Huawei’s status as the world’s largest smartphone maker might be jeopardy soon, as the company scrambles to get key parts for its popular phones. Issues began slightly over two years ago with the U.S. trade ban which prevented Huawei from trading with U.S. companies. More recently, the trade ban was expanded to include every company in the supply chain. This led to further complications as it meant that not only couldn’t Huawei get access to Google services for it’s Android based smartphones, it couldn’t trade with any company including chip-makers Qualcomm and Broadcom and even non-U.S. companies intending to trade in the country.
However, things are taking a turn as Samsung Display has received a license from the U.S. government to supply its panels to Huawei Technologies. The company is the first company outside the U.S. known to have been given a license to trade with Huawei.
While the news is definitely a turn of events in Huawei’s favour, it could be the least of the company’s concerns as it has still able to source displays from BOE, a new Chinese display manufacturer. That said, Samsung Display is definitely a welcomed supplier as the company is one of the largest manufacturers is renown for its display quality.
Unfortunately, Huawei’s outlook is still bleak as the company is running low on supply for its Kirin SoCs. The U.S. ban is still affecting the company’s supply chain when it comes to working with fabricators which are able to collaborate and create their chips.
