The Huawei Mate 30 could come out without Google apps and services due to the ban imposed by Donald Trump. What will happen in the coming months
Not a lightning bolt, but certainly a decision that in the Huawei house did not expect. The news released by an anonymous source to Reuters on the fact that the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro will not have installed by default Google services and apps (Google Maps, Gmail, Calendar) rekindle the issue on the trade block imposed by Donald Trump to Huawei, which can not buy products from U.S. companies.
The issue has been going on since mid-May, when Donald Trump with a surprise decision decided to put Huawei in a sort of black list of companies that could not have business relationships with U.S. companies. The decision was immediately suspended for three months to give American companies the chance to close their existing contracts. After three months the matter is becoming more and more difficult to handle for Huawei, which may no longer receive Android certification to its products. What does it entail? On Huawei's smartphones, Google's apps, including the Play Store, will no longer be present. A complicated situation that the Chinese company is trying to solve without creating too many problems for its users/customers.
Huawei ban history
Before delving into the issue on Huawei smartphones, it is necessary to do a little history of events. In mid-May Donald Trump decides to put the company Huawei inside the entity list, a sort of black list of companies that cannot trade with US companies. The Huawei ban is immediately suspended for three months until August 19 in order to give American companies the chance to conclude their commercial agreements with Huawei. When the extension expires, a second one for another three months is announced to help U.S. companies complete orders. In order to continue to have commercial contacts with the Chinese company, however, U.S. companies must apply for a license from the Department of Commerce (the U.S. Department of Economic Development): of the 130 arrived in recent days, none has been accepted.
The Huawei ban is inserted in a very delicate geopolitical situation. The clash between China and the United States has reached its maximum peak: the two nations continue to announce new commercial duties that have the sole purpose of weakening "the enemy". But to pay the price, for the moment, is only the world economy. Despite the reassuring words of the Presidents of China and the US about a possible mediation, there is no agreement on the horizon.
Huawei smartphones, what will happen in the coming months
The information coming from the US all claim the same thing: on the next Huawei Mate 30 and Huawei Mate 30 Pro there will be no Google apps and services. Nor will there be the official version of Android, but only the open-source one. Three independent sources have confirmed the news to both Reuters, CNBC, and The Verge.
What does it change for those who already own a Huawei smartphone? Absolutely nothing. As we've been repeating for several months now, those who already have a Huawei smartphone will continue to receive OS updates and security patches.
What changes for Huawei smartphones coming out in the next few months? This is where the situation gets a little more complicated. If Trump doesn't change his mind, Huawei devices coming out in the next few months won't be able to get the official Android license. And the most important Google apps will not be present: Maps, Gmail, Calendar, Chrome, YouTube and especially the Play Store. The first smartphones that will face this problem will be the Mate 30 and the Mate 30 Pro. An anonymous source assured CNBC that users who will buy one of these two devices will be able to download the Play Store and Google apps as well, but it's still not clear how. If a solution can be found, the same problem will have to be addressed by the other smartphones coming out by the end of the year.
Is HarmonyOS the solution?"
In recent months, Huawei has been working to find an alternative solution to Android. And it has found it. It's called HarmonyOS and it's the cross-platform operating system that it presented at the beginning of August and that in the coming years will replace Android and will be present on all Huawei devices. But in the immediate future the Chinese company doesn't want to interrupt the fruitful relationship it has had in recent years with Google. If it won't be cornered, for a few years Huawei smartphones will still use the green robot operating system.
When the Mate 30 comes out
The other question many are wondering is whether Huawei will delay the release of the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro until it gets Android certification. Kind of like what happened to Honor with the Honor 20 Pro that was released a few weeks late. Huawei is expected to present the two smartphones in mid-September in Munich, but for now, neither press invitations have arrived nor has the company leaked anything. We'll see how the situation evolves.