The Trump administration has agreed to allow American companies to do business with Huawei just weeks after the Chinese tech company was placed on a trade blacklist.
On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the administration will issue licenses for American companies that want to do business with Huawei “where there is no threat to national security.”
The announcement comes after the US government filed a motion last week asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit by Huawei that claimed the US acted illegally when it blacklisted Huawei’s products earlier this year as part of a trade ban issued by President Trump.
The ban contributed to Google blocking Huawei’s access to its Android software for future phones, meaning they will no longer receive software updates.
A White House representative said the new relaxed restrictions would be temporary, however, and that negations between the US and the tech firm “will resume” in a few months.
So far, Huawei has said it will continue to offer security patches and Android updates to its current phones for UK customers.
An earlier statement from the company read: “Anyone who has already bought or is about to buy a Huawei smartphone can continue to access the world of apps as they have always done. All devices continue to be covered by our manufacturer’s warranty and will receive full-service support accordingly.”
Huawei has since moved to allay users’ fears, with the company’s UK managing director insisting “nothing has changed” for the company, and that customers “do not have to worry.”
The recent P30 and Mate 20 range will receive the Android Q update when it comes out in October, however, there are concerns that the next round of Huawei phones will not be Android devices.
Here’s what the Huawei ban could mean for you and the future of smartphones:
What is the Google Huawei ban about?
The Chinese tech giant has been accused by President Trump’s administration of stealing trade secrets, fraud and violating US sanctions against Iran, claims which have led the US president to ban Huawei’s equipment from US networks in an effort to protect national security.
As a result, Google was forced to pull Huawei’s Android license.
Other companies are affected by the executive order, including chip designers ARM and Qualcomm.
What does the Google Huawei ban mean for Huawei phone users?
Right now, the ban shouldn’t mean anything. Google has said the Google Play Store, the Android app store through which Android device owners get their links to the outside world, and the security features which come with Android, will continue to be available on existing Huawei devices.
That means anything from the recent Huawei P30 range release, the upcoming Huawei Mate 20 X 5G, and previous device are all fine.
However, it looks like anything the company releases in the future, such as the upcoming Mate 30 range, which is slated for an October release, could lose access to crucial Android services, including Google Play, Maps and the Gmail app.
Following news of the block, Huawei said many of its devices would be able to access Android Q – the next version of Google’s phone software due to launch later this year – and would continue to receive other updates without interruption.
Huawei phones not affected by the Google ban
- Huawei P30: P30 Pro, P30, P30 Lite
- Huawei P Smart
- Huawei Mate 20: Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20, Mate 20 Lite, Mate 20 X
- Huawei P20: P20 Pro, P20, P20 Lite
- Huawei Mate 10: Mate 10 Pro, Mate 10, Mate 10 Lite
- Huawei P10: P10 Plus, P10, P10 Lite
Google hasn’t published an update to its statement released in May, so it seems like your current Huawei device is safe for now. But for new Huawei devices, trouble could be on the horizon.
Does this mean Huawei phones won’t be Android phones?
Not exactly. Any company that designs and builds a phone can use Android’s mobile operating system because of its open source nature.
However, this move means Google is no longer going to provide technical support and collaboration for Android and Google services to Huawei.
This week, Huawei’s CEO Ren Zhengfei said the company would be launching its own OS system called HongMeng, claiming it would “likely” be 60% faster than Android.
He added that whilst the OS would be designed to connect across multiple devices, including phones, cars and data centre, it would be lacking an alternative to Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Huawei has since said it is working to create an alternative.
This could mean Huawei breaks ties with Android and Google almost completely, developing its own OS to be integrated into all of its future devices.
In the meantime, there have been a wealth of other Android phones released in 2019 already to try.
What does this mean for Huawei and 5G?
Despite concerns, it’s understood that Huawei will be helping develop 5G networks across all four of the UK’s major mobile phone operators.
According to the Observer, the tech firm is already involved in building 5G networks in six of the seven cities in the UK where Vodafone has gone live. It is also assisting in developing 5G sites for EE, Three and O2.
The move certainly is a risk for the companies involved and could be left with a hefty fee if the UK government bans Huawei from any involvement with 5G.
How could this affect the future of smartphones?
Huawei is championed as one of the most innovative smartphone brands, often showcasing its design and technical prowess at various keynote events around the world.
This is how the company has managed to go from a largely obscure Chinese brand to one of the biggest phone makers in the world, selling 59.1 million phones in the first quarter of 2019.
With the development of its own OS, it’s likely that regardless of whether Huawei is lifted from the Department of Commerce’s blacklist, the company will strike out on its own.
Nonetheless, the ban could have implications for the future of things like smartphone design. Take, or instance, the Huawei Mate X, the company’s folding phone. Google has been working with both Huawei and Samsung to create the next version of Android that works well on folding phones.
By ending this close relationship, future smartphone design will certainly be affected.
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