Huawei is in a load of trouble. If you aren’t privy to the news, then here’s the latest on Huawei smartphones. Huawei has been blacklisted by the US Government and Google has stopped it’s Android OS for Huawei phones. To understand why this is a larger topic you must be concerned about.
Let us summarise it in a few sentences
- There’s a huge trade war that has been affecting US and China’s relationship.
- There are also concerns from the US’ side that Huawei has been spying on American Huawei users at the behest of China
Now, we are not going to be talking about the merits of this decision. We are going to talk about you, the Huawei phone user in Singapore.
- How does this affect you?
- What can you do?
So over the past few days, we’ve received a barrage of questions from frantic Huawei users about the status of their phones and what they can do.
What Huawei Singapore Users need to know
Here are the frequently asked questions and answers for Huawei phone users in Singapore.
Will my Huawei smartphone in Singapore stop functioning?
The answer is NO. Your phone will function normally and that includes Google’s services, Apps and also Android. Huawei will also continue pushing software security updates from their side and they will conduct after-sales services, phone repairs on Huawei phones.
So things will work normally as per usual.
Will Google Play, Youtube, Google Maps work on my Huawei phone in Singapore?
These services will NOT be affected according to the latest updates. So you will see no changes to these apps even though you are using a Huawei phone.
Can I get updates on Google apps that I already have on my Huawei Phone?
Yes, you can go to the play store and update the apps and get the latest version. This is not going to affect you and will not be a problem.
Can I get updates on the Android OS?
Now, this is where it gets kind of tricky. Google is letting Huawei run the current version of Android on Huawei devices, but have blocked any future updates.
So this means if you are running on Android 8.0 (Oreo) then you wouldn’t be able to get the latest Android version that is 9.0 (Pie)
But Android is a bit more complicated than that. As it is an open source software, other smartphone makers generally add a “layer” on top of the basic Android.
And Huawei’s Android UI is called EMUI. You will receive all the EMUI updates for your Huawei phone without fail.
What about Android Security Patches?
For the uninitiated, Android security patches are basically updates to the Google OS on a regular basis. Software is vulnerable and hackers find gaps and exploit those software inadequacies. Google every once in a while releases security patches to keep the OS running smoothly.
For Huawei phone users, They WILL receive the Android security patches and this US ban will not affect that.
What are the Huawei phones that are affected by the US ban?
At this moment. None of the devices has been affected. All the current models that exist in the Singapore market will receive updates of EMUI, will get after sales service, can download apps, can update apps, can use Google apps such as Gmail, Youtube and Play store.
Will Non-Google apps work on my Huawei phone in Singapore?
Non-Google apps will work perfectly on Huawei phones and will not be affected at all.
Can I buy a Huawei phone in Singapore? Or should I sell my current Huawei phone?
It’s up to you to decide whether to buy a Huawei smartphone or not. Huawei will continue to support the old devices and any new devices that are being purchased. They are a multi billion dollar company and they are not going to let their customers in the lurch.
Will I be able to update to Android OS Q, which is the next OS slated to be released?
Google has explicitly mentioned that it will stop any future Android upgrades for Huawei phones. At this point, it’s pretty clear that Huawei phones will not receive the latest Android update and this is a pressing concern as of now.
What is the future of Huawei and the final verdict and how does it affect me?
The OS is pretty important for the phone to function well. As Android is the core OS for Huawei phones, without them the phone is nothing. This means, as the phones start ageing and as time passed by Huawei phones will be using the old Android versions which can be a problem from a UI/UX and tech standpoint.
It’s up to Huawei to come up with a solution. Their only solution at hand is to create their own OS, which could take some time and can be pretty bad at the start.
The onus is on Huawei to prove that they can create their own ecosystem that cannot be controlled by any other company.
Will Google ban its services on Huawei phones?
This situation is tricky, but Google is playing it smartly. They have to follow their government’s rules and that is why they’ve stopped Android updates. But they are not going to stop Google’s services on Huawei’s phones because that will directly affect them.
There are millions of Huawei phone users worldwide and if they can’t access Youtube, Gmail and other apps, this directly affects Google’s revenue.
All in All
To summarise, this is a tricky situation, but it doesn’t affect you, the end user by any means. At least not for now. Huawei’s spokesperson, Glenn Schloss has mentioned that Huawei is working on its own operating system as and when it’s needed.
It would be Huawei’s loss if their phones don’t work on the Google and Microsoft ecosystems.
Do check our latest Huawei Smartphones here in our store.
Rest assured these phones are still fantastic phones to go for this 2019.