Millions of Huawei smartphone owners around the world are suddenly interested in the trade war between China and the US.<\/p>\n
A recent ban by U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong><\/a> means many US companies can\u2019t work with the Chinese technology giant. On Monday, there was a 90-day reprieve<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n But after that, Huawei phones won\u2019t get the same access to Google software updates as most other major handsets that use the US company\u2019s Android operating system.<\/p>\n Huawei phones aren\u2019t that popular in the US, but they are widely used almost everywhere else. For millions, the devices are cheap-but-quality alternatives to the $1,000 phones America\u2019s hardware champion Apple Inc. peddles. Inside China, Huawei devices won\u2019t be affected. But nearly half of these handsets are sold outside that country, according to Counterpoint Research.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very worried. I\u2019m the owner of a P30 Pro which I bought a month ago,\u201d Ania K from Poland wrote on Twitter. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I will have any updates any more. Many people are very worried about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n A Google spokesman said the company will continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing Huawei models for the next 90 days.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we are complying with all US gov\u2019t requirements, services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device,\u201d Google\u2019s Android unit wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n All Huawei phones developed and certified by Google before May 16 will still get access to Google\u2019s Play app store and other pre-loaded apps and services from the internet giant. Updates from Google will continue because these are transactions between Google and end users, not Google and Huawei.<\/p>\n However, Google won\u2019t be allowed to work with Huawei on software bugs and other technical fixes for Google\u2019s version of Android going forward. Instead, the Chinese company will have to do this on its own, using the open-source version of Android.<\/p>\n For new Huawei phones beyond May 16, there will be no Google support because that would require a new transaction between Google and the Chinese company.<\/p>\n Huawei Technologies Co.\u2019s marketing team was enacting a full-court press on social media on Tuesday, assuring customers their phones would continue to be safe and usable.<\/p>\n \u201cHuawei will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products covering those which have been sold or still in stock globally,\u201d the company wrote on Twitter to fans in Nigeria.<\/p>\n Some Huawei customers asked on social media if they could return their handsets. Others said they would stick with the company and encouraged it to keep fighting what they saw as an attack on a foreign company by President Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can do it, Huawei. You didn\u2019t come all the way to the top to get beaten for nothing,\u201d Boon Leo, a Huawei user from Malaysia wrote on the company\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n Huawei is working on its own mobile operation system and will consider rivals to Google\u2019s Android.<\/p>\n \u201cNot letting go of your phones so you better come up with your own softwares and OS\u2026. Asap,\u201d wrote another user from Kenya on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\n