Google prohibits Huawei's access to certain services after the US ban

"We are complying with the order and looking at the consequences," a Google spokesman said Monday. Huawei, number 2 in the world of smartphones, relies on a suite of Google (GOOGL) services for its devices, including the Android operating system and the Google Play app store.

According to numerous reports, the Silicon Valley giant would suspend much of this access, after Washington has placed Huawei on a list of foreign companies considered as undermining national security or the interests of US foreign policy. Listed companies are not allowed to receive components and software unless the business is licensed.

Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to access Google applications and services. The news was first reported by Reuters.

Google said that consumers who already own Huawei smartphones will not be affected for the most part.

"Google Play and Google Play Protect security protections will continue to work on existing Huawei devices," added the spokesperson, without providing more details.

But society relies heavily on countries other than China. According to research companies Canalys and IDC, about half of its smartphone sales last year were made outside of China.

Huawei said "consider the implications of US stocks for consumers," adding that he had been working for at least three years on his own operating system.

"Huawei is building an alternative operating system in case it needs it," said Huawei spokesperson Glenn Schloss. "We would like to be able to continue operating in the Microsoft and Google ecosystems," he added.

Kill Huawei out of China?

The consumer business – which includes smartphones, laptops, tablets and wearable devices such as smart watches – was the biggest contributor to Huawei's profit last year. The division achieved nearly 349 billion yuan ($ 50 billion) in 2018, accounting for more than 45% of the turnover.

For millions of users out of China, being cut off from Google's apps and services "kills the attractiveness of a Huawei phone," said Bryan Ma, an analyst at IDC.

"This kills the usability of a Huawei phone outside of China, thus rendering it dead in the water," he added.

Theoretically, Huawei can try to seduce consumers with its hardware and competitive innovations, then convince them to download Google applications after buying a Huawei phone, said Nicole Peng, an analyst at Canalys.

But the evidence shows that "after-sales installation is very difficult for users, unless they know what they're doing," Peng said.

In addition, when customers begin to discover that Huawei fails to integrate the ecosystem of Google on their phones, "it will affect confidence, they will wonder if the device is not going well", at- she adds.

Even though customers could independently download Google apps on Huawei phones, they would still not have access to Google Mobile services.

Many third-party applications, such as porting and food delivery platforms, rely on services such as Google Maps. Most of these apps might no longer be supported on Huawei devices, said IDC's Ma.

Without this access, "the Huawei phone is a brick," he said.