Huawei launches 'Mate40 Pro' in Singapore amid US sanctions

December 12 Singapore Launch
Huawei's Independent Design
US Sanctions Continue
Next Year's Premium Phone Production Uncertain

On October 22nd (local time), Huawei held an online product launch event and unveiled the Mate40 series, its strategic smartphone lineup for the second half of the year. (Photo by Huawei)

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Amid the continuation of the U.S. 'anti-Huawei' stance under the Biden administration, Chinese tech giant Huawei is set to launch its new flagship smartphone, the 'Mate 40 Pro,' in Singapore on the 12th.

According to U.S. IT media outlet GSM Arena on the 7th, Huawei will begin selling the Huawei Mate 40 Pro starting from the 12th at a price of approximately $1,199 (about 1.3 million KRW).

The Mate 40 Pro version sold in Singapore comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, available in Mystic Silver and Black colors. Customers who purchase the Mate 40 Pro will also receive Huawei VIP Prestige Service with a 2-year warranty and a 1-year on-site repair service. The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is equipped with the 5nm Kirin 9000 chip, independently designed by Huawei and manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC.

However, industry insiders speculate that the Mate 40 series may be the last smartphone series Huawei develops and launches for the time being.

Earlier, on September 15, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced regulations banning the supply of foreign-made semiconductors using U.S. technology and equipment to Huawei. As a result, Huawei is unable to import smartphone components such as TSMC's application processors (AP). In preparation, Huawei stockpiled key components before September.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, stated at an event last August that the Mate 40 would be the last smartphone to feature Huawei's independently designed Kirin chipset.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress recently included a new provision in the 2021 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to 'reconsider' deploying U.S. troops and major military equipment to countries using 5G technology from companies like Huawei. According to the bill, the U.S. Department of Defense must consider the potential risks that the 5G networks of host countries may pose to personnel, equipment, and operations when deploying forces and assets overseas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.