Huawei turns to pig farming as smartphone sales fall
In response to struggling smartphone sales, Huawei is looking at other sources of revenue for its technology
Huawei is turning to technology for pig farmers as it deals with tough sanctions on its smartphones.
The Chinese telecoms giant was stopped from accessing vital components after the Trump administration labelled it a threat to US national security, reports the BBC.
In response to struggling smartphone sales, Huawei is looking at other sources of revenue for its technology.
Along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech for pig farmers, Huawei is also working with the coal mining industry.
Former US President Donald Trump claimed Huawei can share customer data with the Chinese government, allegations it has repeatedly denied.
As a result, the world's largest telecoms equipment maker has been limited to making 4G models as it lacks US government permission to import components for 5G models.
Huawei's smartphone sales plunged 42% in the last quarter of 2020 as it struggled with a limited supply of microchips due to the sanctions.
Huawei has also been locked out of the development of 5G in a number of countries, including the UK, amid fears over national security.Reports have suggested that it will reduce its manufacturing of smartphones by up to 60% this year, although it said it can't confirm this figure.
"The issue here is not like there's any problems with our quality or experiences of the Huawei products. It's not a level playing field for Huawei as Huawei is caught in between the geopolitical tensions," a company spokesman said.
And so, Huawei appears to be looking for other sources of revenue - moving into cloud computing services, smart vehicles and wearable devices. It even has plans for a smart car.
But it also has its eye on a few more traditional industries.