Google has suspended Huawei’s access to updates to its Android operating system and chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm have cut supplies to the Chinese telecommunications company, thus complying with the request of the US government after introducing Huawei on a commercial blacklist of companies posing a ‘national security threat’.
Google has claimed to be complying with President Donald Trump’s executive order and was reviewing the “implications” of this decision. According to Google , Google Play and the security features of Google Play Protect will continue to work on existing Huawei devices, but the next version of its smartphones outside of China will lose access to more popular applications and services, such as the Google Play store, Maps and the Gmail email application.
Huawei will continue to have access to the version of the Android operating system available through the open source license that is free for anyone who wishes to use it. But Google will stop providing technical assistance and collaboration in relation to Android and Google services.
Effects of Google’s decision
That decision is a huge blow to the Chinese tech company, which has been targeting the US government for quite some time.
Huawei will immediately lose access to Android operating system updates, and future versions of its smartphones outside of China will also lose access to popular applications , as we have seen.
What does Huawei say about it?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing “will support Chinese companies in defending their legitimate rights through legal methods.”
For its part, Huawei previously said it was developing its own replacement operating system in case the company could not use the US software. It is, apparently, his ace up his sleeve. Their plan B. They had foreseen it: “We were preparing for this,” the company’s founder and president, Ren Zhengfei, admitted to a group of Japanese journalists after their first interview since Trump’s decision.
Huawei will reduce its dependence on US components by developing its own, something that appears to slow Huawei’s growth “but only slightly,” Zhengfei said.
How does this affect users?
Google will stop business activities with Huawei that involve the transfer of hardware, software and technical services that are not publicly available, which means that Huawei will also be able to use the more limited open source version of Android. This means that existing Huawei phone customers will be able to update their Android applications and install new applications through the Google Play Store, but they will not be able to update to a newer version of the Android operating system if one is available.
Future Huawei smartphones will not be able to include Google applications , including YouTube, Gmail and its Chrome web browser, as they are not included in the open source version of Android (Android Open Source Project -AOSP).
Google has claimed that its Google Play Protect malware detection service, which scans Android apps for any malicious software, will continue to work on Huawei smartphones as well.
However, Huawei customers are unlikely to receive future Android updates, which often include significant security enhancements. Instead, Huawei’s phones will rely on security updates from the open source version of Android.
Google’s Android software is just one piece of US technology that Huawei uses, so the broader drop in the ban can be devastating for the company and its users if other US firms follow Google’s lead. .
Chipmakers including Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have already said they will not supply the Chinese electronics giant until further notice.
Analysts say Huawei has stockpiled enough chips and other key components to keep its business running for at least three months.
At the moment, the company has not issued an official statement. We will update this article if a response is received.
Last official communication from the company:
“Huawei has contributed considerably to the development and growth of Android around the world. As a key Android partner, we have worked closely with the open source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefited both the industry and users. Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all Huawei and Honor smartphones, tablets and devices, both those that have already been sold and those that remain in stock worldwide. We will continue to build a secure and sustainable software ecosystem, to offer the best experience to all users in the world ”.
Updated May 21, 2019:
The United States has decided to approve a three-month truce so that Huawei can help its current customers. Thus, the United States Department of Commerce has approved a temporary license, valid until August 19 of this year, so that the company can maintain the networks and provide software updates to the terminals it currently owns.
