After US President Donald Trump's administration placed Chinese tech giant Huawei in the list of companies blocked from doing business with American firms in late May, alarm bells are ringing halfway across the world in India. The first question that Indians are asking is: 'Should I desist from buying a Huawei device?' And for those already using a Huawei device, it is panic mode as they are worried if their phones stop working.
This curious situation, which will have far reaching implications for the mobile technology world, is a direct off-shoot of the trade war between the US and China, with the Trump administration specifically targetting Huawei for its close ties with the Chinese government, which, it feels, in turn poses a direct threat to privacy and strategic interests of Americans. The order included Huawei in the 'Entity' list of the US government, which bans other American companies from doing business with those in this restricted list.
The real impact of this became evident soon when Google announced that it would stop support to Huawei's mobile devices. About 70 per cent of the world's mobile phones, including all of Huawei's—the world's second biggest mobile phone manufacturer—run on Google's Android OS platform. A withdrawal of support would mean Huawei users will not be able to access new software support, including bug fixes, as well as ancillaries like the Play Store for apps, besides Google maps and Gmail in their mobile versions (Accessing them via a browser may still be a possibility). More worrisome for Huawei and its users would be that this means future Huawei phones will not be able to have Android as their operating system even to start with.
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More bad news followed. A host of mobile device standard providers, like wi-fi alliance, Bluetooth and even SD Association (which provides storage technology like SD card slots)—all American entities—chipped in, removing Huawei from their list of partners. Qualcomm, which has almost become a mobile industry go-to when it comes to processors, also said it will stop partnering with Huawei.
Net result of all this? Panic in the markets, especially among Indian users. Some reports spoke of Indians swarming second-hand device sellers with their Huawei phones.
Thankfully, a respite soon followed. The US government gave a three-month relief to Huawei, followed by Google also clarifying that existing users won't be affected. At least for now. “For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices,” a Google spokesperson was quoted in media reports. Google says anyone who already owns a Huawei smartphone will be largely unaffected, as they will still be able to download app and software updates.
The other agencies like wi-fi and Bluetooth have also backtracked, the SD Association even attributing the removal of Huawei from its list on its website to a technical glitch. August 19 is when the three-month reprieve by the US government expires, and market analysts hope a resolution is found by both the US and Chinese governments by then.
So, to answer the question topmost in the mind of Indian mobile users – yes, your Huawei phone will work as before, Android being completely supported with Playstore, Google Maps and all paraphernalia as before. Experts also clarify that even if the Entity blocking comes into effect after August 19, it will only apply to new Huawei devices. Which means, your present Huawei phone version will continues to get its updates regularly.
"Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablets that have been sold and (those) that are still in stock globally," a company spokesperson informed THE WEEK, adding, "We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem...for users.”
However, things may not be the same for future Huawei devices. The Chinese company, anyway, has been diffident at the face of the onslaught, with chief executive Richard Yu already being quoted in a German magazine saying that it has already created its own OS, called Ark, which it will load in future models and versions.
