Huawei unveiled a new line of server motherboards during the Mobile World Congress in 2023, at a fair where the chip names were deliberately concealed with black tape. This detail, reported by Tom’s Hardware based on attendee photos from MWC in Barcelona, highlights the brand’s cautious approach to disclosure at a time of intense scrutiny.
The choice to keep chip identities hidden appears linked to the broader context of U.S. sanctions, which restrict the use of semiconductors produced with American technology. Despite these limits, Huawei continues to obtain components through gray-market channels and deploy them in its telecom equipment. Officially, the company is masking silicon identifiers as a precaution against potential penalties for partners who work with Huawei, while still adhering to export-control constraints.
In practice, the display showcased not only logic processors but also memory devices. Reports indicate that Huawei went as far as removing the central processing unit from a motherboard in another booth, underscoring a strategy aimed at reducing traceability and risk for customers and collaborators alike.
Tom’s Hardware suggests that a portion of the taped chips may be from non-Western manufacturers, with some components possibly produced by a domestic firm such as SMIC. Nevertheless, these components would still carry disclosure challenges due to the risk of triggering U.S. regulatory requirements, prompting continued concealment of specific suppliers.
Earlier coverage by socialbites.ca touched on Huawei-related imagery captured with a Huawei P60 smartphone using high-quality zoom, a reminder of how device photography keeps fueling public interest in how hardware is presented and perceived at major industry events.