Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Why the spectrum gold rush may soon be over

      23 June 2025

      TCS | South Africa’s Sociable wants to make social media social again

      23 June 2025

      Tech stability key to getting South Africa off damaging financial grey list

      23 June 2025

      ‘System offline’ scourge to end, says Schreiber – but industry must pay

      23 June 2025

      Naspers shifts to an AI-first strategy – and it’s paying off

      23 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E3: Behind Takealot’s revenue surge

      23 June 2025

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Electronics and hardware » How Huawei stacks up against Apple in tech self-sufficiency

    How Huawei stacks up against Apple in tech self-sufficiency

    By Agency Staff9 August 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro

    Huawei Technologies on Friday offered the first glimpse of an in-house software that may someday replace Google’s Android, an important step toward reducing its reliance on American technology.

    HarmonyOS, previously code-named Hongmeng, is a long-gestating operating system that could soon find its way into smart TVs and lower-end phones. The OS embodies Huawei’s shift toward self-reliance as American sanctions cut it off from vital technology, and escalating US-Chinese tariffs jeopardise a carefully orchestrated global supply chain. Huawei’s efforts actually mirror Apple’s: to develop vertically integrated supply and production lines that help reduce exposure to inclement market forces, unreliable suppliers and unpredictable events like international trade disputes.

    The newly hostile environment is putting to the test not just Apple’s “Designed in California, assembled in China” slogan, but the overall preparedness of two smartphone-making giants as the decades-old made-in-China model fractures. Here’s a look at how dependent Apple and Huawei are on external suppliers.

    OS: Apple’s strength has always been the integration of software with hardware, and it has absolute control over iOS. Huawei is trying to do the same with HarmonyOS, but it has everything left to prove, starting today. For the foreseeable future, Huawei remains dependent on Android for its mainstream smartphones, especially outside China. Advantage: Apple.

    Software ecosystem: The enormous fortress of iTunes, the App Store and a dedicated following of enthusiastic app developers is a huge and profitable edge for Apple’s mobile business. Huawei will need developers to build valuable apps for its ecosystem, which is another major question mark. Advantage: Apple.

    Apple’s iPhone X

    Processors: Both design their own processors but neither controls their actual production. Instead, they rely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to put them together and on SoftBank Group’s Arm for the licences they need to design semiconductors. Advantage: Neither.

    Memory and storage: SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology anchor the two smartphone makers’ storage needs. The Korean duo have a significant lead on RAM modules. Neither Apple nor Huawei has the capability to produce their own storage chips, though Huawei recently launched the Nano Memory Card. Advantage: Neither.

    Huawei is already among the leaders in 5G modems, having announced the Balong 5G01 modem in February

    Display: Samsung is the biggest supplier of the OLED displays that Apple uses for its iPhone X and Xs top-tier devices. Others such as Japan Display and LG Display provide LCD panels for the likes of the iPhone XR and earlier models. While Huawei is in much the same boat, it’s increasingly relying on home-team vendor BOE Technology Group for its OLED panels, which are starting to win customers beyond China. In short, neither is capable of doing the manufacturing itself. Advantage: Neither.

    Modems: Essential to mobile connectivity, modems are only going to become more important with the transition to next-generation 5G technology. Apple recently agreed to buy Intel’s modem division, a step toward designing its own 5G chips. But Huawei is already among the leaders on this front, having announced the Balong 5G01 modem in February. As with processors, neither has its own silicon facilities so they’ll again be reliant on specialist foundries. Advantage: Huawei.

    Huawei’s P30 Pro

    Assembly: Apple and Huawei are heavily reliant on assemblers such as Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn. Both also tap other Taiwanese contract manufacturers — such as Pegatron, Compal Electronics and Quanta Computer — to varying degrees, while Huawei also relies on Flex. But unlike Apple, which decided years to outsource much of its global production in China, Huawei operates a few highly automated lines to make top-tier P series phones. Advantage: Huawei.

    Others: Apple and Huawei rely on a plethora of companies elsewhere in their smartphone production. US companies Skyworks and Qorvo provide radio-frequency modules to facilitate 3G and LTE communications. Dutch semiconductor company NXP is the go-to supplier of NFC parts required for contactless payments. Sony is the undisputed leader in camera sensors and modules. And Apple-funded Corning supplies toughened glass. Advantage: Neither.

    Apple and Huawei appear to be the brains orchestrating a huge, international body of engineering muscle. They design their own software, processors, modems and phones, but ultimately have to hand those plans off to a legion of transnational suppliers and manufacturers.  — (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP



    Apple Huawei
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleUnintended consequences start to haunt Trump
    Next Article Uber shares tumble on record $5.2-billion quarterly loss

    Related Posts

    Apple shifts its AI strategy

    23 June 2025

    Stolen phone? Samsung now buys you an hour to lock it down

    18 June 2025

    Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

    17 June 2025
    Company News

    IoT connectivity management in South Africa – expert insights

    23 June 2025

    Let’s reimagine Joburg using the power of tech, data and AI

    23 June 2025

    Netstar doubles down on global markets while backing SA growth

    23 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.