Major Blow For Huawei, Google Apps Banned From New Models

In a new blow for Huawei, its new Mate 30 Android series of phones which are tipped to be shown at IFA next week will not deliver access to Google apps.

Observers claim this will deliver a crucial blow to the handsets’ chances of success with consumers yet to see Huawei’s home-grown Harmony OS which has been designed as a replacement for the banned Google OS.

The banning of Huawei from getting access to US technology was because of concerns over whether the company uses its mobile infrastructure technology in order to conduct espionage on behalf of the Chinese government.

Huawei executives told Reuters that the firm plans to press ahead with the launch of the flagship range, despite the ban on U.S. companies dealing with their Chinese counterparts.

Missing from the new devices will be the Google Mobile Services ecosystem, which includes the Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube and several other inter linked apps.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the threat, telling Reuters that the Mate 30 cannot be sold with licensed Google apps because of the U.S. ban on sales to Huawei.

Unfortunately, Huawei’s problem in this instance is that the temporary reprieve afforded to the company by the Trump administration only applies to existing products.

The Company was banking on exemptions being extended to their new range of products however that appears to be “wishful thinking” said one source.

A Huawei spokesperson told Reuters: “Huawei will continue to use the Android OS and ecosystem if the U.S. government allows us to do so. Otherwise, we will continue to develop our own operating system and ecosystem.”

Should that occur, fans of Huawei devices may have to resort to side-loading the key Google apps onto the devices using APKs, something that wasn’t a mainstream practice then, and wouldn’t be now.

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David Richards

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.