Following the recent Huawei ban by the President Donald Trump, the US-based search giant Google has also barred the company from accessing its services and revoked its Android license.
On May 15, Trump signed an executive order which says that telecom equipment and services from foreign companies can’t be imported. It’ll require the government’s approval.
The order doesn’t explicitly mention Huawei’s name, but the government has added the company to its “entity list,” which stops it from doing business in the US.
Why was Huawei banned in the first place?
It was suspected that the Chinese company might be good friends with the government of China and helping them in spying activities in the US and other parts of the world. However, Huawei has denied any such allegations.
First reported by Reuters, Huawei won’t be able to access popular services like Play Store, YouTube, and Gmail. Also, adding to the pain, it won’t get any Android software updates, which is a big blow to Huawei’s smartphone business.
Huawei is also the world’s largest manufacturer of telecom equipment and has many of its suppliers based in the US. The ban will also impact its telecom business.
However, according to the Chinese company, the damage isn’t one-sided. It says kicking them out of the US might slow down the rollout of 5G technology in the nation. Also, many Americans might lose their jobs because of the decision.
I have a Huawei Phone
If you just spent a lot of money buying one of the latest Huawei phones, then your smartphone won’t just stop working right away.
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
Google has confirmed that existing Huawei devices will be able to update Google apps from the Play Store, download security updates, and use other services. They won’t receive any future updates, for example, Android Q.
Huawei still has access to the open source version of Android which doesn’t include any proprietary apps and services from Google. Also, Huawei is also working on its own operating system in a move to future proof their devices. It’s unclear if the new operating system will be based on Android or it’ll be coded from the scratch.
Not just Google
The list of American companies barring Huawei has started to expand. Bloomberg has reported that popular chip makers including Intel, Broadcom, and Qualcomm have also joined.
It’s worthing that Huawei knew what was coming and was already preparing for it. Over the years, Huawei also started putting their home-baked silicon inside their devices (HiSilicon Kirin), preventing themselves from relying on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon.
The company is also known to have been stockpiling chips and other components from US-based suppliers. This will give them some window to wait and watch if the blacklisting is going to be temporary or permanent.
All of this might hurt the company’s dream of outperforming Samsung the smartphone market by 2020.
What about Huawei laptops?
Now, not just their Android smartphones, Huawei’s laptops also run the software created by an American company, Microsoft. So far, Microsoft hasn’t said anything on the matter or cut ties with the company, but the chances are very little that Redmond won’t follow the US Government orders.
To deal with the same, reports have been floating around that Huawei is also working on some Windows-alternative OS for their laptops.
Do let us know in the comments what you think of this ban? Also, stay tuned for further updates on this topic as we’ll keep covering more stories to keep you in the loop.
