After declaring a “national emergency” for the alleged purpose of defending itself from espionage, the Donald Trump government issued an order that US companies can not trade with Huawei without prior authorization. Google’s actions were the first – but not the only – to be made public, suspension of several agreements with Huawei and revocation of access to “your Android” for the brand, including Play Store.
After confirmation from Google itself, let’s see what they are the repercussions facing current Huawei device usersor what allows us to know the currently limited information we have.
Potentially delayed updates
To answer questions from Huawei users on the steps to follow to comply with the recent actions of the US Government: We assure you that, even if we comply with all the requirements of the US Government, services such as Google Play and security Google Play Protect will continue to work on your existing Huawei device.
– Android (@ Android) May 20, 2019
In the official statement, Google states that “while complying with all government requirements, services such as Google Play and the security of Google Play Protect will continue to work on your existing Huawei device.” It means that Current users of Huawei phones will not notice any difference in the possibilities among them, at least not immediately: Google Play will continue to work for them, as well as for the rest of Google services. And it seems the same goes for those who buy a device already in distribution today, like the latest Huawei P30 and P30 Pro.
By stopping the relationship with the brand, yes, Google will stop providing Huawei with the preliminary versions of the system., on which Android is adapted to the specific characteristics of their devices. This allows the brand’s newer phones to be updated more agile and faster.
To understand this, keep in mind that Android as such can be understood in two different ways. On the one hand, there is “Google Android”, which comes with Google apps and pre-installed Google Play services, which have accumulated over the years essential elements of Google’s capabilities. smartphones, including push notifications themselves or access to the Play Store.
On the other hand, it is AOSP, the open source project of Android, much more basic and available for anyone who wants to create a version of this operating system, as happens with Amazon Fire devices. However, the vast majority of applications developed for the platform are distributed via Google Play and therefore use Google Play services, which are not included in an Android version of AOSP. For an “application” to work on an AOSP version, it is therefore necessary to adapt and distribute it in another store.
Currently, it’s like that How does the ecosystem of applications in China, where virtually no Google service works or has no relevance, and has dozens of independent app stores. The biggest challenge would be competently replicating the same model in Europe, where the Play Store and Google services weigh heavily on the consumer.
For current users, the Huawei veto can therefore only mean a delay in large software updates, or even the end of them. Huawei said in its statement that it would continue to “provide security updates and after-sales services to all Huawei and Honor smartphones, tablets and devices, whether they are already sold or in stock in the world”. Doubt still lingers on future brand launches, as the possible lack of components and the inability to integrate Google Play services could adversely affect the company’s business in markets like the United States.