For the first time since being placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List on May 16th,
Huawei has unveiled a new flagship series. Since its inclusion on the list prevents the Chinese manufacturer from accessing its U.S. supply chain, the company cannot install Google’s core Android apps such as the
Play Store, YouTube, Maps, and Chrome on the Mate 30 line. Huawei’s EMUI 10, pre-loaded on its new flagships, is based on the AOSP open-source version of Android.
According to Android Authority, Huawei’s consumer group chief Richard Yu did note that Huawei is ready to act if it is removed from the list and once again is allowed to purchase components and software from U.S. firms. Under this scenario, it will be able to disseminate a software update to add Google services and apps “over one night.” But if Huawei was placed on the list because of security reasons,
as President Donald Trump mentioned in May, how could Yu even think about Huawei being able to access its U.S. supply chain? That’s because Trump also has hinted that Huawei could be used as a bargaining chip to help the U.S. get better terms from China in a trade agreement. And Yu believes that this is the real reason why Huawei has been banned from the U.S. supply chain it spent $11 billion on last year.
Huawei hopes to ship 20 million phones belonging to the Mate 30 series
The trade war between the U.S. and China came about because of China’s huge trade surplus with the U.S. In an attempt to reduce this deficit, the president imposed tariffs on Chinese imports; but tariffs are simply import taxes and China doesn’t pay one red cent to the U.S. because of them. U.S. corporations pay the tax and if they choose to, they can pass the additional cost on to U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices. So yes, U.S. companies and consumers are the ones paying for this trade war. Starting this month, 25% tariffs were imposed on a new tier of products from China that include the
Apple Watch and
AirPods. And starting on December 15th, the iPhone will be taxed. That is because Apple’s products, while designed in California, are mostly manufactured in China.
The curved waterfall screen on the Huawei Mate 30 Pro drops down at an 88-degree angle
So there is a chance that if both countries can reach a new trade agreement, Huawei could be removed from the Entity List. But we must remember that the company is considered a national security threat in the states. That’s because the communist government in China can call on Huawei to spy on its behalf at any time. There are some who believe that Huawei’s devices contain a back door that will send information to Beijing at the request of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration.
“Since the May ban our sales dropped, but now it’s recovering really really quickly, so consumers love our products. I do believe that we can sell more than 20 million with the Mate 30 series.”-Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei consumer group
Despite the lack of Google’s services and apps, Yu says that the company hopes to ship as many as 20 million Mate 30 phones, mostly to domestic buyers. Huawei was counting on the Mate 30 series-and the
Mate 30 Pro specifically-to help it top Samsung and become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world by the fourth quarter of this year. Now, that goal seems like a longshot for this year.
Originally, Huawei hoped to ship 300 million phones in 2019, up from the 206 million it shipped in 2018. During the first half of this year, the company delivered 118 million handsets. In China, a wave of patriotism has some consumers laying down their iPhones and buying Huawei’s handsets instead. For example, during the second quarter, Huawei shipped 37.3 million phones, more than twice the amount delivered by second-place Oppo. That was a strong 31% gain year-over-year for Huawei.
