Huawei has been and still is battling a ban from the U.S. government prohibiting the Chinese company from doing business with American companies. Although it was later handed a reprieve, Huawei is taking further steps to ensure that its business interests remain unscathed in the event of a similar ban in the future.
To achieve this, the company was rumored to be working on an alternative mobile OS for Android after it emerged that Google can wake up one day and deny Huawei and others access to the popular OS. While it has since emerged that this OS is, in fact, meant for other purposes, the company isn’t relenting on its mission to be self-reliant.
Apparently, Huawei hardware suppliers claim the company is working to cut its reliance on Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets and instead install more Kirin chipsets in upcoming Huawei and Honor phones this second half of 2019.
Reportedly, Huawei is targeting to use Kirin chipsets in about 60% of devices it intends to sell in H2 2019. In the past, Huawei has occasionally turned to Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets for its low-end devices while reserving its Kirin chipsets for high-end and a few mid-range phones.
It won’t be the first time that such a change is taking place. In H2 2018, Huawei had Kirin chipsets powering less than 40% of devices sold and in H1 2019, this figure improved to about 45%. The only difference is the magnitude of the impending jump to 60%, up from 45%.
Understandably, the recently launched Kirin 810 that is expected to power Huawei Mate 30 Lite will feature heavily in upcoming Huawei midrange phones. The chipset already powers the Huawei Nova 5i Pro, Honor 9X, and Honor 9X Pro.
If all goes as planned, more than 150 million Huawei devices will end 2019 powered by the Kirin, out of the projected 270 million in 2019.
