Source: Daniel Bader / Android Central
What you need to know
- A Huawei P40 Pro teardown by the Financial Times found that the phone still features hardware from U.S. entities.
- The device has RF front-end modules and antennas from Qualcomm, Skyworks, and Qorvo.
- At this point, it isn't clear if Skyworks and Qorvo secured licenses to supply the parts to Huawei, but that is likely the case.
Huawei's inclusion in the U.S. Entity List means it is not allowed to do business with U.S. companies unless they secure a license, and the Chinese manufacturer's latest phones in the P40 series lack Google services as a result. The ban also extends to the hardware, with Huawei banned from using hardware components made by U.S. companies.
However, as the Financial Times discovered, that isn't the case on the P40 Pro. The publication commissioned a teardown of the P40 Pro (paywall) and found that the phone features RF front-end modules and antennas from three U.S. entities: Qualcomm, Skyworks, and Qorvo. While Qualcomm has secured a license from the U.S. commerce department to work with Huawei, it isn't clear if Skyworks and Qorvo have done the same.
Source: Financial Times
It is interesting that the teardown found U.S. parts inside Huawei's latest flagship, because a similar teardown of the Mate 30 Pro by iFixit revealed no parts from Skyworks or Qorvo. Huawei instead used alternatives sourced from its in-house HiSilicon division.
It is possible that Skyworks and Qorvo secured a license from the commerce department just like Qualcomm. With the ban stretching for over a year now, Huawei has had to find alternatives to U.S.-based entities for hardware, and it was able to do so, relying on HiSilicon and vendors from China and South Korea to fill in the gaps.
But U.S. companies retain a clear advantage when it comes to RF modules, and with the likes of Skyworks relying heavily on Huawei for sales, it is entirely likely the U.S. entities secured a license to sell to Huawei. After all, Huawei wouldn't want to risk complicating things even further with the U.S. government by running foul of the ban when it has demonstrated that it can source parts from non-U.S. vendors.
Huawei P40 Pro hands-on preview: I can see clearly now
The $169 Sonos Roam portable speaker just leaked and UE should be worried
Sonos is expected to announce its first truly portable Bluetooth speaker in less than a week, but official images and info have just been leaked days before the launch.
Review: Xplora X5 Play is a kids smartwatch with a lot of potential
Kids smartwatches are moving from only being a toy, to being full-fledged communication and safety devices. In that spirit, the Xplora X5 Play offers excellent, matured hardware with some fun ways to encourage children to be active. But does it all work in a cohesive package?
Top 5 things I want to see from the cheaper OnePlus 9R
I don't know about you, but I've been eagerly anticipating the launch of the OnePlus 9 series for months. I'm specifically excited about what the lower-cost, value flagship OnePlus 9R might look like. Here's a short wishlist of features that I hope it has.
Grab one of these Huawei P40 Pro cases to keep your phone looking amazing
Did you just pick up the new Huawei P40 Pro, but aren't sure how you want to keep it safe from when "life" happens? We've rounded up the best cases and there's an option available for just about everyone.