Huawei hits back as rumours swirl about homegrown operating system to combat Google ban

Huawei devices are flooding online marketplaces as Australians ditch them after Google banned the Chinese telco giant from the Android operating system.

Australian smartphone owners are holding an online fire sale for Huawei handsets just one day after it was revealed the company would no longer receive full support from Google.

Online marketplace Gumtree is being swamped with new and older Huawei models, with more than 80 listed for sale in Australia over the past 24 hours alone.

One Gumtree seller was even prepared to take a significant loss on their newly purchased Huawei P30 Pro, bought just two days earlier and listed for $400 less than what they paid for it.

eBay Australia also saw an influx of Huawei phones for sale overnight, though Australian telephone carriers and electronics retailers have yet to react to the news as some firms in the UK did yesterday.

Amid the fire sale, Huawei Australia corporate affairs director Jeremy Mitchell issued a statement to reassure local customers that their phones would still work and Google’s move “would not impact consumers” with a Huawei phone or tablet or planning to buy one.

He comments come as reports emerge that Huawei has a “plan B” to deal with the ban.

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Reports have emerged that Huawei has its own operating system in the works to combat the Google ban. Picture: AP

“Consumers with Huawei devices will still receive security updates and be able to use Google apps,” Mr Mitchell said said.

“Huawei will continue to provide after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.

“Australian consumers will be able to continue using Google services like Google Play and Gmail on their Huawei phones as they normally would. Google Android updates will continue to be provided for Huawei EMUI and Google apps will not be affected.”

But while the current generation of Huawei smartphones will continue to work with Google software, it’s unclear how new releases will be impacted by the decision, as many may not be able to download Google apps or receive Android operating system updates.

HUWAEI’S PLAN TO DEAL WITH GOOGLE BAN

It’s believed the company has been developing its own operating system - allegedly called HongMeng OS - in case relations with Google were to collapse.

Business Insider reports it has allegedly been in the works since 2012, and while new software might save devices from turning into bricks, Huawei still faces a number of hurdles.

It’s homegrown operating system might also lack appeal outside of China, and the company could have a hard time convincing developers to create versions of popular apps for it’s own app store.

News Corp has contacted Huawei about the development of the alleged operating system.

The potentially fatal blow to Huawei’s multibillion-dollar smartphone arm came yesterday after Google “suspended” the company’s access to major parts of its phone software following a ban in the United States.

The move will mean Australians using Huawei smartphones lose access to new Google features as they will no longer be able to update the software on their smartphones.

And the repercussions could be even worse for future Huawei handsets that will no longer be able to access Google apps.

The tech firm hit back at the ban, saying it had made “substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android 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 benefited both users and the industry,” Huawei said in a statement.

“Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products covering those have been sold or still in stock globally.

“We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.”

Google cut off Huawei after US President Donald Trump last week banned the company and 70 of its affiliated companies from buying American technology or components late last week. Picture: AFP

WHY THE BAN CAME INTO EFFECT

Google’s parent company Alphabet cut off the world’s second biggest phone maker after US President Donald Trump last week banned Huawei and 70 of its affiliated companies from buying American technology or components late last week.

The move will mean the US ban will have a much greater effect than many realised, going further than restrictions on Chinese firms in countries including Australia.

A source close to the matter told Reuters Google had immediately cut off Huawei’s access to new versions of its Android operating system, preventing Huawei smartphones from getting new features from the internet giant.

In response to a surge of user questions, Google later issued a statement assuring them “services like Google Play and security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device”.

The next generation of Huawei smartphones will be further crippled, however, as they will not be able to access apps from Google’s Play Store, or Google services such as Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and cloud service Drive.

Huawei smartphone users would only have access to open source versions of the Android operating system, according to the source.

The news will come as major blow to many Australian smartphone after Huawei made a big splash in the market with the recent release of its P30 Pro smartphone with its 5x optical zoom lens.

The company commands a growing portion of the Australian smartphone market, according to Kantar WorldPanel, and sold 59 million smartphones in the first three months of the year worldwide, according to Canalys, to represent almost one in five new phone sales.

The US ban and Google restrictions on Huawei could have a serious impact on those sales, after Mr Trump deemed the situation a “national economic emergency”.

The Chinese firm fired back last week, issuing a statement warning that “unreasonable restrictions” would “impinge upon Huawei’s rights and raise other serious legal issues”.

“Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger,” the statement said. “Instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment, and eventually harming the interests of US companies and consumers.”

The US ban on Huawei follows Australian laws preventing the Chinese firm and others like it from providing equipment for its upcoming 5G mobile phone networks over national security fears.

Huawei is yet to comment on Google’s new restrictions.

Originally published as Huawei hits back as rumours swirl about homegrown operating system to combat Google ban