Huawei Mate 30 might be delayed due to chip supply concerns
The new rules haven't even been fully implemented yet but it's already affecting the company due to the uncertainty it has suddenly found itself in regarding the phone's most important component. Huawei has now been forced to take stock of its existing inventory of HiSilicon chips and reassess its capability to mass-produce its next batch of smartphones. This, in turn, could force it to delay the production and subsequent launch of the Huawei mate 30 series by at least a month or two.
The US Commerce Department last month decided to plug up a loophole that Huawei allegedly used to get around restrictions on its use of US products and technologies. The new export rules basically prevent any US company from supplying semiconductor parts, materials, or services that would end up either in Huawei's hands or one of its affiliates such as HiSilicon. The latter is the subsidiary that produces the Kirin chips that power most of Huawei's and Honor's high-end smartphones.
The effects of the rule's announcement were almost instant as the likes of TSMC froze orders from Huawei and HiSilicon. Now reports are coming in that Huawei has asked its suppliers to halt the production of other components while it studied the situation. For how long? Sources claim "until further notice."
While Huawei most definitely has stocks of its latest Kirin chips left, the question is whether those would be enough to meet expected demands not just for the upcoming Huawei Mate 30 phones but even Honor's own flagships. Huawei will most likely look for other semiconductor suppliers and manufacturers but its most likely new partner, Samsung, is reportedly not yet ready to get involved.
Huawei has supposedly already started the production of parts this month but has had to put that on hold. Production could start very late by as much as two months but there's a chance Huawei will still announce what it has on schedule, hoping against all odds that the phones will make it in time for its launch a few months later.