Huawei’s phones will no longer be able to use Google’s software, including the Android operating system, Gmail and YouTube apps.
Google’s parent company Alphabet has decided to suspend its commercial ties with Huawei after the Chinese firm has been blacklisted by the US government, according to a source familiar with the case.
Thus, Google will no longer provide software, hardware or technical support, with the exception of its services available with an open license.
As a result, current Huawei phone users will not be able to update their Android operating system, but they will still be able to use and update mobile apps provided by Google.
These are the next models of the Chinese firm that will no longer have access to applications from Gmail, YouTube or Chrome, three properties of Google.
Huawei will only be able to use a public version of Android and will no longer have access to applications and services owned by Google.
An unidentified source
The source also said that the impact of the suspension on the services offered to Huawei was still discussed internally at Google.
Wanted Alternatives
The United States is putting pressure on the Chinese firm, accused of industrial espionage in the United States and to have done business with Iran despite US economic sanctions.
A temporary license could however be granted to Huawei by the Commerce Department for a period of 90 days to “prevent the interruption of operations and equipment of the existing network”.
The conflict between Huawei and the United States has even reached Canada, since the vice president of the firm Meng Wanzhou was arrested last December in Vancouver and faces a request for extradition to be tried in the United States.
Huawei mobile devices will still run the Android Open Source Project, a royalty-free version of Google’s operating system.
According to Reuters, Huawei’s engineers are already working to develop alternatives for the loss of Google’s operating system and software, which is used by nearly 2.5 billion users around the world.
This decision is not expected to have any noticeable effect for Huawei’s Chinese customers since Google’s apps are already banned in China and replaced by software from Chinese firms Tencent and Baidu.
It is rather the European customers of Huawei, second largest market for the Chinese firm, who will be the most affected by this decision of Google.
