The tech world is still buzzing with the momentous news of Google suspending Huawei’s Android license earlier this week. The US Government’s ban on the Chinese giant is posing a grave risk to the future of its mobile business. Not only Huawei loses access to Android OS beyond the public version, but it will also have to do away with several critical Google apps and services, including the Google Play Store, which is the main source of Android apps for users outside of China.
However, it doesn’t seem to have come much of a surprise to the company itself. Huawei was already known to be developing a mobile OS of its own. Now a fresh report claims that the company had pitched an offer to app developers as well, and last year itself. Huawei has promised app makers to help them make inroads into China, the world’s largest smartphone market, if they built software for its App Gallery.
Huawei App Gallery
Android smartphones outside China are too dependent on Google’s Play Store for apps, and Huawei phones are no exception. But following the recent US Government ban, none of its upcoming phones will have the Play Store installed. The company was expecting something of this sort sooner and later, and has rightly developed an alternative. Its App Gallery is already available in many of its phones outside China. However, it may still not be enough.
The US Commerce Department placing Huawei on the Entity List means it can no longer buy technology from US companies without government approval. This essentially means Huawei isn’t allowed to engage in new business with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and several others. And a smartphone without official support from all these popular apps may not find many buyers.
There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for Huawei’s mobile business outside its home country. Not just yet. Huawei’s mobile OS, meanwhile, is reportedly coming this fall.
