Huawei gets partial reprieve, Android support extended

Last weekend, US government passed an executive order by enlisting Huawei in the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Department of Commerce's entity list under 'Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.

Basically, the Chinese firm got banned from using services from American technology companies and vice versa. Both the parties have to come up with a new request to continue the partnership and this time, there will be more scrutiny to get the approval.

In a surprising turn of events, Donald Trump government, a few hours ago lifted the ban in Huawei for three months, giving partial reprieve to the Chinese firm and most importantly the Huawei (& Honor) device owners, who were worried they would never get software update and security patches anymore.

The commerce department noted that the US government's ban on Huawei still stands valid, but is given 90-days breathing space to avoid sudden disruption in business and avoid distress o millions of mobile devices.

What will be Huawei's next move?
It's no secret that Huawei had anticipated US-China talks would go awry and been working on its own proprietary mobile OS (& also PC version), but there is no word on how much stride it has made.

Even if Huawei begins now, it will take at least two years if not more to bring a full-fledged OS, which can challenge Google's Android and Apple iOS in the smartphone business. Huawei has to build a large ecosystem of apps and games, and offer the same experience as popular applications such as YouTube and Google Maps, among others, Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India, said to Deccan Herald.

Huawei has its task cut out to bring big players such as Facebook ( also WhatsApp & Instagram), Tencent Games (PUBG Mobile), Electronic Arts and others to collaborate and bring the same user-experience as seen in the Android and the iOS.

"They can always look at using AOSP (Android Open Source Project) but Huawei which is vertically integrated always put in a lot of effort in integration of hardware and software for a seamless experience. Using an AOSP is unlikely to provide a good consumer experience. Some apps will demand to sideload and some will be less secure. Huawei will also put in a lot of effort to improve its brand image as it finds itself in middle of the ban," Tarun Pathak, associate director & telecom analyst, Counterpoint Research (global devices and ecosystems research) said to DH.

Should consumers buy Huawei devices?
It is a little complicated; Both Google and Huawei have confirmed that all existing device will continue to run on Android, even beyond August 2019.

The Chinese company has also revealed that Huawei and Honor devices that are currently available in stores, will run Android OS normally.
But, nobody is ready to come forward to reveal whether the affected devices will receive any software update after three months.

We suggest the prospective mobile consumers wait a few days for Huawei to put all speculations to rest. The company is expected to make a press statement during the Honor 20 launch event later today (May 21) in London.

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