- Huawei’s rotating chairman says the firm is willing to use Qualcomm chips in its phones.
- The company has previously used Snapdragon processors in its budget phones.
- This also opens the door to the possibility of Huawei flagships with Snapdragon silicon.
Huawei has suffered numerous blows to its smartphone business as a result of the US sanctions against it, with its chipmaking division also hit particularly hard as a result. This turn of events means that the upcoming Mate 40 series will be the last flagship Huawei line with Kirin flagship processors — at least for now.
Fellow chipmaker Qualcomm is also barred from doing business with Huawei, but has applied for a license to resume ties with the firm. Now, Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping has revealed (h/t: Reuters) that the Chinese brand is willing to use Qualcomm chips in its smartphones if the US firm gets the green light.
“We hope the US government can reconsider its policy and if the US government allows it we are still willing to buy products from US companies,” Guo added, according to the newswire.
What about a Snapdragon-powered Huawei flagship?
It’s no surprise to hear Huawei is open to using Qualcomm silicon though, as rival chip designer MediaTek is also barred from supplying the company due to the latest sanctions (although it’s applied for a license too). And with the Huawei’s HiSilicon division out of the picture as well, that means its choices are limited at best.
This wouldn’t be the first time we see Qualcomm silicon in Huawei phones though, as it previously offered phones with Snapdragon processors. Some of the more prominent Huawei devices in this regard include the original Nova series, the Nexus 6P, and the Y7 2019 series.
It’s highly likely, however, that Huawei would adopt Snapdragon silicon in its flagship phones if Qualcomm gets a green light from the US and MediaTek fails to get approval in time. So if you ever wished for a Huawei P series phone powered by a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, this definitely seems like a possibility (however remote it may be).
A move to flagship Qualcomm silicon could also be seen as a move by Huawei to appease the US government, potentially opening the door for fewer restrictions.
“As we have said before we’re willing to work with US businesses including Qualcomm as long as they’re permitted to do so,” Huawei told Android Authority when asked whether it was open to using Snapdragon silicon in its flagship phones.
