Huawei is alive and well. Despite all the sanctions imposed by the United States over the past five years, the tech giant is officially back.
Aside from the grand unveiling of the Mate 60 Pro (the first 5G-enabled Huawei phone since 2020’s Mate 40 Pro), there are several reasons to believe that Huawei is indeed back:
However… is there a dark side to this sudden revival? Is there a “brutal” work environment, as recent reports suggest?
Let’s dive deep!
What is this obsession with “nm”?
And why is 5G so important?
Chipsets, or SoCs, are extremely important. In a nutshell, it’s what drives your phone.
SoC, or System-on-Chip, combines all or most of the components of a computer or other electronic system on a single chip. It includes a central processing unit (CPU), memory interfaces (for RAM, ROM), input/output devices interface and often other features such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a communication module (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). ), and more.
It’s 2024, so 5G is no longer some sort of exotic mystery. In fact, 5.5G, or 5G-Advanced, is starting to appear. If you ask Huawei, they will tell a different story. This is not surprising, since they were sanctioned by the United States five years ago.
In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to its Entity List, a move that effectively banned the company from purchasing parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval. According to this order, Huawei needs a license from the US government to purchase components from US suppliers. 5G components, to be precise.
That’s why when the Mate 60 Pro appeared last year, it caused a stir. This phone should never have been made, according to U.S. officials, and yet here it was, and there they were, all angry and frustrated.
As for the “nm stuff”, here’s the deal:
In the context of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology used in mobile phones, “nm” (nanometer) refers to the size of the chip’s components, such as transistors. One nanometer is equal to one billionth of a meter, highlighting the incredibly small scale of these components. Smaller nm technology makes it possible to create more efficient and more powerful chips by packing more transistors into a smaller space.
So here is an example:
- If a chip is manufactured using a 7nm process, that means the key components (like transistors) of that chip are as small as 7 nanometers.
- As nm technology advances (e.g. from 7nm to 5nm), chips become more powerful and more energy efficient, helping to improve the performance of mobile phones.
Chip independence
Recently, the Biden administration took steps to persuade the Netherlands to block ASML from servicing certain machines in China, marking a step in U.S. efforts to limit Beijing’s technological advances.
ASML is the Dutch company that manufactures advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. These machines are essential for producing today’s smallest, most efficient chips, like those in the iPhone 15 Pro models. We rely on these tools to produce 2nm chips – the next big thing in technology.
This is what Huawei needs.
And if they can’t get it from outside, well, they just need to create such tools on their own and be independent of international markets.
The new factory and the “brutal” conditions
Have you ever wondered, while looking at your phone, how many hours of work are required for the handset to materialize? Have you ever wondered what are the working conditions during these manufacturing hours?
According to a Nikkei Asia report, Huawei is currently building a massive semiconductor research and development (R&D) facility in Shanghai with a whopping investment of $1.66 billion (12 billion yuan).
Huawei is attracting staff to its new center with salaries that would reach double those offered by local chipmakers, according to industry executives and the report.
The company managed to recruit many engineers, including some from competing companies. However, despite attractive remuneration, Huawei’s working environment is said to be demanding, as chip industry officials have pointed out.
Anonymous sources say working for Huawei’s new project is “brutal.”
- The source specifies that the new work plan is not “996”. The code “996” means “work 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.”
- So the new working hours will be “literally 007 – midnight to midnight, seven days a week. No days off.”
That’s according to a Chinese chip engineer who spoke to the report’s author.
While I’m aware that exploitation is very real in many parts of the world, I just can’t imagine engineers working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your goal is to ruin your brand new project and scaring everyone with non-stop work schedules, of course. Go for it – wear multiple people down to death and you will succeed in achieving your goal of ruining things.
However, if you want to be competitive and successfully run an R&D facility, you simply cannot have people working 24 hours a day, week after week. This isn’t a mining company from a Quentin Tarantino movie, where “until the day you die, all day, every day, you’ll swing a hammer, turning big rocks into little rocks.”
It is likely that the report exaggerates things a bit. It is quite possible that some will work around the clock for a day or two. There are probably many who work seven days a week.
Huawei’s new laptop angers US official
While the world awaits Huawei’s next big 5G-enabled project (and US officials break out in night sweats), the Far Eastern giant has managed to anger US lawmakers once again.
It’s a talent, Well doneHuawei!
All joking aside, Huawei has unveiled its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro. It is powered by the new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. This is a big no-no for US lawmakers, who were shocked and angered as it led them to believe that the Commerce Department had approved the shipments of the new chip to Huawei.
My final thoughts are that we are only at the beginning of a great rivalry between the United States and Huawei.
I don’t have the slightest intention of buying a phone from the upcoming Mate 70 range, but I can’t wait for it to emerge and stir up the hive.
After all, that’s competition!
Huawei is alive and well. Despite all the sanctions imposed by the United States over the past five years, the tech giant is officially back.
Aside from the grand unveiling of the Mate 60 Pro (the first 5G-enabled Huawei phone since 2020’s Mate 40 Pro), there are several reasons to believe that Huawei is indeed back:
However… is there a dark side to this sudden revival? Is there a “brutal” work environment, as recent reports suggest?
Let’s dive deep!
What is this obsession with “nm”?
And why is 5G so important?
Chipsets, or SoCs, are extremely important. In a nutshell, it’s what drives your phone.
SoC, or System-on-Chip, combines all or most of the components of a computer or other electronic system on a single chip. It includes a central processing unit (CPU), memory interfaces (for RAM, ROM), input/output devices interface and often other features such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a communication module (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth). ), and more.
It’s 2024, so 5G is no longer some sort of exotic mystery. In fact, 5.5G, or 5G-Advanced, is starting to appear. If you ask Huawei, they will tell a different story. This is not surprising, since they were sanctioned by the United States five years ago.
In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to its Entity List, a move that effectively banned the company from purchasing parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval. According to this order, Huawei needs a license from the US government to purchase components from US suppliers. 5G components, to be precise.
That’s why when the Mate 60 Pro appeared last year, it caused a stir. This phone should never have been made, according to U.S. officials, and yet here it was, and there they were, all angry and frustrated.
As for the “nm stuff”, here’s the deal:
In the context of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology used in mobile phones, “nm” (nanometer) refers to the size of the chip’s components, such as transistors. One nanometer is equal to one billionth of a meter, highlighting the incredibly small scale of these components. Smaller nm technology makes it possible to create more efficient and more powerful chips by packing more transistors into a smaller space.
So here is an example:
- If a chip is manufactured using a 7nm process, that means the key components (like transistors) of that chip are as small as 7 nanometers.
- As nm technology advances (e.g. from 7nm to 5nm), chips become more powerful and more energy efficient, helping to improve the performance of mobile phones.
Chip independence
Recently, the Biden administration took steps to persuade the Netherlands to block ASML from servicing certain machines in China, marking a step in U.S. efforts to limit Beijing’s technological advances.
ASML is the Dutch company that manufactures advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. These machines are essential for producing today’s smallest, most efficient chips, like those in the iPhone 15 Pro models. We rely on these tools to produce 2nm chips – the next big thing in technology.
This is what Huawei needs.
And if they can’t get it from outside, well, they just need to create such tools on their own and be independent of international markets.
The new factory and the “brutal” conditions
Have you ever wondered, while looking at your phone, how many hours of work are required for the handset to materialize? Have you ever wondered what are the working conditions during these manufacturing hours?
According to a Nikkei Asia report, Huawei is currently building a massive semiconductor research and development (R&D) facility in Shanghai with a whopping investment of $1.66 billion (12 billion yuan).
Huawei is attracting staff to its new center with salaries that would reach double those offered by local chipmakers, according to industry executives and the report.
The company managed to recruit many engineers, including some from competing companies. However, despite attractive remuneration, Huawei’s working environment is said to be demanding, as chip industry officials have pointed out.
Anonymous sources say working for Huawei’s new project is “brutal.”
- The source specifies that the new work plan is not “996”. The code “996” means “work 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.”
- So the new working hours will be “literally 007 – midnight to midnight, seven days a week. No days off.”
That’s according to a Chinese chip engineer who spoke to the report’s author.
While I’m aware that exploitation is very real in many parts of the world, I just can’t imagine engineers working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your goal is to ruin your brand new project and scaring everyone with non-stop work schedules, of course. Go for it – wear multiple people down to death and you will succeed in achieving your goal of ruining things.
However, if you want to be competitive and successfully run an R&D facility, you simply cannot have people working 24 hours a day, week after week. This isn’t a mining company from a Quentin Tarantino movie, where “until the day you die, all day, every day, you’ll swing a hammer, turning big rocks into little rocks.”
It is likely that the report exaggerates things a bit. It is quite possible that some will work around the clock for a day or two. There are probably many who work seven days a week.
Huawei’s new laptop angers US official
While the world awaits Huawei’s next big 5G-enabled project (and US officials break out in night sweats), the Far Eastern giant has managed to anger US lawmakers once again.
It’s a talent, Well doneHuawei!
All joking aside, Huawei has unveiled its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro. It is powered by the new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. This is a big no-no for US lawmakers, who were shocked and angered as it led them to believe that the Commerce Department had approved the shipments of the new chip to Huawei.
My final thoughts are that we are only at the beginning of a great rivalry between the United States and Huawei.
I don’t have the slightest intention of buying a phone from the upcoming Mate 70 range, but I can’t wait for it to emerge and stir up the hive.
After all, that’s competition!