Huawei may get some help from Samsung after all. Samsung Display has, allegedly, secured permission to aid Huawei. This information comes from Reuters, and the site quotes a source “familiar with the matter”.
The information has not yet been confirmed by Samsung, nor Huawei, so take it with a grain of salt. Huawei has been in deep waters with the US government for a while now.
Samsung Display aid would mean a lot to Huawei
The US companies are not allowed to do business with Huawei, and some non-US ones as well. For example, TSMC has been prohibited from doing so as well, as it uses US hardware to manufacture chips. The US basically claims that Huawei is spying for the Chinese government, and thus is trying to squeeze the company out of the equation.
The whole US ban is a long story, but the company has found itself in a lot of problems. It won’t be able to continue developing and manufacturing its Kirin processors either, at least as things look at the moment.
In any case, Samsung may be able to provide some relief from Huawei, maybe. Samsung Display has allegedly secured a license, but in order to ship its panels to Huawei, other firms in the supply chain would have to get a license as well.
It’s not as easy as it seems. LG Display is also trying to secure a license to ship to Huawei, and the companies in that supply chain as well. It’s a tedious process, that’s for sure.
It remains to be seen what will happen in the coming days, but Samsung Display and / or Huawei will hopefully comment on this information, at least if it’s true.
The US ban has started affecting Huawei, and not in a good way, of course. The company was flying high before all those issues started. It even managed to trump Apple and become the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer at one point.