Huawei's New Phones Rely on More China-Made Parts
Huawei’s latest flagship smartphone lineup, the Pura 70 series, relies more on Chinese suppliers than its predecessor, Reuters reports. The news indicates that Beijing is creating a more self-sufficient technology industry as the US continues to revoke export licenses from chipmakers.
Reuters commissioned online tech repair company iFixit and consultancy TechSearch International to examine the contents of the Pura 70 Pro, one of four phones that make up the premium lineup. The investigations found a new NAND flash memory storage chip and a more advanced chip processor, which were probably assembled by Huawei’s in-house chip unit HiSilicon. The researchers also found an increased amount of components made in China.
Research firm TechInsights conducted a third-party teardown of the Mate 60 Pro, the Pura 70 Pro’s predecessor. The firm found that the Mate 60 Pro runs on NAND memory chips made by South Korea’s SK Hynix.
This comes as Washington cranked up its pressure campaign against Huawei, just weeks after the launch of the Pura 70 series. On Tuesday, the US government said it had revoked certain export licenses secured by Intel and Qualcomm, both of which had been supplying Huawei with chips amid years-long US sanctions.
Huawei’s flagship Pura 70 series on display at its flagship store in Shenzhen, China. Sareena Dayaram/CNET
In 2019, Huawei was placed on a US trade blacklist, which restricted American companies from selling technology such as software, 5G chips, and components, among other products to the Chinese company without a license.
Huawei’s business took a major hit as a result of continued US sanctions. The loss of access to critical global components forced Huawei to release 4G phones such as 2023’s Mate X3 at a time when 5G phones had already hit the mainstream.
Huawei’s Mate 60 series is credited with reviving Huawei’s smartphone division. Huawei/Screenshot by CNET
Mate 60 Pro
Huawei quietly launched its Mate 60 series in 2023. The Mate 60 included 5G connectivity underpinned by an advanced China-made chipset — a feature US sanctions sought to block.
The TechInsights teardown discovered the the Mate 60 runs on Huawei’s in-house Kirin 9000 processor, which enables 5G. Washington has long alleged that Huawei maintains a tight relationship with the Chinese government, and has claimed Beijing can use the company’s products to spy on other nations. Huawei has repeatedly denied this claim.
The Mate 60 series is credited with driving up Huawei’s phone sales. In the first six weeks of 2024, Huawei saw a surge in phone sales per unit by 64% compared to the previous year, according to research firm Counterpoint. In that same timeframe, Apple’s iPhone sales in China experienced a decline of 24%.