Huawei has just lost its access to all the Google services, but what does this ban means for the consumers? In the ongoing trade war between USA and China, Huawei has been the biggest victim with some big allegations in its name. As a result USA has been actively banning all kinds of connection between Huawei and all the US companies. This resulted Google, Intel and Qualcomm to stop all kinds of endeavors with Huawei. At present, no US firm can make deals with Huawei without permission from the US government.
Immediate Effects of Google ban on Huawei
Current Huawei and Honor phone owners do not need to worry as Google has recently updated its position regarding the new restrictions. The current Huawei phone owners will keep receiving security updates and services like Google Play. This Android ban on Huawei may not have a severe impact on the current users, but its impact on the future users is still unclear. For example, no future Huawei device is going to have any kind of Google service included while shipping. The current phones also do not have any possibility to get the future Android updates.
This forced move by Google was caused by the announcement made by the US Commerce Department on Wednesday. In that announcement, Huawei along with 68 other affiliates were included in a blacklist after US President Trump signed an executive order. In this order, no US company can sell or buy products and components from the companies in the blacklist without the approval of the US government. Last year, ZTE was in the same list and it caused a massive damage to them as well. Along with losing Android, they are also losing processors made by Intel and Qualcomm.
Huawei’s Response
According to the spokespersons from Huawei, they have been ready for such or any kind of ban for years. They also have responded with promises of security updates and after-sales services for all the Huawei and Honor smartphones and tablets including the ones which are sold and in stock globally. Huawei still has the option to use the open source variety of Android, but it will be missing services from Google like Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, etc.
Just after the Android ban on Huawei, another news headline has surfaced. Journalists have unveiled the name of the alternative OS developed by them for an emergency like this. It is called ‘Hongmeng OS’. According to insider news, this operating system has been under development from 2012.
The Android ban of Huawei may look like an isolated incident, but a precedent like this can be dangerous for both Google and other Android smartphone manufacturers. The manufacturers outside USA might feel an extra pressure to have a backup like Hongmeng OS to prepare for a similar fate. In the end, this situation is good for no party in the smartphone industry since most of the US based smartphone companies including Apple have strong dependence on China in different ways.
