Enterprise

What’s in store for Huawei’s future?

Expect more developments in the future

Published

July 5, 2019

Luigi Leonardo

Huawei can finally breathe some fresh air. After months of unending torment, President Trump released the company’s chains as a bargaining chip for the China-US trade war. In a surprise announcement, the American leader reversed his ban on conducting business between Huawei and local companies. Is Huawei finally in the clear? What’s next for Huawei?

Business as usual

Throughout the entire debacle, Huawei’s supporters showed a lot more anxiety than the company itself. On the surface, Huawei still carried on as normal. In fact, over the past few weeks, the company launched a series of new smartphones — as if nothing terrible was happening. For one, the Nova 5 series has already shipped out in China. Meanwhile, the Philippines will see the Y9 Prime 2019 within the coming weeks. Finally, Huawei unveiled the Mate 20 X 5G — the world’s first commercially available 5G smartphone.

If anything, Huawei has bolstered its confidence amidst the uncertainty. The company will likely continue its usual release schedule for the coming fiscal year. With that in mind, expect the Mate 30 series later this year.

Rebuilding trust

Despite their bravado, Huawei has not fostered the same confidence within its market. Consumers have already offloaded their favored devices for something less risky. Of course, Huawei’s more devout supporters have stuck with the company amid the trying times. However, a damaged reputation is damage, nonetheless.

In Singapore, Huawei is working hard to rebuild their reputation. The company is giving away milk tea for loyal customers who stayed loyal despite the brand’s difficult period. As is standard with every rebuilding company, expect more quirky marketing campaigns in the future. Besides the occasional giveaway, Huawei has resorted to more innovative tactics in the past. Given the damage sustained, we might see Huawei’s goofier side come out again soon.

Building a new phone

Amidst their confidence, Huawei also harbored frantic damage control efforts during the controversy. To combat uncertainty, the company sought more reliable alternatives for its components. These included new partnerships and in-house developments. With a more optimistic future on the horizon, Huawei won’t need as much Plan B’s anymore.

Still, Huawei won’t want its efforts wasted. The company has already worked on beefier Kirin chips and its own Ark operating system. Huawei will likely reveal these in-house products in some form. A more powerful Kirin chipset will propel Huawei up performance charts. Even without the Trump issue, Huawei has already expressed its goals to be number one. Also, an in-house Kirin chip will help position the company as a self-reliant powerhouse for smartphones.

On the other hand, the controversial Ark OS will push the company in unseen directions. How will the Chinese software impact the global marketplace? Despite Huawei’s efforts, Android still reigns supreme in the OS arena. If launched, the operating system will likely be an enforced decision for a good chunk of consumers who prefer Android. As such, will it be exclusive to China — where it might gain more favorable reception? Will Huawei just shelf it? Without much information, Huawei’s operating system is still a big unknown.

Batten down the hatches

Right now, Huawei is riding a wave of optimism. However, Trump’s words always carry a modicum of uncertainty. Is Huawei finally safe? No one knows.

Currently, the company is still bumping around in America’s rough patches. Despite Trump’s promises, American lawmakers have not relinquished Huawei yet. Outside of the commercial sphere, Huawei is still technically banned.

As such, Huawei will likely keep its allocation of resources set for in-house research and development. If anything, Trump’s latest attack on the company is a lesson learned for the Chinese company. Of course, Huawei’s upcoming announcements will populate the airwaves in their time. However, the company will keep more of its developments behind the scenes.

Ultimately, Huawei’s future is still riddled in uncertainty. If past experiences will serve their lessons, Huawei is already fighting against potential controversies in the future.

Enterprise

Google merges Pixel and Android teams into one superteam

Headed by Rick Osterloh

Published

April 22, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

For the longest time, Google kept Pixel and Android behind two different teams. While the Pixel team dealt with devices made by and for the brand, the Android team ships a product meant for brands outside of the company’s purview. However, the days of separation are at an end. Google is officially merging its Pixel and Android teams together.

In a shocking announcement, the company has confirmed that the teams handling hardware and software will fall under a single team headed by Rick Osterloh. Prior to the merge, Osterloh was the senior vice president of devices and service, which was Google’s hardware branch. He will now oversee both hardware and software.

Because of the new leadership change, Hiroshi Lockheimer, former head of Android, will now move on to other projects within Alphabet. Of note, the change is not harsh for Lockheimer. He and Osterloh had been contemplating on the merge for a while.

Now, why the change? As is the case with everything today, it’s all because of AI. Speaking to The Verge, Osterloh explains that the merge will help with “full-stack innovation.” With how technology is these days, it’s now impossible to develop AI without having a close eye on hardware, such as in Google’s AI developments for the Pixel camera. Merging the teams will help streamline development, especially when hardware is involved.

Despite the change, outside brands, like Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, remains confident of Android’s capabilities outside of Google. Just expect more AI coming out in the near future.

Enterprise

China starts banning AMD, Intel, and Windows

Only from government devices for now

Published

March 26, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is putting a lot of companies out of business in one country. While all eyes are currently on America’s crusade against TikTok, China has launched a salvo of its own. The country has started banning AMD and Intel, starting with government devices.

Recently, as reported by the Financial Times, China has introduced a new rule that bans American chipsets and servers from government agencies. The new ban includes AMD, Intel, and Microsoft Windows.

In lieu of the now-banned brands, Chinese government agencies must use approved brands from a list of 18 Chinese manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, the list includes Huawei, another brand involved in the ongoing trade war. (Huawei is still banned on American soil.)

As with bans from America, China’s latest rules stem from a desire to implement national security. Both countries allege that using brands from the opposing side will open a potential avenue for transferring classified information.

Currently, the ban against the American chipsets are only affecting government devices. However, if it follows the same trajectory as Huawei and TikTok in the United States, a government-only ban might soon lead to an all-out ban on consumer devices. As TikTok is currently hanging in the balance, it’s unlikely that the trade wars will cool down anytime soon.

Enterprise

US sues Apple

For creating an illegal monopoly on smartphones

Published

March 22, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

So far, Apple’s greatest enemy has been the European Union. Months and months of claiming that the company engages in anti-competitive practices, the region has successfully caused Apple to drastically change a lot of things about the iPhone including the Lightning cable. Now, a new challenger wants Apple to answer for its supposed grip on the industry: the United States government.

Today, the Department of Justice is officially suing Apple for supposedly monopolizing the smartphone industry and stifling competition. The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s lineup of products prevent users from trying out other brands. For example, Apple limits how well a third-party smartwatch works on an iPhone, pushing users to go for an Apple Watch instead.

The lawsuit also includes an important pain point in Apple’s fight in Europe. It says that the company makes it difficult for iPhone users to communicate with Android users (and vice versa). Late last year, the company already committed to supporting RCS as a messaging standard, finally easing communication between the two systems. Their adoption has yet to arrive, though.

Though not as stringent as Europe, the American government is no slouch when it comes to questioning its own companies for pursuing anti-competitive practices. In the past, it went through Google and Spotify to protect the interests of its citizens. The lawsuit against Apple is no different, gathering signatures from sixteen states.

For Apple’s part, the company aims to get the case dismissed, alleging the lawsuit’s unfair scope of just the American people when it targets the entire world.