Lacking supply of chips, Huawei postponed production of the Mate 40

According to sources at the Nikkei Asian Review, Huawei Technologies has told some of its suppliers to delay production of their latest flagship smartphone as the Chinese tech company is facing a supply disruption. due to sanctions from the US government.

According to these sources, Huawei has asked to stop production of some components for its latest flagship Mate 40 series, as well as cut component orders in the coming quarters. Normally, the Mate series will be introduced by the company in the second half of the year, as the answer to Apple’s new iPhone line launched a few months earlier.

While the Mate line is often equipped with the company’s most advanced processors designed by HiSilicon, a recent ban from the US government has caused the chip supply to be almost cut off. This forces the company to seek alternative sources of supply, as well as to re-evaluate inventories and expected demand in the near future.

A Nikkei source said: ” We are now seeing the mass production of the Mate series be delayed for at least one to two months. ” Besides, the source added that this is because Chinese companies are still trying to solve supply-related issues due to the new ban from the US.

A company director for Huawei said the company is preparing to produce components for Huawei Mate 40 smartphones this month, as well as for the Honor brand. However, Huawei has asked the company to stop production until further notice.

” One of the reasons for the suspension is that Huawei is currently re-evaluating the inventory of its HiSilicon mobile chips and is still busy testing the ability to use other mobile chips from MediaTek and Qualcomm. But the use of other mobile chips can lead to the redesign of smartphone mechanical parts, which is very time consuming . ”

Many other component suppliers have also told Nikkei that Huawei is asking to reduce component orders by 20% in the coming quarters, after it actively stockpiled components in the first half of 2020 to cope with the order. New sanctions from the US government.

A supplier manager said: ” Huawei informed us that it will cut its orders by 20% in the quarter from July to September, and may adjust the order to a lower level. more in the December quarter. If this trend continues, we cannot avoid a decline . ”

Delaying production plans doesn’t mean the company will postpone the launch of the Mate 40 flagship line in the near future. It is possible for the company to introduce the product first and start selling equipment later, when the final products are completed.

See the Nikkei Asian Review