next year. As per the reports, the company will be launching three variants in the new Galaxy S10 lineup instead of the usual two.

Moreover, the latest report indicates that the South Korean company is also shifting its supplier framework. Samsung is reportedly increasing its dependence on Chinese manufacturers its upcoming smartphones. While the reason behind such move is not yet known, it could be the declining smartphone profits and increased technical capabilities of Chinese manufacturers.

As per the report, Samsung will source the Galaxy S10 lineup’s antennas from China. Samsung’s flagship smartphones use integrated antennas which combine Near Field Communication (NFC), Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) antennas.

Samsung’s Galaxy S-series devices usually feature antennas manufactured primarily by Samsung’s subsidiaries and by Korean manufacturers, especially Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Amotek. Currently, there are six Chinese companies supplying antenna to Samsung.

For the 5G variant of the Galaxy S10, the latest report indicates that Samsung won’t be using Qualcomm-branded chips. The company is reportedly in the process of developing its own 5G-compatible  communication processor. The device is likely to come with Samsung’s newly-announced Exynos 9820 chipset and the Exynos 5100 modem.

The company will reportedly launch three variants of the Galaxy S10 early next year, probably in February during Mobile World Congress — SM-G970F, SM-G973F & SM-G975F. Two of them will feature a 5.8-inch display while the third one will be the successor of the Galaxy S9 Plus.

The Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus will come with a triple-camera setup on the back, similar to what we’ve seen on Galaxy A7 2018. The Galaxy S10 Lite, on the other hand, is expected to come with flat display and side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Read More: Supply chain analysis reveals how Samsung managed to make a smartphone with a foldable display

Recent reports suggest that the Galaxy S10 could sport ‘Infinity-O display’ as well as an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner. The base model could pack 4GB of RAM and the top-end model may include 6GB of RAM. As for the software, we are expected Android Pie-based Samsung One UI, which was recently unveiled by Samsung.

(Sources – 1, 2)

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