That is akin to effectively eliminating a market player overnight. It's like saying "Sure, you can still sell bikes, but you can't include Wheels. Oh and using after market wheels is not recommended."
This somehow feels very sad and unfortunate, especially given the amazing handsets that Huawei puts out (P30 Pro).
It's a shame really. Also goes to show what happens when monopoly over anything is established. Especially in this case, where your phone is almost unusable as most publishers won't opt to publish on 17 different platforms.
It is even worse than that. If I was an Android user I'd probably think twice before buying and new Chinese phone. Today it is Huawai, tomorrow some other Chinese manufacturer. Even if this kind of thinking is unfounded, it will have chilling effect on Chinese phone sales overall.
"This somehow feels very sad and unfortunate, especially given the amazing handsets that Huawei puts out (P30 Pro). ..."
Well, it's all in the eyes of beholder, isn't it. Franky, as I see it, that P30 Pro won't have Google's crappy spyware installed is an absolute blessing (it saves those who don't want Google spying on them a great deal of trouble by not having to root the phone, which is now quite difficult given that Huawei has stopped handing out keys to unlock the bootloader).
[BTW, I don't like Huawei one iota as a company but from my experience from using its technology—both phones and other communications equipment—I have found that it works very well indeed. It's often the small attention to detail that counts and that makes all the difference: for example, the OTG port on many of Huawei's smartphones reads NTFS drives directly out of the box without any mucking about—most other phones do not (they're usually limited to FAT32 and exFAT), which is a damn pain! In the past, this feature has been so important to me that I've chosen Huawei over other brands specifically because of it.]
It's difficult to imagine Huawei allowing themselves to be forced out of the lucrative international market for mobile devices, especially as they are bound to remain a strong player within China, where Google is irrelevant. Instead, they will now be more inclined to invest in freeing themselves from Google's stranglehold, and be more brazen about as they have not much to lose. In particular, I wonder will this affect Huawei's membership in the "Open Handset Alliance," [1] which (ironically and contrary to its name) is about constraining how its members can release Android devices in exchange for Google's blessing.
Other Chinese manufacturers also seem to have got the message and are pushing with initiatives like the "Global Developer Service Alliance," [2] an app distribution mechanism independent of the Play Store. Although it's too early to say if anything comes out of it this time (similar attemps have failed before), one way or another this will lead to more competition in the long run, which is a welcome development for all the users, regardless if they ever entertained the thought of purchasing a Huawei device.
Separately, the literal reading of Google's statement is also that side-loading Google Apps on top of AOSP or LineageOS should be expected to cease working anytime. So far they have been allowing a way out on a per-device, per-account basis, [3] so it's interesting to see whether they'll be willing to close that loophole now, although it seems to be hardly in Google's interest and contrary to the very purpose of Android.
I wouldn't be seen dead using Google's GApps on my mobile. Before even inserting a SIM card for the first time on a new phone, I disable or remove all of Google's GApps. (If they can't all be fully disabled, then the phone is rooted and they're just uninstalled/removed completely).
I find it ironic and rather quite delightful that the US Government is in some small way aiding and abetting what many of us would love to see happen which is for the public to reclaim its public telephone system back from Big Tech, Google et al who usurped and monopolized it without our or anyone's permission.
That Huawei is the reason is all the better. Huawei won't take this lying down, and having seen how capable the company is and what it's done to date, it'll almost certainly find a solution/be successful. When Huawei is seen to be successful sans Google this hopefully may inspire others to do the same (or encourage new startups not already encumbered by Google's contracts/terms of service which make it difficult for current players—which, incidentally, is a monopolistic, restrictive trade practice).
As Governments have consistently failed to protect both us and the internet from these damn monopolies then perhaps this unusual form leverage is the only chance we'll get. Thus, we should take full advantage of the situation whilst it lasts.
Quite ironic for you to place so much hope in Huawei to end Google monopoly. Huawei as an entity with ties to China government (someone who has one of the worst human rights and privacy track records in the world ) should deserve less trust and hope than Google. I don't know how you can think otherwise.
I'll be interested to see how Huawei responds. They already sell a lot of phones in China with no GApps so they must have their own ecosystem of sorts. That said, I suspect that whatever Huawei does will be just as bad (or worse?) for user privacy and control than what Google currently does.
It will depend on (a) the state [upgrade status] of your phone and (b) the version of GApps.
If you have both a phone and GApps of similar vintage (similar/compatible release dates, etc.) which were developed and released before this imposition was forced upon Google then it should update.
The way I read that document is that code generated from now on will test the hardware and if it's found to be incompatible with the directive then it will not install. Simply, I read this statement to mean that for the foreseeable future you will not be able to sideload current or newer release of GApps onto Huawei phones.
[+] [-] aneutron|6 years ago|reply
This somehow feels very sad and unfortunate, especially given the amazing handsets that Huawei puts out (P30 Pro).
It's a shame really. Also goes to show what happens when monopoly over anything is established. Especially in this case, where your phone is almost unusable as most publishers won't opt to publish on 17 different platforms.
[+] [-] weinzierl|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hilbert42|6 years ago|reply
Well, it's all in the eyes of beholder, isn't it. Franky, as I see it, that P30 Pro won't have Google's crappy spyware installed is an absolute blessing (it saves those who don't want Google spying on them a great deal of trouble by not having to root the phone, which is now quite difficult given that Huawei has stopped handing out keys to unlock the bootloader).
[BTW, I don't like Huawei one iota as a company but from my experience from using its technology—both phones and other communications equipment—I have found that it works very well indeed. It's often the small attention to detail that counts and that makes all the difference: for example, the OTG port on many of Huawei's smartphones reads NTFS drives directly out of the box without any mucking about—most other phones do not (they're usually limited to FAT32 and exFAT), which is a damn pain! In the past, this feature has been so important to me that I've chosen Huawei over other brands specifically because of it.]
[+] [-] masayoshis_son|6 years ago|reply
Other Chinese manufacturers also seem to have got the message and are pushing with initiatives like the "Global Developer Service Alliance," [2] an app distribution mechanism independent of the Play Store. Although it's too early to say if anything comes out of it this time (similar attemps have failed before), one way or another this will lead to more competition in the long run, which is a welcome development for all the users, regardless if they ever entertained the thought of purchasing a Huawei device.
Separately, the literal reading of Google's statement is also that side-loading Google Apps on top of AOSP or LineageOS should be expected to cease working anytime. So far they have been allowing a way out on a per-device, per-account basis, [3] so it's interesting to see whether they'll be willing to close that loophole now, although it seems to be hardly in Google's interest and contrary to the very purpose of Android.
1. http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html 2. https://www.gdsa.com/en 3. https://lineageos.org/Google-Play-Certification/
[+] [-] hilbert42|6 years ago|reply
I find it ironic and rather quite delightful that the US Government is in some small way aiding and abetting what many of us would love to see happen which is for the public to reclaim its public telephone system back from Big Tech, Google et al who usurped and monopolized it without our or anyone's permission.
That Huawei is the reason is all the better. Huawei won't take this lying down, and having seen how capable the company is and what it's done to date, it'll almost certainly find a solution/be successful. When Huawei is seen to be successful sans Google this hopefully may inspire others to do the same (or encourage new startups not already encumbered by Google's contracts/terms of service which make it difficult for current players—which, incidentally, is a monopolistic, restrictive trade practice).
As Governments have consistently failed to protect both us and the internet from these damn monopolies then perhaps this unusual form leverage is the only chance we'll get. Thus, we should take full advantage of the situation whilst it lasts.
[+] [-] nsoonhui|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thekyle|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thedance|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Wowfunhappy|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hilbert42|6 years ago|reply
If you have both a phone and GApps of similar vintage (similar/compatible release dates, etc.) which were developed and released before this imposition was forced upon Google then it should update.
The way I read that document is that code generated from now on will test the hardware and if it's found to be incompatible with the directive then it will not install. Simply, I read this statement to mean that for the foreseeable future you will not be able to sideload current or newer release of GApps onto Huawei phones.
The only true way to find out is to try it.
[+] [-] Lyrex|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] badrabbit|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hhtoyou|6 years ago|reply
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