The US Government had granted a temporary license that allowed Huawei to do business with US companies. The license was valid till August 13th and has now expired. Huawei users in the US could continue using Google services due to the license; now, it seems like they will lose access to the same.
In 2019, Huawei was added to the US Entity List and banned from doing business with US firms. However, a temporary license granted to Huawei allowed the company to offer software updates and offer Google Services on Android devices. The intention of a temporary license was to give time for rural US telecom companies to revamp their infrastructure. It is learned that smaller telecom companies in the US use Huawei’s equipment as it is more affordable. Meanwhile, larger companies have the resources to invest in more expensive equipment. The government is expected to fund for new equipment and smaller telecom companies are waiting for the same. Earlier this year, the US has cut Huawei’s access to chip makers and referred to the company as a security risk. Huawei spokesperson said, “The longer they wait, the more likely it is that we’re going to have problems.” The US-China trade war has only escalated, and another reprieval for Huawei is farfetched.
Our Take
Thankfully not all Huawei smartphones running Android are affected by Huawei’s license expiration. Huawei devices launched after the ban, run on the open-source version of Android and dont depend on Google updates. The company will directly offer updates to newer phones. Huawei devices that use Google Services will most probably stop getting software updates. The worst part is that these devices could be cut off from security updates and update for Google apps. Unfortunately, there is no clarity on the issue, and we may have to wait for the US Department of Commerce to clear the air.
