Apple loses $212 billion in China due to recent sanctions and bans, while Qualcomm faces trouble
Following the news that Qualcomm could face significant losses as Huawei switches exclusively to Kirin chipsets from next year, the Chinese government has banned the use of iPhones for its employees.
These developments have impacted the share prices of Apple and Qualcomm, resulting in a 5.1% and 7.2% decline, respectively. According to Bloomberg, this translates to Apple losing $212 billion of its market value.
In the meantime, China's SMIC is operating at full capacity to produce Kirin 9000S chipsets, which are used in the recently launched Huawei Mate 60 and have achieved record sales in China. Despite US sanctions, Huawei has purchased between 40 and 42 million Qualcomm chipsets, but that may change soon.
It is important to note that China possesses the largest smartphone market in terms of volume globally. Therefore, losing millions of orders for 2024 in this region represents a significant blow to any company. While Qualcomm can still rely on its 5G modems sales, this may not be sufficient to offset potential losses. On the other hand, Apple is slowly gaining ground and has announced plans to release its own 5G modems in 2025, which could further impact Qualcomm.
Bloomberg
Although the Kirin 9000S may not offer the best performance and power efficiency, especially when compared to the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, its existence is not primarily aimed at direct competition. Instead, it serves to reduce reliance on American technology. So far, Huawei has demonstrated its ability to utilize the Kirin chipset despite sanctions, thanks to local semiconductor manufacturer SMIC. However, this development has been met with displeasure by US government officials who are reportedly considering imposing stricter trade restrictions on both Chinese companies.