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Huawei smartphone spin-off Honor has no plans to develop own advanced chips, CEO says, as Qualcomm and MediaTek offer ‘best solutions’
- Honor chief executive George Zhao Ming said the company has no plans to develop its own system-on-a-chip products
- The company will focus on noncore chips such as the C1, a self-developed radio frequency communication device to boost 5G signals
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Che Panin Beijing
Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei Technologies, has no intention to develop its own system-on-a-chip (SoC) products, as it aims to continue using core semiconductors supplied by Taiwan’s MediaTek and US tech firm Qualcomm, according to George Zhao Ming, the Shenzhen-based company’s chief executive.
Zhao said Honor’s focus will be on noncore chips such as the C1, the firm’s self-developed radio frequency communication device that was designed to strengthen 5G signals. Unveiled in March, the C1 chip was initially built into Honor’s Magic5-series smartphones, according to Chinese media reports.
“We don’t have a plan to do SoC development,” Zhao said on Tuesday after Honor launched on the mainland its unique foldable-smartphone-and-handbag product the V Purse, just days after Apple started pre-orders for its new iPhone 15 series. Prices for Honor’s new V Purse start at 5,999 yuan (US$822).
“Honor’s cooperation with MediaTek and Qualcomm has made it possible for us to access the best chip solutions,” he said.
The long-time partnerships with those two suppliers allow chip platform-based optimisation for Honor’s handsets, according to a statement on Thursday from the Chinese company.
Zhao’s comments stand in stark contrast to the patriotic fervour inspired by Honor’s former parent Huawei after it launched new 5G smartphones – the Mate 60 Pro and Mate 60 Pro+ – powered by an advanced processor, which are all made-in-China products that have become symbolic of the country’s defiance of crippling US tech sanctions.
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