Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, a symbol of China's resistance to US technology restrictions

Pura 70 Ultra is the flagship product of Huawei, a Chinese technology company. This product is proof of their technological self-sufficiency.

AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

A customer stands in front of an official Huawei store in Beijing on September 25, 2023. In late April 2024, Huawei launched the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, developed using various domestically-made semiconductor components.

In just two weeks after its launch at the end of April 2024, the newest smartphone from Huawei, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, is selling like hotcakes. The two variants, Huawei Pura 70 and Huawei Pura 70 Pro, have already been sold out.

The condition has prompted Huawei's management to announce through their official website the acceleration of the production process so that consumers can quickly have Pura in official stores around the world.

The Pura 70 Ultra series is predicted to be a challenger to Apple, iPhone products, whose prices are currently dropping for several products. Not only is it predicted to be Huawei's current flagship product, Pura is also a symbol of resistance by Huawei—a telecommunications giant based in Shenzhen, China—to various technological restrictions imposed by the US Government on the company.

Also read: US-China Rivalry and "Techno-nationalism"

At least, that emphasis was conveyed by Huawei in its product introduction video. Huawei referred to Pura as a new spirit for the company after receiving sanctions from Washington for four years.

"The temple is a new chapter, a new spirit, pursuing excellence through a spirit of continuous innovation," said Huawei management in a video introducing their new product.

AFP/REBECCA BAILEY

Residents lined up for hours outside a Huawei store in Shanghai, China on September 25, 2023, to purchase the latest Huawei smartphone at that time, the Mate 60 Pro.

Technological self-sufficiency

For the last decade, the alertness of the US Government and several military technology-related institutions has increased after the Intelligence Committee report from the US House of Representatives in 2012 referred to the telecommunication devices owned by Huawei and ZTE, other Chinese telecommunication technology companies, which could intrude on US military communication pathways.

In 2018, the heads of six US intelligence agencies, including the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said that communications devices made by Huawei could carry out undetected espionage.

This has led to a number of restrictions on the use of Huawei software and hardware by the US Government, especially military institutions, including the abandonment of sales of Huawei smartphones by the US telecommunications provider, AT&T.

Also read: Chip, US's Remaining Advantage over China

The action continues with the ban on the use of US-made semiconductors or chips by Huawei in their various products. More than 100 Huawei affiliate companies have been included in the US Department of Commerce's Entity List, which limits Huawei's ability to obtain supportive instruments for the development of their mobile technology. The Android operating system, which is developed by Google, is also included in the ban for Huawei.

AP PHOTO/PAU VENTEO

A visitor is testing a Huawei phone product, the Huawei Mate X5, at the Mobile Congress 2024 event in Barcelona, Spain on February 26, 2024.

However, the technology embedded in the Pura 70 Ultra series changes everything. The notion that Huawei's movements become severely restricted due to various restrictions from the US turns out to be unfounded.

At least that can be seen from the report by iFixit based in the US and TechSearch International, who have dissected the product. Their report shows Huawei's progress in achieving technology self-sufficiency.

The technology embedded in the Pura 70 Ultra Series changes everything. The view that Huawei's movement becomes very limited after various restrictions from the US, turned out to be unfounded.

"Although we cannot provide a definite percentage, we can say that the use of high domestic components is clearly higher in comparison to the Mate 60," said Shahram Mokhtari, the main teardown technician at iFixit.

"This is about self-sufficiency, all of this, everything you see when you open your smartphone and see anything made by Chinese manufacturers, it's all about self-sufficiency," said Mokhtari.

AFP/NOEL CELIS

The rotating chairman of Huawei, Guo Ping, spoke at the 2020 Global Analyst Summit at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in southern China on May 18, 2020.

The Pura 70 variant uses a chipsetwhich iFixit and TechSearch call the irin 9010 chipset. This variant is better than the one embedded in Huawei's Mate 60 series. The Chipset is a product of the Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC.

As for flash memory chips, the Pura 70 uses a chipset produced by Huawei internally, HiSilicon, with a capacity of up to 1 terabyte (TB).

A number of Pura 70 components analyzed by iFixit also show HiSilicon's ability to develop important components, such as WiFi and Bluetooth modules as well as power management chips. Meanwhile, components such as audio amplifiers and LED flash drivers are sourced from other domestic suppliers, such as Goodix and Awinic.

Also read: US-China Competition is Fierce, Global Inflation Will Skyrocket

Despite this, Pura 70 Ultra still uses several components that are sourced from abroad. The battery charger is obtained from Richtek Taiwan. And most importantly, the motion and rotation sensors are sourced from the German company, Bosch.

Continued blockade

Shortly after the announcement of several new Huawei technology products, including the Matebook X Book Pro laptop on Wednesday (8/5/2024), the US Government announced the revocation of permits for a number of electronic devices, in this case semiconductors, to China. This is because Huawei's latest laptop products use Microsoft-made processors, Intel Core Ultra 9 and Ultra 7.

The US Department of Commerce has stated that Intel and Qualcomm, as manufacturers of the chips, have been informed of the revocation of their export permits to China. National security was cited as the reason for the revocation of the export permits.

GETTY IMAGES/KEVIN FRAYER

Workers are seen on a production line at Huawei's production center on April 11, 2019 in Dongguan, near Shenzhen, China.

"We continue to assess how our control measures can best protect national security and our foreign policy interests, taking into account the changing threat environment and technological landscape," said a spokesperson for the Department of Trade.

Also read: Understanding the ”Semiconductor War” between the US and China

Qualcomm has confirmed the ban. "We will continue to comply with all applicable export control regulations," the company said. Meanwhile, Intel has not yet made any statement, and the same goes for Huawei. (AFP/REUTERS)