The US-China Trade War:

What does US-China Trade War means for HONOR Devices?

(The Story Till Now)

In May 2019 it was announced by the US government that Google and US businesses have to change the way they deal with Huawei. The Chinese giant was blacklisted by the US in the latest skirmish of the ongoing trade war.

Google was particularly vociferous that preventing Huawei using its version of Android could potentially result in national security issues through people using a Huawei-developed replacement OS - now revealed to be HarmonyOS. In reality, it's probably because non-Android phones would hit Google profits.

On 29 June 2019, President Trump said he had agreed to allow US tech companies like Google and Qualcomm to once again start selling to Huawei following the restart of trade talks between the US and China. The caveat is that it's only for goods not connected to national security. Trump made the comments at a press conference at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The move seemed to be a reaction to the fact US companies were feeling the effect of the ban.

On 1 August 2019 Trump appeared to contradict his earlier statement (for a change), "we're not allowing Huawei into our country, we're not changed on that". This would have shown a stronger stance had he not immediately clarified it with "we can do business on non-security things with Huawei, we can do that". On 5 September Trump stated again that "Huawei is a big concern of our military, of our intelligence agencies, and we are not doing business with Huawei".

Around this time, Huawei and Honor devices were added back onto the Android Enterprise Recommended website. That's significant as Google is actively recommending them to businesses for long-term use.

Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US telecoms regulator (the FCC) as it has banned US carriers from buying Huawei gear with subsidies paid by the FCC to carries to guarantee access to telco services continue to be available right across the US.

In January 2020 the Trump administration signed a trade agreement with China which saw a thawing of the trade war, but there was no provision for Huawei in the agreement. It's thought that a second deal is on the table but there isn't a consensus on whether this will help or hinder Huawei.

The US Department of Commerce has dumped plans to introduce rules to mak it harder for American companies to deal with Huawei - presumably because of the damage to US businesses. As we mentioned, Google is not a fan of the trade ban. It does, however, show that different parts of the US Government can't agree on a united plan of dealing with the company.

In late 2019, the Department of Commerce said it had received around 300 license requests for continuing to deal with Huawei and has approved arrange a quarter of them.

On 14 May 2020 it was announced that the Trump administration has extended the original trade ban for another year until May 2021 stopping US companies from purchasing or using telecommunications equipment made by firms considered a national security risk.

What Made Google To Stop It's Services On HONOR Devices?

What does US-China Trade War means for HONOR Devices?

On May 16, 2019, the US government placed Huawei on its Entity List. This government action prohibits all US companies, including Google, from collaborating with Huawei.

This means that Google is prohibited from working with Huawei on new device models or providing Google’s apps including Gmail, Maps, YouTube, the Play Store and others for preload or download on these devices.

Our focus has been protecting the security of Google users on the millions of existing Huawei devices around the world. We have continued to work with Huawei, in compliance with government regulations, to provide security updates and updates to Google’s apps and services on existing devices, and we will continue to do so as long as it is permitted. To be clear: US law currently allows Google to only work with Huawei on device models available to the public on or before May 16, 2019.

We have continued to receive a number of questions about new Huawei devices (e.g., new models launching now, or earlier models launched after May 16, 2019 but now becoming available in new regions of the world) and whether Google’s apps and services can be used on these devices. We wanted to provide clear guidance to those asking these important questions.

Due to government restrictions, Google’s apps and services are not available for preload or sideload on new Huawei devices.

To protect user data privacy, security, and safeguard the overall experience, the Google Play Store, Google Play Protect, and Google’s core apps (including Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and others) are only available on Play Protect certified devices.

Play Protect certified devices go through a rigorous security review and compatibility testing process, performed by Google, to ensure user data and app information are kept safe. They also come from the factory with our Google Play Protect software, which provides protection against the device being compromised.

This has been our long-standing approach to user security and privacy and is applied consistently across all device manufacturers.

Because of the government restrictions described above, new Huawei device models made available to the public after May 16, 2019 have not been able to go through this security process nor will they have Play Protect preloaded. As a result, they are considered “uncertified,” and will not be able to utilize Google’s apps and services.

In addition, sideloaded Google apps will not work reliably because we do not allow these services to run on uncertified devices where security may be compromised. Sideloading Google’s apps also carries a high risk of installing an app that has been altered or tampered with in ways that can compromise user security.

Which Honor Phones Will Not Have Pre-Loaded Google Services?

The Huawei P40 and P40 Pro
Mate 30 series
Mate Xs
Honor 30 series don't have any Google apps.

What Are The Substitutes Of Google Services On HONOR Devices?
With the loss of the Google Play Store, it has become difficult for new buyers of Huawei and Honor devices to get the apps that they may need, even though they can be sure of receiving the Android 11 update. This means, getting new apps on board will require a different process. Worry not! We’ve compiled a list of ways you could use to gain proper functionality on your Huawei/Honor device even if it is devoid of Google Play.
1. Use Huawei AppGallery
Alternatives Of Google Services On HONOR Apps

Before even releasing its own mobile services, Huawei had the AppGallery as
a replacement for Google’s Play Store. The AppGallery app comes preinstalled with Huawei phones with thousands of apps with more to arrive in the near future as Huawei is working on adding a large number of Android apps to its AppGallery, by investing $1 billion to get 4,000 developers to fill the gap left by Google suite of apps.

As of now, Huawei’s AppGallery offers parental control restrictions with age-related content to filter, similar to that on the Play Store. There’s the Quick App feature that provides installation-free apps for saving battery and space. The company’s official page shows that content will change depending upon the location of the user, meaning European users will no longer be suggested apps that are popular in Asia. Additionally, if users own more one Huawei device, they can use the same Huawei ID for accessing the AppGallery on Huawei phones, tablets, smart screens, wearables, VR gadgets, and more.

2.Use Play Store alternatives

Alternatives Of Google Services On HONOR Devices

If you cannot access Google Play on your Huawei/Honor device, it doesn’t mean you cannot install a third-party app store on your phone. We’ve already compiled a list of Google Play alternatives offering store-like experience, worthy sets of apps, safety and even, some paid apps if you’re enough. Some of the most useful replacement to the Play Store include: