Wired
On July 29, Huawei’s P50 series was released. The performance of the machine in terms of design and imaging is beyond doubt. However, the absence of all 5G systems caught most consumers by surprise. Coupled with Huawei’s original strength in 5G technology and the excellent reputation of Huawei’s mobile phones in terms of communication capabilities, everyone is more confused.
So today we will explain to you why Huawei can’t equip its latest flagship mobile phone with 5G.
01 The shortcomings of economic globalization appear
If you don’t delve into the technology, the reason why Huawei’s P50 series does not have 5G is simple. I believe that most people have learned about “economic globalization” in textbooks for elementary and middle schools. Almost all modern enterprises are operating under the trend of economic globalization, that is to say, “products, technology, information, services, currency, personnel, capital, management experience and other production factors” (source: Baidu Encyclopedia) are all on a global scale内流。 Within the flow.
For example, if you buy a mobile phone, the various internal hardware and software come from different companies in different countries, and even this mobile phone may be assembled abroad and shipped to China for sale.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, a company does not need to master all the technologies of a mobile phone from the inside out, from soft to hard. This is the most cost-effective approach under economic globalization.
But if economic globalization is disrupted, if one of the mobile phone parts suppliers suddenly fails to supply a certain component to this mobile phone, mobile phone manufacturers who have not developed and manufactured this component experience and necessary will face the lack of corresponding functions. . The Huawei P50 series does not support 5G because some 5G components are cut off.
02 The absence of 5G RF filters
So what exactly are the components that Huawei has been cut off from? According to the analysis of the Securities Times, what Huawei lacks is the “5G radio frequency filter.”
In a mobile phone, in order to realize 5G function, we need three major systems: baseband, radio frequency and antenna. Baseband (sometimes called a “modem”) allows a mobile phone to process (modulate) the original electrical signal containing data and information. Radio frequency will convert these signals into radio that can be transmitted over the air. Then the antenna is responsible for transmitting and capturing these radios.
Schematic diagram of mobile phone radio frequency (front-end) circuit (source: network)
The “5G radio frequency filter” is part of the radio frequency system. Without it, it means that although the baseband of the Huawei P50 series supports processing 5G data, it does not have the ability to receive and transmit 5G radio from the outside world.
Huawei P50 series does not support 5G
The role of the filter is actually very simple. We all know that radio can be classified by frequency. For example, Bluetooth headsets use 2.4GHz frequency radios; Wi-Fi networks of home routers use 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands; the frequency of mobile phone 4G networks is usually several hundred to several thousand MHz; 5G uses several, dozens Even a frequency band of several hundred GHz.
In addition to these well-known uses, radios in many other frequency bands are used in industrial, aviation, and military fields.
Therefore, the radio frequency system of the mobile phone needs a filter to filter out unnecessary frequency bands and reduce the interference in the complex radio environment, so that the mobile phone communication can work normally. We often see various frequency bands in the mobile phone parameter table, and each frequency band needs its own multiple filters.
The more frequency bands the mobile phone supports, the more filters are needed
The filters carried by 4G mobile phones are much lower in scale and technical threshold than those of 5G mobile phones. First of all, the global spectrum resources in the 5G era are more crowded and have more interference than in the 4G era. Secondly, the ultra-high frequency used in 5G makes SAW, one of the two mainstream filters on the market, no longer applicable (SAW is only suitable for frequency bands below 1.5GHz), and BAW filters have become the only choice for 5G mobile phones at this stage.
A SAW filter (source: network)
In short, in order to support faster and higher frequency 5G under more complex radio conditions, while optimizing overall power consumption and size, and reducing the impact of 5G on the battery life and portability of the mobile phone, the mobile phone radio frequency system and its included filtering The performance of the device has been challenged unprecedentedly.
03 The RF filter market is dominated by the United States, Japan and South Korea
At present, the radio frequency filter industry is in the stage of being monopolized by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
There are 11 companies that dominate the market in the field of filters, including Broadcom, Qorvo, ABRACON, Oscilent (under Abcon), Skyworks Solutions, and API from the United States. Technologies, Akoustis Technologies and Bird Technologies; Murata Manufacturing and TDK from Japan; and RTx Technology from South Korea. SAW and BAW filters, including mobile phones and satellite positioning equipment, are basically produced by these companies.
A BAW filter from Qorvo (Source: Network)
What about domestic companies? In April 2020, the first domestically developed high-frequency BAW filter was officially released. Although there are already many manufacturers of SAW filters in China, our technology still has a certain gap with the advanced level of foreign countries because the start time is decades later than that of foreign countries.
04 Will Huawei phones still have 5G in the future?
There are two main factors affecting Huawei’s future 5G mobile phone layout: external factors and the development of domestic filter technology. External factors are well known, as long as foreign sanctions are over, Huawei will be able to obtain filters from foreign companies and release 5G mobile phones. As for filter technology, if external unfavorable factors persist and domestic filters cannot make breakthrough progress in a short period of time, Huawei’s new 5G phone may have to wait.
And everyone should know that the big stick of sanctions is not only directed at Huawei. Aside from Huawei, the domestic filter industry is also the subject of separate sanctions by the United States, so the filter is still one of the main bottlenecks of domestic independent 5G terminal technology in a short period of time.
.