A woman uses the Google Chrome app on her Huawei smartphone. Google intends to suspend its business with China’s top mobile phone maker, threatening future access to Gmail, YouTube and Chrome

Huawei’s response followed a May 20 report from Reuters, which said that U.S. tech giant Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, except those publicly available through open-source licensing, in a blow to China’s top mobile phone maker, which the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world.

Holders of current Huawei smartphones with Google apps will still be able to use and download app updates from Google. However, Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to access proprietary apps and services from Google.

The suspension could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech powerhouse will immediately lose access to updates of Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube.

The U.S. government recently added Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, to a trade blacklist, immediately enacting restrictions that will make it extremely difficult for the company to do business with its U.S. counterparts.

A representative of Google Vietnam told the Saigon Times that the firm is complying with the order and reviewing the implications. For local users of its services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices.

Huawei Vietnam said in a statement on May 20 that Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of the Android system around the world. “As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry,” said the tech giant.

The firm assured the current owners of Huawei phones and its subsidiary brand Honor phones that they will continue to receive security updates and after-sale service. This covers phones that have already been sold or are still in stock globally.

Huawei’s phone business continues as usual

A number of local phone users and retailers are concerned about the potential decline in purchases of this phone brand. However, some retailers told the Saigon Times that they are still selling Huawei products as usual.

A representative of the retail chain FPT Shop said that its stores are still offering Huawei products for sale. Further, products sold so far can be used normally, so customers can have peace of mind when using them.

Products purchased at FPT Shop will still be entitled to the chain’s current 30-day return policy. If there are any manufacturing defects in the phone, it will be exchanged for free.

FPT Shop’s Deputy General Director Nguyen Viet Anh pointed out that Google’s Android suspension will not have any effect on the retailer since FPT Shop serves consumers, so the import and sale of goods are aimed at satisfying customers’ needs.

“As a longtime partner of many phone makers, we always have promotional programs running in cooperation with these phone makers to promote sales and bring products to users,” he said.

Some other retailers echoed this view, noting that no changes are being made as Huawei phones are still operating normally on the Android platform and their users still have access to popular Google services, such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps.

Therefore, they are still selling Huawei phones as usual and are continuing to get information updates from the Huawei phone maker.

Huawei established itself as the world’s second-largest seller of smartphones during the first three months of this year, according to U.S. research firm IDC. Huawei shipped 59 million smartphones during the period, nearly 23 million more than Apple. SGT

Van Ly-Chi Thinh