Chinese brand spun out of Huawei unveils devices with US chips

Honor's latest smartphones featuring fifth-generation wireless capability use mobile chips developed by MediaTek. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - Huawei Technologies' smartphone spin-off unveiled new devices on Friday (Jan 22), featuring chips from Intel, MediaTek and Nvidia, saying it reached agreements with its global partners to resume supplies cut off by United States sanctions on its former parent.

Most of the suppliers of Honor Device, the budget phone brand sold by Huawei last November, have resumed doing business with the newly created company, said Honor's chief executive George Zhao.

There is no restriction when choosing component and software suppliers, said Mr Zhao, adding that it is in talks with other firms, including Qualcomm, Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology and Samsung Electronics.

Huawei had hived off Honor to a Chinese government-backed consortium last year as the technology giant grappled with Trump administration sanctions that cut off its supply of mobile chipsets.

The Shenzhen-based company is said to have safeguarded its core telecom equipment business by stockpiling critical components to continue supplying its home country's 5G roll-out, but it lacks inventory for its smartphone business, which was once larger than Samsung's.

Honor's latest smartphones featuring fifth-generation wireless capability use mobile chips developed by Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek, the company announced on Friday. Its new laptop is equipped with Intel's central processing units and a graphic processor made by Nvidia.

"Based on global consumer needs, Honor has the flexibility and independence to choose the best solutions for its global supply chain," the company said in a statement announcing its newest line-up. "Honor has already confirmed partnerships with leading suppliers such as AMD, Intel, MediaTek, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, SK Hynix and Sony."

A MediaTek spokesman did not immediately reply to questions about whether it had entered into an agreement with Honor. Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm did not immediately respond to e-mails from Bloomberg News seeking comments.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.