Huawei’s phones may be on the verge of losing Google Mobile Services.
Huawei smartphone owners with full Google services on their handsets have so far escaped problems arising from the US government putting Huawei on their Entity List. This list prevents US companies from supplying hardware and software to the Chinese market, something that includes Google.
Until last week, however, a series of temporary general licenses meant that phones like the Huawei P30 Pro, which was just released in enhanced form and in cool new colors, were secure, getting all the Google software updates and security updates so easily like any other Android phone maker.
The latest news is that the company’s access to electronic components is further restricted, so future phones will have to be built in different ways. Equally important are the temporary general licenses not renewed, as reported by Forbes employee Zak Doffman. Details of exactly what these developments will mean are only just beginning to become clear.
Right now though, what should you do if your phone is a Huawei?
Curve is one of the latest apps in the Huawei AppGallery.
1. Do not panic.
Your phone will not suddenly stop working. So far nothing has changed. In some ways, the effect is similar to when Google stops supporting an earlier OS: it will work perfectly well, thank you very much, but it will probably not get the next update off the pipe. Actually, it’s better than that, because, like Google Mobile Services (GMS) on your phone – that means things like Gmail, Google Maps, and the Google Play Store – there’s open source Android, which is what’s used on the latest Huawei phones that do not miss GMS. That underlying version of Android remains updated
Again, at this point things are unclear, but the scenario at least seems to be that your phone will stick with the version of Google Mobile Services that it currently does. Google Maps, for example, will not receive any further updates, but will work as it does now.
2. You are still safe.
Huawei has said several times that it will ensure that the open source Android on the phone will be safe now and in the future. Security updates, as opposed to OS updates, can be sent out easily enough for the phones and I do not think this is a problem to worry me about.
3. Everything will look the same.
Well, hurry. Huawei phones, whether they have Google Mobile Services or not, have their own EMUI overlay from the company that sits atop Android. This means that the interface does not change at all, even if GMS is removed. It almost refers to the apps that GMS needs to work, like Gmail, YouTube, Play Store and Google Maps. They will look different because they are not updated.
The Huawei P30 Pro New Edition currently has Google Mobile Services, but not for much longer, it … [+]
4. There are alternatives.
If you haven’t tried them, the apps available for Huawei phone users, who are not GMS, can be quite entertaining. Here WeGo Maps is a great navigation app, with some features that even Google Maps can’t match. For example, you can save money abroad on roaming costs by using the mapping app offline, downloading entire maps in advance. These offline maps are searchable but have no current traffic information, for example.
And Huawei is working on its own directory service in partnership with TomTom. Huawei is probably the only company other than Apple that has the resources to invest in a mapping app that could challenge Google Maps.
In recent days, Huawei has announced more apps that will appear in Huawei’s AppGallery, the company’s equivalent of the Google Play Store. Most notable of the newcomers was Curve, the financial app – you can read more about that and other newcomers here.
The latest Huawei P40 series lacks Google Mobile Services.
5. The AppGallery is growing fast.
Sure, the store is still small compared to the Google Play Store, but at 81,000 apps, it has a decent range, even if it just misses a lot of great app apps. If this changes, however, the focus of users may shift to the AppGallery which, after all, is pre-installed on every Huawei phone.
When the day comes when you want to trade your current phone, Huawei’s next cutting-edge hardware will almost certainly not have a GMS on board, so the brave new world of Huawei-compatible apps will be waiting for you. With each passing day, this change seems to be getting a little easier – although for many it is not yet smooth enough.
6. One day, a post-Android world?
Huawei has been consistent in saying that it wants to use Android as its operating system for phones. But it has its own OS, Harmony, waiting in the wings. Huawei has already been used on some other product categories, and Huawei could introduce it on their phones one day, if Android is too smart to use.
That’s some time free, and Huawei would only do it, I think, if it had a critical mass of apps it could offer, including many of everyone’s favorites. Remember, Huawei says that Harmony is faster and more efficient than Android, so it is possible that it could once prove to be a real alternative to Google’s OS. And, thanks to that EMUI overlay, it will still look the same. However, we are not there yet.
In the meantime, as things get clearer, check back for more details on what the new changes will mean for the company.
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