All that talk about Huawei being stricken from using Google’s Android operating system? It could all be moot after recent meeting between the US and China.
It’s an interesting time for phone makers, particularly if you’re affected by the US-China trade war that started back in May.
Following a US trade ban with select Chinese companies, the US government said American companies couldn’t sell their products to those companies. It was an issue that reportedly concerned national security in America, and meant companies like Intel and Google couldn’t sell hardware and software to Chinese companies, including that of Huawei.
Which meant no Android, a product Huawei relies on for its phones and tablets.
It wouldn’t necessarily affect the entire Huawei smartphone development cycle, mind you, as Huawei builds its own chips, works on its own cameras, and has its own telecommunication hardware.
But with Huawei phones presently reliant on the Google Android operating system, the US trade ban meant future Android updates had a big question mark hanging over them. Likewise with future Huawei products that would rely on Android, such as the upcoming and unannounced Huawei Mate 30 Pro, plus the previously announced Huawei Mate X foldable phone.
Rumours have been circulating ever since the trade ban popped up that Huawei was working on its own operating system. As for when it would be available, that remains to be seen, but we’re not sure it would be so soon.
However if Android were made available, it would certainly help the situation, and would mean Huawei’s products could see release sooner.
Fortunately, there may be a reprieve on the horizon.
Following talks between the US and Chinese presidents at the G20 summit in Japan, CNN has reported that the US president has said “US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei”, suggesting a bit of a backflip from the US presidency.
The information isn’t entirely concrete at the moment, and as far as we understand, Huawei has not been removed from the trade ban list set by the US Commerce Department, at least not yet, but it’s a step in a direction that suggests Huawei may not be banned for much longer.
That could mean a return to Android is looming for Huawei, and the relationship between Huawei and Google will be returned to its regularly scheduled program in the coming weeks. We’ll let you know if and when it does.
