Huawei said the 5G foldable smartphone is based on Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset and Balong 5000 modem
Chinese tech giant Huawei announced plans Wednesday to release a next-generation smartphone based on its own technology instead of US components, stepping up efforts to compete with Western industry leaders in the face of Washington’s warnings the company might be a security risk.
Huawei Technologies, the biggest global supplier of network switching gear for phone companies, is spending heavily to develop its own chip technology, an area where American vendors are global leaders. That can help reduce Huawei’s multibillion-dollar annual bill for components and the risk of disruptions of US supplies.
The handset billed by Huawei as the first foldable fifth-generation smartphone will be unveiled next month at the industry’s biggest annual event, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, said Richard Yu, CEO of the company’s consumer unit.
The phone is based on Huawei’s Kirin 980 chipset and Balong 5000 modem instead of components from traditional suppliers such as US-based Qualcomm.
