cross pond high tech

The US ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei and its 5G technology has sparked a heated debate on the future of information flows and their control.

Until now, however, that debate has largely overlooked how Huawei arrived at its position of tech prowess.

The Five Eyes intelligence group (United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom) insist that Huawei 5G technology represents a huge intelligence risk.

Huawei flatly denies the accusation. Meanwhile, trillions of dollars in 5G revenue are at stake. Shutting down Huawei also has an extra benefit for the US — it temporarily halts Chinese progress in this extremely lucrative sector.

But how did Huawei get so far ahead in the first place? Well, according to a piece in Wired and carried by androidcentral, it all comes down to a theory crafted in 1948 and recently revived by a Turkish professor.

Huawei announced its own 4K television, the Huawei Vision, during the Mate 30 Pro event today. Like the Honor Vision and Vision Pro TVs that were announced back in August, Huawei’s self-branded TV runs the company’s brand-new Harmony OS software as its foundation.

Huawei will offer 65-inch and 75-inch models to start, with 55-inch and 85-inch models coming later. The Huawei TV features quantum dot color, thin metal bezels, and a pop-up camera for video conferencing that lowers into the television when not in use. On TVs, Harmony OS is able to serve as a hub for smart home devices that support the HiLink platform.

Huawei is also touting the TV’s AI capabilities, likening it to a “smart speaker with a big screen.” The TV supports voice commands and includes facial recognition and tracking capabilities. Apparently, there’s some AI mode that helps protect the eyes of young viewers — presumably by filtering blue light. The Vision also allows “one-hop projection” from a Huawei smartphone. The TV’s remote has a touchpad and charges over USB-C.

Huawei Technologies will begin selling smartphones capable of running its self-designed operating system next year, as it seeks to keep its consumer business going without Google Android and other U.S. suppliers.