Huawei, Xiaomi strike patents sharing accord

Chinese smartphone giants Huawei and Xiaomi (1810) said they've reached an agreement to share patents in certain fields with each other including 5G, on the heels of Apple launching its latest iPhone 15 series.

Huawei took the lead in a number of Chinese technology patents held by a corporation, with 4,913 patents either filed or under review from January to July 2023, according to GlobalData.

Huawei's patents primarily covers areas, such as telecommunications, operating systems, and artificial intelligence. While both Huawei and Xiaomi have made advancements in areas like 5G and AI, Xiaomi's patents are more concentrated on smartphone hardware and software, along with household appliances.

Previously, Huawei filed a lawsuit against Xiaomi in March, accusing them of infringing on four registered patents, relating to wireless communication technology, smartphone photography, and screen lock technology.

However, the new collaboration has the potential to enhance their capabilities in smartphone development and their recent entry into the electric vehicle industry.

As the performance of Huawei's Mate 60 series has exceeded expectations, it is reportedly increasing its shipment target for the second half of the year by 20 percent, aiming to ship at least 40 million units for the entire year, according to insiders.

Meanwhile, China's domestic smartphone shipments reached 185.52 million units in July, down 6.8 percent year-on-year. Of these, 5G phones accounted for 150.58 million units, up 2.6 percent, making up 81.2 percent of total smartphone shipments for the period, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

China's foreign ministry clarified yesterday that there is no ban on purchasing and using foreign phone brands, in response to media reports suggesting that certain government agencies and companies had instructed employees to refrain from using iPhones at work.

It comes in the wake of Apple unveiling its new iPhone 15 series. However, the event did not bring any major surprises, and its shares closed down 1.7 percent.

In other news, France has banned the sale of the iPhone 12 following a discovery of radiation levels exceeding the permissible threshold.