Google Suspends Android Support For Huawei

By Dan Anderson ● May 20, 2019

Google has reportedly suspended transactions with Huawei, which means that the Chinese phone maker would be losing access to future Android OS updates beyond what is available through Android Open Source Project according to Reuters.

And Huawei’s upcoming phones would not have official apps such as Gmail and the Google Play Store. The updates for Play Services and apps will still work since it does not require Google to interact with Huawei. But Google will cut off Huawei’s tech support and collaboration initiatives.

The decision to suspend business with Huawei follows the U.S. government’s blacklisting of Huawei. While this would be detrimental to Huawei’s business in the US, it would not affect the company’s business in China much since it cannot use Google apps due to government regulations there.

“Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware and software products except those covered by open source licenses, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday, in a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world,” says the Reuters report.

Huawei is currently on track to surpass Samsung as the number one smartphone maker in the world later this year. The company’s current flagship device is the Huawei P30 Pro — which has 5x optical zoom and superior picture quality.

A Google spokesperson told The Verge that it is “complying with the government order” and is “reviewing the implications.” This order is specifically the US Commerce Department’s decision to put Huawei on the “Entity List.” The Entity List is a group of companies that are unable to buy technology from US companies without government approval.

Huawei has been facing pressure from the Trump administration and the US government over the ability of its devices to be used by the Chinese government to spy on American networks. Last year, US intelligence agencies warned consumers about buying Huawei and ZTE devices.