Huawei just can’t seem to catch a break. Last week’s Executive Order by President Trump, effectively limiting foreign companies involvement in the U.S. information and communications technology and services supply chain, and now Google has now pulled Huawei’s Android license.
UPDATED (5/19/2019 10:45 MT): Android has tweeted an update with regards to the issue. According to the tweet, existing Huawei devices will continue to function as they currently are. Unfortunately, there is no indication of what this means for future devices, although we already have a pretty clear idea based on how Android is licensed.
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
ORIGINAL STORY:
Google has also “suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing.” The move on Google’s part appears to be in compliance with the restrictions the U.S. government placed on Huawei when it added it to a trade blacklist.
While this doesn’t mean Huawei can’t continue to use Android, it does mean they will have to use the open-source AOSP version and will not have access to key Google apps, technical support, and collaboration.
“Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google.”
Anonymous source speaking to Reuters
As a result, Huawei will be losing access to updates to Android and will have to wait until those updates hit AOSP before they can start updating their devices. Upcoming smartphones developed by the company will also lose access to the Google Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, and other Google apps as these require a commercial license.
After Reuters broke the news, The Verge “subsequently confirmed Google’s suspension of business with Huawei with a source familiar with the matter.” According to Reuters, Google is still figuring out which services will be suspended for Huawei. Huawei, on the other hand, is looking further into the effects the blacklist will have.
The company has already been working on its own technology in anticipation of being blocked from using Android. However, if they do move away from Android, it will definitely make it even harder to sell their products outside of China as most mobile users use iPhones or Android devices. It will be interesting to see just how much pulling their commercial Android license will affect their global market share, having recently overtaken Apple and nipping at Samsung’s heals for the top smartphone maker.
Huawei’s partnership with Google has definitely come a long way — in the wrong direction — since the good old Nexus 6P days…
What do you think about Google pulling Huawei’s Android license, forcing them to use AOSP Android going forward? Is it game over for Huawei? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook, or MeWe.
[button link=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-tech-alphabet-exclusive/exclusive-google-suspends-some-business-with-huawei-after-trump-blacklist-source-idUSKCN1SP0NB” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Reuters[/button][button link=”https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/19/18631558/google-huawei-android-suspension” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Via: The Verge[/button]Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
