As if the maker of the world’s most popular mobile operating system cutting you off wasn’t unpleasant enough for Huawei, US chip makers will also be forced to do so, or risk the wrath of the current White House administration.
Qualcomm, the maker of all things Snapdragon and 4G/5G modems, as well as Broadcom, a supplier of Wi-fi and other connectivity chips, will also have to deal with the administration’s thinly veiled restrictions for doing business with precisely Huawei.
Intel is in the mix, too, just when Huawei laptops started getting glowing tech reviews for their design, battery longevity, and value-for-money configurations. Infineon, the German modem maker that Intel bought in 2011, has also received marching orders to cut supply to Huawei effective immediately.
Needless to say, Huawei makes its own mobile processors and has a 5G connectivity modem already in retail devices, so it wouldn’t be as worried about US chip makers shunning its business. Moreover, it has apparently anticipated the chip ban and stockpiled a three-month supply, but Google’s move is potentially much more devastating as it will be hard to find a replacement.
Not of the Android system per se, as Huawei has been working on an alternative for a while now, but for the apps it launches. On the plus side, excellent phones like the P30 Pro may become much cheaper now. Morbid humor, but Google isn’t cutting Huawei off completely until Android Q rolls in. That is a few short months from now, though, so it will be interesting to follow China’s reaction to this hostile US attitude and Huawei’s ban as collateral damage in the larger trade war between the two nations.