Sold by Huawei at the end of last year, Honor confirmed on Friday (22/01) that it has closed contracts with major processor manufacturers in the United States, such as Intel and Qualcomm. The agreements can be considered a relief for the Shenzhen company, which suffered with sanctions imposed by the US Department of Commerce to Huawei.

Today, Honor also held the launch of its first smartphone as an independent company, the Honor V40. “The past five months have been extremely difficult but meaningful for Honor,” said the company’s CEO George Zhao during the launch of the V40 5G. “We feel the weight of expectations from consumers and partners in the industry,” he added.

Consolidating contracts with large companies in the market – the list also includes Samsung, Microsoft, AMD, Sony, MediaTek, MicroTechnology and SK Hynix – is considered essential for Honor's survival without Huawei, which founded the company in 2013. In its new “solo” phase, the Chinese company had to restrict its production line to entry-level smartphones. With strong partnerships on its side, there is a chance of entering mid-range cell phone markets in the coming years.

“They want to show that they have been reborn from Huawei,” says Nicole Peng, vice president of mobility at Canalys, a Singapore-based consulting firm. “This way, customers can trust that they are getting the same quality that Huawei aims for,” she concludes. According to Canalys, Honor shipped 13,3 million phones in the third quarter of last year, equivalent to 25% of Huawei’s total shipments.

Samsung and Hynix declined to comment on the partnerships announced Friday. Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Qualcomm and Micron said they would not comment on the matter at this time.

American siege prompted dissolution

Huawei sold Honor in November 2020 to a consortium of 30 companies in Shenzhen, China. The split was a way to save the former subsidiary, whose component inventory had been severely affected by trade sanctions imposed by the United States.

After the sale, about 8 Honor employees moved to a new office in southern Shenzhen, which is also Huawei's headquarters. According to Zhao, half of the workforce came from research and development.

US restrictions on Huawei have blocked the company from accessing advanced chip technology in the country. The former US administration, led by Donald Trump, accused the Shenzhen-based company of espionage but never offered any evidence.

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