Huawei reportedly cuts back phone production following US crackdown

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Huawei seems to be managing expectations on how many phones it’ll be able to sell with the US ban still ongoing. According to a report from South China Morning Post, sources claim Foxconn has halted Huawei phone production lines as the company cut back on orders. It wasn’t specified if this was going to be a short- or long-term cut, but this follows months of Huawei increasing its demand for phones. The move that reportedly prompted Foxconn to go on a hiring spree. Foxconn declined to comment on the report, while Huawei hasn’t responded to initial requests for comments. If the report is to be believed, it looks like Huawei is buckling down to minimize its losses as it can’t work with its US partners at the moment.

Source: Engadget

Huawei CEO says he would oppose any Chinese retaliation plans against Apple

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During a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Huawei Technologies’ Founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei said that if Beijing has plans to retaliate on Apple for blacklisting his company, he would be the first to oppose the move. He also said that the scenario is highly unlikely. “That (Chinese retaliation against Apple) will not happen first of all and second of all, if that happens, I’ll be the first to protest,” the Huawei CEO said.

He added, “Apple is my teacher. It is advancing in front of us. As a student, why should I oppose my teacher? I would never do that.”

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Huawei has also been barred from the SD Association

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The latest organization to take Huawei out as a member is the SD Association, a trade group that helps standardize SD and microSD card specs. The group confirmed that the Chinese company was taken out because of Trump’s executive order. What this means is future Huawei phones and laptops wouldn’t get official SD or microSD card support. Of course, these devices can still work. But the company won’t be able to use the standard for future products.

The SD Association joins a growing list of companies and groups to cut ties with Huawei. At the moment, we list down Google, ARM, Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and the Wi-Fi Alliance. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Huawei has also voluntarily left the JEDEC, which is a semiconductor standards group known for defining RAM specifications.

Huawei temporarily loses its membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance

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After the Trump administration added Huawei into its Entity List, the company has slowly been losing access to its US-based partners. The company’s inclusion in the list prevents the Chinese company from doing business with organizations based in the US. It’s already lost access to its partnerships with the likes of Google and its Android platform, Qualcomm, Intel, Microsoft, and recently, ARM. This time, the company has lost its membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance, which could impact Huawei’s future business. According to a statement from the Alliance, “Wi-Fi Alliance is fully complying with the recent U.S. Department Commerce order without revoking Huawei Technologies’ membership. Wi-Fi Alliance has temporarily restricted Huawei Technologies participation in Wi-Fi Alliance activities covered by the order.”

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a consortium of companies that influence the development of new wireless technologies. While Huawei will still be able to develop Wi-Fi products, for now, they won’t have a say on where wireless technology is heading. And if this continues on for an extended period of time, it could mean Huawei could be less competitive in this respect. It could create its own consortium or join those that don’t have connections with the one in the US, but the company might find it difficult to compete on a global scale.

Source: Android Authority