According to related reports, Qualcomm and Huawei have reached a settlement, and Huawei also paid Qualcomm $654.388+0.8 billion in compensation in the fourth quarter, which shows that Huawei and Qualcomm really shook hands. We can understand Huawei's behavior. Huawei's behavior is actually a list of measures to solve the pressure on American chips. I think this is a dark move.
On the one hand, if the Kirin processor is really cut off by TSMC, Huawei will face the dilemma of no chips, especially Huawei mate40 series. If the chip of Kirin 1020 lacks powerful performance advantages, it is nothing more than the embarrassment of lack of chips for Huawei, which is very unfavorable to Huawei. Therefore, the 5nm process really restricts the development of Huawei. Without TSMC, Samsung's foundry is still uncertain. However, SMIC's ability is insufficient. In this case, Huawei can only ask for another way.
On the other hand, Huawei has never used a Qualcomm processor. If the supply is really cut off, the probability of using Qualcomm processor is not low. Although due to the limitation of American chips, Qualcomm can't provide Huawei with chips for the time being, the reconciliation between the two companies this time may indeed give Qualcomm a way to break American laws and regulations, which is very helpful.
We think there are many possibilities for Huawei to use Qualcomm's top chips, and even this possibility will appear, similar to the situation that Samsung's Orion and Qualcomm processors are mixed, so as to ensure the sufficient supply of Huawei's mate40 series.
We also know that if Huawei really wants to break the cooperation lock with Qualcomm and use the Qualcomm processor, I don't think this is a bad thing, but it may be a delaying tactic, which can give Kirin processor more opportunities, which is indeed possible.
Our warning: having its own processor and technology is the key to Huawei's future development. This is really not what we want to see.
Recently, the patent dispute between HW and Qualcomm has attracted wide attention from all walks of life, and it was settled by HW paying 500 million US dollars in patent fees to Qualcomm every year. Many people in the industry have different views on this, so the problem is coming. Why does hardware have so many 5G patents, but it has to pay patent fees to Qualcomm? You know, HW ranks first in the global 5G patents, far exceeding Qualcomm. Why can't HW charge Qualcomm a patent fee?
Qualcomm tax, the inevitable mountain, speaking of which, I have to talk about Qualcomm. When it comes to Qualcomm, many people think of mobile phone chips first. So how powerful is Qualcomm's mobile phone chip? Every time Qualcomm launches a new mobile phone chip, it will attract competition from many mobile phone manufacturers at home and abroad, and what's more, it will see the strength of Qualcomm's chip, which is only part of Qualcomm's benefits. There is a saying in the industry called "Qualcomm tax", which means that as long as you are a mobile phone manufacturer, whether you use Qualcomm chips or not, and as long as your mobile phone uses 2G, 3G and 4G networks, you can't avoid Qualcomm, because the core patents of CDMA technology, CDMA2000 technology and LET technology all come from Qualcomm. This is especially true for HW's 5 G. Although HW's 5G patent ranks first in the world, after all, it started late, and many core technologies can't bypass Qualcomm. Unless 2G, 3G and 4G are withdrawn from the network one after another, it does take time. After all, everyone can't live without 4G now.
The core technology is hard currency, followed by Qualcomm's research on mobile phone chips and communication technology, while HW involves all aspects of mobile phone communication technology. The demand for Qualcomm's 5G patent is greater than that of other mobile phone manufacturers. Because of this, HW will invest more and more in scientific research every year. After all, only when one's own core technology is improved, will one become less dependent on the outside world, and at the same time get a certain amount of patent income. For HW, although there are more and more scientific research achievements in recent years, it started late after all, and many basic core patents are still in the hands of Qualcomm. In addition, due to the U.S. government sanctions, HW's situation has been suppressed, and the number of independent Kirin chips has gradually decreased, which is also an important reason why HW has to compromise with Qualcomm.
At present, the patent disputes between HW and Qualcomm are mostly about 5G. With the popularization of 5G, the turning point of patents and the continuous catching-up of HW's scientific research strength, Qualcomm will finally enter the negotiation table with HW, which also reflects the development of domestic scientific research companies and the continuous progress of national scientific research in recent years.
The reconciliation between Huawei and Qualcomm is a hot topic today. There are three main concerns, namely, the cost of1800 million US dollars, the benefits of reconciliation with Qualcomm and the impact on Huawei's future development. I will answer them one by one.
1800 million dollars is actually Huawei's patent royalties. In fact, when this news came out, many people felt strange. Huawei leads the world in the number of patents in the 5G field. Why should we give Qualcomm a patent fee? This is actually Qualcomm's "living on his laurels".
In the era of 2G, 3G and 4G, Qualcomm has always been in the leading position in the world. It wasn't until 5G that Huawei overtook in the corner, which completely suppressed the momentum of Qualcomm. However, there were too many patents in Qualcomm in the past. According to the relevant rules, all the devices currently manufactured that need to be connected to the cellular network, that is to say, even if Qualcomm's chips are not used, they need to pay a license fee to Qualcomm. In this way, Huawei can't make an exception and can only pay honestly.
However, with the gradual withdrawal of 2G3G network from the market, the number of patents that Qualcomm can use will gradually decrease, and the patent fees that Huawei will pay in the future will also gradually decrease.
What are the benefits of reconciliation with Qualcomm? At present, the reconciliation between Huawei and Qualcomm is a win-win situation.
For Qualcomm, it ended the patent dispute with Huawei and gained many benefits. At the same time, this settlement means that Huawei will soon become its big customer and will definitely make a lot of money in the future.
For Huawei, a partner with a lot of patents it needs is definitely more useful than an enemy. Huawei can not only get a lot of needed patents from Qualcomm, but also get finished chips in the future, which is very important for Huawei's mobile phone supply chain.
Huawei's future development is still full of variables. Although Huawei got the opportunity to cooperate with Qualcomm through reconciliation in a short time, it did not significantly improve the current situation of being banned.
Huawei mobile phone has two most difficult points, namely GMS and chip.
At present, Huawei and Google have not seen the possibility of reconciliation for the time being, which means that Huawei can only slowly regain foreign markets by promoting its own HMS. This process is not easy.
The problem of the chip is more troublesome. At least TSMC can't continue to contract for Huawei now, Samsung is unlikely, and SMIC can't afford the burden, so the only way out for Huawei is to buy finished products. At present, both MediaTek and Qualcomm have the possibility of supplying, but both of them are at risk of being directly cut off by the United States. As for what they can offer in the end, what they say is completely irrelevant.
In any case, it is definitely good news that Huawei has reached a settlement with Qualcomm. As for whether it can solve the current dilemma, Huawei needs more variables.
So, don't speculate and flatter yourself. In fact, some experts said that it is possible to use a series of chips from Qualcomm or MediaTek. Even next year, Huawei's mate50 series and P50 series may use chips from Qualcomm. This possibility is very large, and Huawei still has to solve it itself in the production of chips!
However, this is undoubtedly very good news for Qualcomm. After all, it's not easy to be an American enterprise these days, and the most important thing is that Qualcomm doesn't want US sanctions to suppress Huawei, because the cooperation between Qualcomm and China and Huawei is still very close, so there are bound to be some interests and economic exchanges, which is beneficial to enterprises in Qualcomm!
This is why this statement overturns the US antitrust law's ruling on companies, so I think that people's hearts, public opinions and enterprises are not necessarily what politicians think. Therefore, if the United States goes its own way again, it is estimated that many enterprises will find it difficult to support it, so we can also see that the global Internet-based economic wave can continue to run!
Moreover, this is not Huawei's unilateral weakness or goodwill, but also a manifestation of its own strength. Nevertheless, Huawei and American enterprises continue to fulfill their obligations and treaties during this trip, which is of great value to Huawei. It also shows the strength of China enterprises, because not only the scientific and technological strength, but also the financial strength can not be underestimated! And many enterprises in the United States also need to have good trade with China, which is the so-called reason for hurting fish ponds.
This is indeed a solution. Huawei paid US$ 6543.8+US$ 800 million, and Qualcomm granted the patent authorization. Disputes are settled peacefully and cooperation continues, although it may be unpleasant. Just like the patent dispute between Apple and Qualcomm ended several years ago, but Apple paid $4.5 billion, and Huawei was less than Apple, because it could cross-license patents with Qualcomm, which shows that Huawei is good enough.
How to treat it?
Huawei should pay now. If it should not be paid, Huawei will never finally admit it, and the so-called controversy mainly focuses on the issue of how much to pay, which has long been known; You can't get along with anyone, let alone kneel down to anyone. It should be paid, just because the related patents of Gao GM supported the network of the three eras dominated by itself, otherwise most of Huawei's products could not support the network of the past three eras. In those days, Huawei was not awesome on the Internet.
Huawei will still have to pay in the future. Huawei has achieved the first place in the world in the 5G era, which is a real thing, surpassing many American companies such as Qualcomm. Because of this, the US government has to cooperate with the formulation of the 5G standard while suppressing Huawei, which shows that Huawei is already very good, but Huawei's mobile phones must also support 2/3/4G networks. Just as Qualcomm is still in a monopoly position, it is still necessary and natural for Huawei to continue to pay. If you don't pay, Huawei people will collect the patent fees due when they have time. As Ren said before, they may not receive them, which is a particularly huge amount.
Huawei may need to pay Qualcomm 5G patent fees in the future. After the popularization of 5G, if Huawei still doesn't have its own RF front-end and wireless antenna on its own 5G chip as it does today, it needs to be outsourced. If it is bought in Qualcomm, it needs to pay the patent fee. In the final analysis, Huawei doesn't do everything on 5G, mainly to enhance network broadband, that is, large-traffic mobile broadband services. Qualcomm, though Huawei no longer occupies the monopoly position on 5G, still has a great voice in two other aspects, namely, ultra-high reliability and ultra-low delay communication and large-scale Internet of Things. After entering these two fields, Huawei will use relevant patents from Qualcomm and Qualcomm in the "5G standard voting" of that year.
Is there any other intention for Huawei to reconcile with Qualcomm? I don't think Huawei may have other intentions, but the end of the dispute just happened to catch up with the time when Huawei might fall into an unprecedented predicament, and it was inevitably linked with other parties. When there is no advanced Kirin chip available, Huawei will definitely be particularly willing to choose the previously selected Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, instead of rejecting it as in the past. This is Huawei's consistent open attitude and practice, and it is also in line with the actual level of Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. Of course, Qualcomm is particularly willing to sell it to Huawei. Not only can you collect patent fees, but you will actually try to get Huawei to buy its own chips from the US government. This is basically for himself, just as Huawei bought Qualcomm chips for himself. However, whether it is Huawei or Qualcomm, it is probably wishful thinking, just because the US government may not allow it. Of course, the U.S. government will not let Huawei off the hook just because it paid a large amount of patent fees to Qualcomm. The key point is that Huawei has never knelt down and refused to give in, which also shows Huawei's consistency.
The reconciliation between Huawei and Qualcomm actually means that both sides have made a compromise, and there is also a more positive signal that Huawei is likely to carry Qualcomm's flagship chip in its future products.
In fact, this matter is good for both Qualcomm and Huawei. First of all, Qualcomm can accept this big order from Huawei. After all, Huawei's shipments are still very large, and if we use Qualcomm's chips, we will get a large part of the profits. This is only good for Qualcomm, but not bad.
For Huawei, using Qualcomm's flagship chip has more advantages than MediaTek's chip. After all, Qualcomm is still the largest chip manufacturer besides Apple. Take this year's cat series as an example. Although the performance of MediaTek is good, there is still a certain gap compared with Qualcomm 865. Therefore, it is most appropriate for Huawei's flagship products to use Qualcomm's high-end chips in the future.
So there is no need to exaggerate this matter, because it is good for both companies, especially in the difficult situation and the development of the global epidemic.
I was shocked and depressed when I saw this news today. When ZTE was sanctioned by the United States, all American-made chips were not sold to ZTE, which almost stopped ZTE from producing its own chips. Finally, only American chips are allowed to be used, and the fine is 1 100 million dollars. At that time, netizens swore that ZTE was a coward and a traitor, mocking ZTE for not having its own chip for so many years, which led to its surrender.
Then the United States began to suppress Huawei. Huawei didn't give in because it had its own chip and fought against the United States with great fanfare. Netizens have waved flags and shouted for Huawei. The suppression of the United States has made Huawei mobile phones, which were not popular in China before, very popular because of patriotic feelings.
Today, we see that Huawei gave Qualcomm $654.38+08 billion to settle the patent dispute between the two companies. This $654.38+08 billion was used to pay unpaid patent license fees, and a multi-year agreement was reached with Qualcomm, and Qualcomm was authorized to use its related patented technology. A few days ago, some netizens posted a popular science article, saying that 5G is Huawei's world. No company can use 5G without Huawei's permission. I am so excited to see it. I didn't expect Huawei to give Qualcomm $654.38+08 billion today, more than ZTE. ZTE doesn't have its own chip to give money. How can Huawei pay for its own chips? And what does it mean that this $654.38+08 billion is used to pay unpaid patent license fees? The unpaid patent license fee means that Huawei has been using Qualcomm's patented technology before, but now it has paid for it. It uses someone else's patent. Why not pay? Isn't this a bit like Lao Lai? Is that why Huawei was banned in America? If the previous patent was that Qualcomm was a rogue, Huawei should not be charged the patent fee. Huawei argued that it would not give this money, but now it has given this money. What do you mean Huawei finally bowed to the United States? I really don't understand what it's like to boycott America every day. Huawei is now a national enterprise worthy of our pride in the eyes of everyone. As a result, I was disappointed. I don't know what you think.
Qualcomm, like Qualcomm, is still an unavoidable mountain in the world communication market.
After reaching a settlement, Huawei may be able to solve Huawei's chip dilemma. Huawei will pay Qualcomm a one-time settlement of US$ 654.38+08 billion (about RMB 654.38+0.25 billion) to pay the unpaid patent license fee, and the two companies will reach an agreement, during which Huawei can continue to use Qualcomm's patented technology.
In this special period, Huawei was trapped by the chip. At this time, reaching an agreement with Qualcomm may solve Huawei's urgent needs.
When the 5G era came, Huawei had already taken the lead in the number of patents. How can it pay Qualcomm a huge settlement fee? Before the arrival of 5G, the communication market was the largest in Qualcomm in the era of 2G, 3G and 4G. In order to use these patented technologies for Huawei's equipment, it is necessary to pay patent fees for using Qualcomm's technology.
As for why Huawei has to pay the patent fees that it didn't pay before? Perhaps it is because Qualcomm was in a monopoly position before, and the patent fee was too high. Huawei's bargaining machine has not been decided yet.
In short, now Huawei and Qualcomm have achieved results through negotiations. After Huawei pays US$ 6543.8+US$ 800 million, Huawei can continue to use Qualcomm patents.
Will the chip used in Huawei mobile phone be "Qualcomm Kirin" or "Qualcomm"?
Not optimistic-
Unlike other industries, the communication industry is difficult to be controlled by one company, and there are many patents, large and small. As for Qualcomm, it has been the dominant player in the communication field since the 3G era.
Including domestic mobile phones, Samsung and Apple, all need to charge royalties to Qualcomm. Qualcomm has also set up a rogue tax, which is about 5% according to the pricing of products, that is, 1000 yuan for mobile phones in 50 yuan, Qualcomm. Apple was the most seriously injured, so there was a quarrel between Apple and Qualcomm, but it was finally settled.
Huawei and Qualcomm are both communication companies, so it is a cross-licensing model, that is, Qualcomm will actually use Huawei's patents. However, due to 3G, Qualcomm's patents have more advantages, which makes Huawei need to pay part of the patent tax to Qualcomm.
1800 million is that a lot? This tax may be a patent tax accumulated for so many years, and more are 3G and 4G patents. Among all mobile phone manufacturers, Huawei gave Qualcomm the least patent, and Huawei and Qualcomm reconciled. I think this is a good thing. After reconciliation, it means that technologies can be interoperable again.
I don't think Qualcomm will cheat Huawei for no reason, so it also means that US sanctions against Huawei will definitely be eased, and perhaps Kirin chips can continue to be produced, so the reconciliation between Qualcomm and Huawei may be a sign of the positive development of Sino-US relations.
On the contrary, no reconciliation is the problem. No reconciliation means continuing the struggle, so it is absolutely not good for Qualcomm and Huawei. Secondly, it is a normal business practice to pay Qualcomm. Some people are even cynical. After all, there are not so many Huawei patents in 3G and 4G era, but the Huawei patents in 5G obviously have great advantages.