The conflict between the United States and China, and its subsequent effect on Huawei has forced the company to grow more than it expected.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the 2019 MyBroadband Conference in Midrand, Gauteng, Huawei chief technology officer Akhram Mohamed said that Huawei has been forced to adapt as a result of the US trade ban.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the situation is pretty fluid currently,\u201d Mohamed said. \u201cIt is quite unfortunate that Huawei as a major IT company is caught in the crosshairs of this ugly trade conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the company is optimistic things could be resolved in the future, but it is also evolving its approach to focus more on software and become more self-sustaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not under any illusions, and these circumstances have forced us to adapt,\u201d Mohamed said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have launched Harmony OS and we are moving onto Huawei Mobile Services to account for the lack of Google Services.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the near future, we will look at Huawei as a software company as well. Had this not happened, we would not have grown so quickly on the software capability front,\u201d Mohamed added.<\/p>\n
Huawei previously stated that it was working on a complete software ecosystem which it hoped to launch in South Africa alongside its next generation of flagship smartphones.<\/p>\n
This could solve the problem of Google services being unavailable on Huawei devices if this remains an obstacle to the company by then.<\/p>\n
Big things coming in South Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n While it delayed the launch of the Mate 30 Pro in South Africa to ensure the quality of consumer experience is preserved, Huawei is still launching exciting products locally.<\/p>\n This is especially true in the realm of 5G connectivity and devices, which Akhram said could be a great way to improve the number of South Africans connected to high-speed broadband.<\/p>\n Mohamed previously told MyBroadband that Huawei was planning to expand the range of 5G devices on offer to South African consumers as Rain\u2019s 5G network grew.<\/p>\n He stated the company\u2019s outdoor CPEs, Mi-Fi routers, and other 5G-compatible hardware would be available before the end of the year.<\/p>\n When asked whether he thought 5G would be a competitor to fibre, Mohamed said that he saw it as initially a complementary product.<\/p>\n \u201cI think 5G is a complementary service and technology,\u201d Mohamed said. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much right now about performance, it\u2019s about connecting more people.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that more 5G-capable products would be on the way to South African consumers, including a smartphone with a 5G modem landing in the second quarter of 2020.<\/p>\n This would coincide with the launch of the company\u2019s next-generation P-Series flagship smartphones.<\/p>\n
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