Huawei May Relaunch 5G Phones Next Year, says report

Huawei reportedly plans to relaunch 5G phones as early as next year in an effort to regain marketshare that was lost in the fallout of US sanctions. 

A Financial Times report published Thursday says Huawei may circumvent US sanctions by redesigning its smartphone to accommodate “less advanced” chipsets made by Chinese companies. However, this approach risks impacting user experience, the report says. Prior to Washington tightening sanctions, a Huawei subsidiary designed the chipsets before it was manufactured by leading chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor. 

The report went on to say that Huawei was also considering phone cases with built-in modules that enable 5G connectivity. Such cases are already on the market. Earlier this year, Huawei launched a nearly £2000 foldable phone, called the Mate XS 2, but it was only compatible with 4G networks in this era of 5G. 5G is widely seen as a game-changing technology that’s expected to dramatically boost the speed, coverage and responsiveness of wireless networks.

Analysts say even if Huawei manages to relaunch 5G phones, it’ll face an uphill battle in reclaiming international marketshare. US sanctions have also cut Huawei’s access to Google, which means its phones do not run popular apps such as the Google Play Store or Gmail. 

The US has long alleged that Huawei maintains a tight relationship with the Chinese government, creating fear that equipment from these manufacturers could be used to spy on other countries and companies. Huawei has repeatedly denied that its products pose a security threat.

In 2020, the Trump administration levelled tougher sanctions on Huawei, which restricted any foreign semiconductor company from selling chips developed using US technology to the Chinese firm, without first obtaining a license to do so.

Huawei didn’t immediately respond to a CNET request for comment.