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Research and development activity spending by Huawei 2013-2023
Spending up across the company
As well as R&D, spending has increased in several key areas across the company. Reflecting the company’s increased output, spending on semiconductors grew from 4.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, reaching 24 billion U.S. dollars by 2018. However, from 2019 onwards, the company's semiconductor expenditure decreased significantly.
Huawei’s uncertain future
Up until now, Huawei have enjoyed a surge in sales and brand recognition in the west. Huawei phones made up eight percent of all smartphone shipments worldwide in the Q4 2020. In Q4 2020 the company shipped 32 million smartphones. The stellar run could be coming to an end, following the May 2019 announcement that companies such as Google, ARM, Intel and Qualcomm will no longer be able to work with Huawei under U.S. trade bans. While the company claims to have developed their own operating system, questions remain as to whether or not the company will be able manufacture their own chips without the assistance of ARM, the company that is crucial in enabling Huawei to produce their own chips and processors.