US govt. allows Qualcomm to sell 4G chips to Huawei despite ban

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Qualcomm has received permission from the US government to sell 4G mobile processors to Huawei, despite an ongoing ban from the Trump administration to conduct business with the Chinese company. The chipmaker didn't specify which products it is allowed to sell to Huawei, but it told Reuters these were related to mobile devices.

Huawei has admitted back in August that it was running out of processor chips because of the US sanctions. Richard Yu, the company's CEO of its consumer business unit, said that "this year may be the last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips."

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Report: Huawei plans to build chip plant without using US tech

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As it continues to face sanctions in the US, Huawei isn't allowed to conduct business with companies from that country. One issue it has to face is developing new processors for its smartphones that won't rely on US technology. A new report suggests the Chinese company is looking to build its own chip plant in Shanghai that won't rely on the US.

The facility will start producing low-end 45nm chips, according to Financial Times. Citing sources familiar with the project, the company would then move on to 28nm chips for Internet of Things products by the end of 2021, followed by 20nm 5G chips for 5G tech equipment by late 2022.

Huawei itself doesn't have any background in chip manufacturing, so the report claims the plant will be run by Shanghai IC R&D, a research company backed by the city's government.

Source: Bloomberg

Huawei, Porsche Design partnership debuts Mate 40 RS, Watch GT 2

Source: Huawei

Huawei's ongoing partnership has produced special edition versions of its handsets through the years. With the launch of the Mate 40 series, of course, we get the new Porsche Design Huawei Mate 40 RS. Aside from that flagship handset, we also get a special edition version of its Watch GT 2 this time.

Let's talk about the phone first. The Porsche Design variant shares many features of the Mate 40, but with a few even more premium specs to justify its price and positioning. Mate 40 RS will set interested buyers by a whopping €2,295 (around CA$3,566).

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Huawei Mate 40 Pro offers 50W wireless charging, new flagship Kirin 9000 chipset

Huawei follows up the P40 series with the new Mate 40 line, which debut new features like 50-watt wireless charging and the new flagship 5nm Kirin 9000 processor. The Mate 40 Pro and Pro Plus come with a curved 6.76-inch 90Hz OLED screen with a 2,772 x 1,344 resolution and an in-display fingerprint sensor. To protect the phones, these come with IP68 dust- and water-resistance.

As with Huawei's flagship phones of the past, the camera is a big focus. The Mate 40 series looks to lead the charge in terms of camera tech and specs in a new circular design reminiscent of the Apple iPods' click wheel. 

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