Huawei is “open” to selling its 5G chips to Apple for use in the iPhone, its founder and CEO revealed. In the same interview, Ren Zhengfei said that he considered Steve Jobs a “great man.”
5G Chip Battles
Speaking to CNBC for an interview aired Monday, Mr. Ren said the firm “are open to Apple.” Recent reports indicated Apple is the only company Huawei is interested in selling such equipment to.
Huawei’s big rivals in the 5G chip market are Qualcomm and Intel. Apple and Qualcomm are engaged in a long-running legal dispute over patents. Intel’s 5G modem is not expected until 2020. While Apple has not shown much interest thus far, it may look to Huawei as an alternative.
However, the U.S. government has identified the Chinese firm as a security threat. Its CFO was arrested in Canada. The U.S. subsequently unveiled 13 charges against the firm and its executive.
Steve Jobs ‘Super-Great’
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr. Ren expressed his admiration for Mr. Jobs. He said:
Mr. Jobs was great not because he created Apple, but because he created an era, the mobile internet era. Saying that he was great is an understatement. I think he was super-great.”
The Huawei boss also revealed he and his family held a moment of silence when they learned of Mr. Jobs’s death in 2011.