Summary

A lot has happened since the start of the Huawei case between the company China to the United States government. The situation has evolved and we suggest that you take stock by answering important questions.

Here is everything you need to know about the Huawei affair // Source: Frandroid

War has been raging for a long time between Huawei and the United States. Indeed, since May 19, 2019 and following a decree from President Donald Trumpe, the White House has placed the Chinese company on a blacklist. Thus, no American company has the right to collaborate with Huawei.

Result: Google, as an American group, can no longer certify Huawei's Android smartphones and tablets. This puts the Chinese brand in a very delicate position, since these private products from Google services and the Play Store have a much harder time convincing Western consumers who are very used to this ecosystem. Here we take stock of this complex case by answering the most important questions.

Where are we in the conflict between Huawei and the United States?

For a time, a relaxation was possible after the G20 summit in 2019 where China and the United States seemed having discussed the Huawei case more calmly. However, the trade war between the two superpowers has finally flared up again, thus distancing the prospect of a quick resolution of this matter.

It should be noted that the Huawei affair crystallizes already existing tensions between Washington and Beijing, which are fighting at a distance for economic and technological supremacy. It is a real war of influence in which the Chinese brand is mired.

Read Why geopolitics will help you better understand technology

At present, the embargo against Huawei has therefore been extended at least until 2021. In addition, the effects of this sanction have been downright toughened. Indeed, even the Chinese giant's non-American suppliers can no longer deliver hardware components to it if they are based on technologies from the United States.

Thus, in theory, the Taiwanese founder TSMC can no longer manufacture the Kirin chips embedded in Huawei smartphones and it would have frozen all new orders in this area to comply with this new constraint. For its part, China does not want to stand idly by and promises retaliation with Apple and Qualcomm in its sights.

Do Huawei smartphones still have access to Android and Google services?

No matter what happens, Huawei will never be deprived of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that every company can use as good seems to him. The whole question is rather whether Android as we usually know it – with Google services and applications, the Play Store, security patches… – can still be exploited by the Chinese brand.

In response, we could simply say that all Huawei smartphones released after the embargo are deprived of Google services. But there is a catch. Despite the veracity of this claim, Huawei continues to release some smartphones with pre-embedded Google services.

This is explained by the fact that Huawei stands out from models dating from before the American sanction and taking advantage in this respect of Google services and the Play Store. The brand manages that said to change the name or make anecdotal changes. The Huawei Nova 5T launched in October 2019 is therefore a renamed Honor 20. The same strategy applies to Huawei P Smart 2020 and P Smart Pro which are respectively Honor 10 Lite and 9X with mustaches.

Finally, we can also mention the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition unveiled in 2020 with exactly the same characteristics as last year's model, but benefiting from a new color.

What is Huawei accused of?

The United States claims that Huawei's telecom infrastructure - and especially 5G - are spy tools in the service of the Chinese government. However, these suspicions have never been substantiated by public evidence.

In this regard, Washington is trying to convince its allies to in turn ban Huawei's infrastructure. In France, this problem arises when the country is already behind in the deployment of its next-generation network.

What are the alternatives for Huawei?

In its crisis communication, Huawei has long insisted on its desire to resume normal relations with Google. Wasted effort. Without changing the substance of this speech, the company has gradually decided to take the lead and create its own ecosystem on Android.

This is based on Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) and, in particular, on the AppGallery application store which is an alternative to the Play Store. Several smartphones have thus been marketed in Europe with the HMS. We can mention the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, but also the P40 Pro or the P40, among other devices.

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For now, our tests of the smartphones concerned show that Huawei's initiative is still subject to several limitations. The AppGallery catalog still deserves to be expanded to allow users to enjoy their favorite applications without going through Phone Clone or downloading APKs or the website of the desired service.

To go furtherHuawei P40 Pro review: impossible love (for the moment)

Also, note that many Android applications need Google services to work and until Huawei succeeds in convincing the developers of these apps, they will simply not be functional on the Chinese brand's devices.

Huawei's challenge is not lost in advance, however, and the company is working hard to make its HMS more viable. Eventually, the giant may succeed in establishing itself as a solid alternative to Google's Android. This is a plausible scenario, but also a very optimistic one.

To go furtherEmbargo against Huawei: one year later, where are we?

That's not all. Huawei has also formalized its own operating system called HarmonyOS. The latter has been designed to work on different types of devices, televisions, computers and connected speakers at the top of the list. This logic is reminiscent of that of the Fuschia project.

The Chinese group made it clear that HarmonyOS could be deployed on its smartphones, but only if necessary. A priori, the brand's smartphones should continue to favor Android.

Finally, we must also remember that Huawei does not intend to put all its eggs in one basket. The firm is multiplying product categories and intends to offer a whole galaxy of products to create a complete ecosystem. Laptops in particular benefit from special attention.

Are Honor smartphones also affected by this embargo?

Yes, the same issues arise for Honor since it is a brand belonging to Huawei.

Why do Huawei and Honor computers still have access to Windows?

Since November 2019, Huawei and Honor can once again take advantage of a Windows 10 license on the PCs they market. The reason for this exception remains rather unclear. We simply know that Microsoft was able to negotiate with the American government to have the right to work in this way with the Chinese group.

What are the consequences of the embargo on Huawei's sales?

Huawei has felt the blow from the United States. Despite this, the group ended 2019 with strong overall growth. This is mainly due to the fact that the brand is still very strong in the Chinese market where users have long been accustomed to Android devices without Google services – the activities of the Mountain View firm being prohibited in the country.

In France, the results for the first quarter of 2020 also remain encouraging with a 6% increase in Huawei's market share. In France, it's a safe bet that sales are driven up by the very popular models of 2019 and still equipped with Google services like the Huawei P30 Pro.

Can the Huawei vs US conflict ever be resolved?

Can the US ever make peace with Huawei? The question is complex. At present, we would be tempted to answer in the negative. It seems difficult to envisage the administration of Donald Trump burying the hatchet with the Chinese firm after claiming to have proof of his guilt.

To this we can add the heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing where each side ardently defends its piece of fat. Huawei, for its part, seems to be gradually abandoning an amicable resolution of this case and continues to bet and communicate massively on its in-house mobile services.

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