Huawei

Huawei’s Richard Yu addressed the company’s use of the phrase “leading far ahead” in a recent interview, clarifying he uses it sparingly, reserved for genuine achievements. He highlighted the significant impact of U.S. sanctions, causing smartphone shipments to plummet from 240-250 million annually to just over 20 million. Yu also refuted rumors of a fine imposed by Ren Zhengfei for using the phrase, stating it has been overused and the rumors were false. The company aims to only use the term when definitively leading in a specific area.

Huawei is expected to unveil a significant AI inference technology at an upcoming forum, potentially reducing China’s reliance on High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). HBM is crucial for AI inference due to its high bandwidth and capacity, enabling faster access to large language model parameters. However, HBM supply constraints and export restrictions are pushing Chinese companies to seek alternatives. This innovation could improve the performance of Chinese AI models and strengthen the Chinese AI ecosystem.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS 5 has reached over 10 million devices, signaling significant ecosystem growth. Alongside this milestone, the HarmonyOS 5.1 rollout is underway. To incentivize upgrades, Huawei launched the “HarmonyOS Gift” campaign, rewarding users with daily check-in bonuses, including cash prizes and memberships to popular apps like Bilibili and WPS Mobile. Upgrading users can also receive free memberships for Huawei Music, Themes, Reading, and Video, plus chances to win annual free coupons for select apps, covering entertainment, learning, and productivity needs.

At the China Digital Entertainment Congress (CDEC) in Shanghai, Huawei highlighted HarmonyOS 5 and its impact on the gaming industry. HarmonyOS now powers over 10 million devices, with over 6,500 HarmonyOS games available. Fueled by technological advancements and content integration, China’s game market is booming, generating significant revenue both domestically and overseas. HarmonyOS’s architecture, performance, and openness are promoting high-quality game development. Huawei is empowering developers with AI, interconnectivity, and optimized performance via the Ark Engine, also expanding globally and supporting mini-games, with 8 million registered developers.

ChinaJoy 2025 featured Huawei’s Gaming Center, highlighting over 50 HarmonyOS games, including popular titles like “Honor of Kings” and “NBA 2K Showdown.” The 1,000㎡ HarmonyOS gaming zone showcased advancements like a 21% responsiveness improvement in optimized games and innovative “Tap-to-Play” multiplayer features, enabling quick file sharing and offline gaming. Demonstrations included car console gaming and AI-powered game assistants, emphasizing speed, intelligence, and cross-device integration within the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

Huawei’s Consumer Business Group Chairman Richard Yu was seen casually visiting a Shenzhen mall, indulging in cakes from a local bakery. Netizens noted his relaxed demeanor and lack of accompanying personnel. This sighting follows a previous report of Yu and another Huawei executive, He Gang, travelling unescorted in an airport shuttle. Both were seen using their smartphones. These public appearances portray a down-to-earth image of Huawei executives despite the company’s high-stakes competition in the global market.

Huawei’s MatePad Pro 12.2-inch, powered by HarmonyOS 5, introduces desktop-grade video editing with a full port of CapCut Pro. This advancement moves beyond feature-stripped mobile versions, offering professionals a powerful, portable editing experience. HarmonyOS enhances workflows with drag-and-drop functionality and AI-powered tools for subtitle generation, intelligent color grading, and AI sticker creation. This signifies a leap in tablet capabilities and a growing ecosystem synergy for HarmonyOS.

Zhou Hongyi, chairman of 360 Group, views Nvidia’s H20 chip for China as a sign of ongoing US-China AI competition. Despite Nvidia’s 30-year lead, Zhou and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledge Huawei’s remarkable progress in GPU development. Huang highlights Nvidia’s AI ecosystem investments, while Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei emphasizes using methods like stacking and clustering to compensate for single-chip limitations, focusing on mid-to-low-end chips and software advancements.

NVIDIA’s H20 series AI chips have U.S. approval for reintroduction to China alongside a new RTX Pro GPU for the Chinese market. Morgan Stanley sees this as a positive catalyst for BAT, anticipating increased capital expenditure for AI, cloud services, and e-commerce enhancements. Chinese firms like Tencent and ByteDance are placing orders, requiring U.S. government approval. The move aims to counter Huawei’s dominance in the Chinese market by providing an alternative, potentially limiting Huawei’s global competitiveness despite its technological advancements.

During a visit to China, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised Xiaomi’s hardware and technology, expressing a desire to own their car, while also acknowledging Huawei’s strong engineering and cloud capabilities. He highlighted China’s advancements in AI, particularly the breakthroughs by companies like DeepSeek and their open-source inference model. He also mentioned Apple’s AI capabilities and his preference for Pixel phones’ pure Android experience.