Huawei May Have to Launch the Mate 30 Without Google Apps

Huawei launches a new Mate-series smartphone every autumn, and it usually sells in large numbers. Things are much more uncertain this year, though. Huawei plans to unveil the Mate 30 lineup on Sept. 18 in Germany, but the US trade ban remains in effect. According to a Reuters report, that means the Mate 30 won’t have Google services, and that could spell trouble for Huawei.

Trouble started for China-based Huawei shortly after the current US administration took power. The company’s plans to sell the Mate 10 on AT&T and Verizon in early 2018 collapsed in the face of political pressure. When it announced the Mate 20, Huawei opted not to release the phone in the US at all. Tensions between the US and China have escalated over the past year as a trade war rages on. Citing Huawei’s close ties with the Chinese government, the US government has also worked to push the company out of the running for providing 5G infrastructure.

The US went nuclear earlier this year by adding Huawei to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. That distinction means US-based companies cannot sell or license technology to Huawei unless they have special government approval. Google, which develops the open-source Android platform, was one of the most prominent companies to break ties with Huawei.

While Huawei promises its existing phones will continue to get Android updates, future phones are a different matter. A Google representative contacted by Reuters confirms that the company cannot certify any new devices for Huawei at this time. That means the Mate 30 could launch without Google apps like Gmail, Maps, and the Play Store ecosystem.

Huawei currently enjoys a second 90-day reprieve from the trade ban, designed to help US companies establish other business relationships. However, Huawei can’t forge any new deals under during the delay, and that means no new Google-certified phones. Google and other companies have applied for licenses to supply Huawei, but the Commerce Department has yet to approve any of them.

Without Google certification, Huawei is left with the open-source parts of Android along with whatever software it can build. For its native China, that’s not the end of the world. Google services don’t work there anyway. A Mate 30 with no Google apps probably won’t sell in any other part of the world, though.

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