For a few weeks, Huawei has been backed into a corner with the US government as it issued a directive preventing American companies from doing business with the Chinese company. This meant tat Huawei was not free to do business with companies such as Google and therefore could not get Android security updates directly from the search giant. The ban had kicked into effect but the grace period was extended by 90 days but we were just not sure what would happen after that.
With this ban, future Huawei phones would not have Google apps including Gmail, YouTube etc pre-installed. These phones would not have the Facebook mobile app pre-installed. Not having these apps pre-installed may not be a big deal but one of the biggest headaches for Huawei was the fact that Google Play Services would not be supported on their phones. There were even rumors that the company was working on its own OS and Play Store alternative.
Before we even know the full extent of this ban and what it means, the US government is making a U-turn on its directive. President Trump has announced that Huawei will be allowed to do business. He said this on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Tokyo a few hours ago.
“U.S. companies can sell their equipment to Huawei…We’re talking about equipment where there’s no great national security problem with it,” said President Trump. This is not a clear statement but addresses the key point which is allowing American companies to continue doing business with Huawei. This means that Google is free to do that and Huawei smartphone owners do not have to worry about the future of their devices. Not that the future of Huawei devices was threatened, but there are some people who were worried about the ban.
Besides Google, some other American and foreign companies linked to American companies can continue their business relationships with Huawei. Companies like ARM, Qualcomm and others will continue supplying Huawei with their components.
“I said that’s O.K., that we will keep selling that product, these are American companies that make these products. That’s very complex, by the way. I’ve agreed to allow them to continue to sell that product so that American companies will continue,” said Trump.
We do not have the exact details of what will happen so far but we should be getting the details in the coming days.
Also Read: Microsoft and Intel Swear to Continue Supporting Huawei Laptops