Update: The US Department of Commerce has granted Huawei a 90-day relief from the import ban. Meanwhile, Google will be giving software updates to Huawei for its Android phones and Huawei will receive other previously-ordered components from its suppliers.
Huawei Global Smartphone business received a major blow as the search-giant suspended its relationship with the Chinese tech behemoth. This means no more transfer of hardware and software between the two companies, including Android OS license. Backpeddling on the recent chain of events, the US has been pushing Huawei out of the game. Finally, it has used the Ace up its sleeve.
Google vs Huawei: What’s the implication?
For Huawei users' questions regarding our steps to comply w/ the recent US government actions: We assure you while we are complying with all US gov't requirements, services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device.
— Android (@Android) May 20, 2019
Future Huawei devices won’t get the Google play services and support. Huawei could bake their own OS based on AOSP (Android Open Source Project), which is used by most of the third-party custom ROMs.
For the time being at least, as the aforementioned official tweet, Google assures the existing Huawei smartphones won’t be affected. But, for how long, eh? Fast forward to next big updates like Android Q, or smaller security patches could fail to reach upcoming Huawei devices.
ALSO READ: How to Monitor and Control Location Sharing On Android Q
In the long run, all of these could burn a big hole in Huawei’s business and bottom line.
But, Huawei fans get a beacon of hope as Huawei claims to have its own software, chipsets, and networking equipment under development for a while.
What’s up with Huawei vs the US of A?
Huawei has been under the radar over security concerns. It is considered to be a backdoor for the Chinese government to spy on the West. The company ferociously refuted the claims. However, the Trump administration anyhow added the company to a no-trade or Entity list of companies that the US firms are prohibited to trade with without a license.
Over the years, Motorola, Cisco, and a few other companies dealing in networking equipment have alleged Huawei on stealing trade and tech secrets. Intel, Qualcomm, and Google are the recent accusers to join the club.
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Huawei, which is the world’s largest Telecom infrastructure provider was going to play a big role in the 5G rollout. This raised tensions in the US soil as then Huawei could be an easy gateway for its biggest trade-rival-China. While Australia and New Zealand have effectively banned Huawei, the UK and Canada are also in consideration to break up with Huawei.
This was what the company’s response to the recent hit:
“Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.
Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally. We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.”
