Google gets nod to resume selling Android license to Huawei

Little over a month after his crusade against Huawei, US President Trump withdrew sanctions and restrictions placed on the Chinese telecom giant, which prevented them from acquiring hardware and software from US-based companies.

Huawei will now be able to resume operations with Google, which means Huawei will retain its Android license. The move will also benefit Huawei sub-brand Honor, whose devices faced the same Android licensing issues.

China's President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump reached an agreement over the weekend at the G20 Summit held in Japan. President Trump also mentioned he would continue to negotiate with Beijing.

The previous ban barred Google from selling the Android license to Huawei, which would prevent future devices from accessing the Play Store and other quintessential Google apps.

PC World said in a report, "While it's unclear whether that extends to the 5G network technology that Huawei is developing, it most certainly applies to Google and Android."

Trump further added: “What we’ve done in Silicon Valley is incredible, and nobody has been able to compete with it, and I’ve agreed to allow them to continue to sell that product (to Huawei).”

A 90-day reprieve meant that Huawei’s Android ban hadn’t yet taken effect. However, it was already impacting the company’s global business, primarily smartphones.

Huawei had also confirmed it was in the process of developing its own OS that would support all popular Android apps and offer a more intuitive experience than Google’s Android OS.

The world’s second largest smartphone manufacturer was reportedly working with other Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi on the supposed Ark OS. Since Google can continue selling its Android license to Huawei, we’ll just have to wait and find out whether the Chinese tech giant continues pursuing the project or stick with the EMUI operating system.

The withdrawal of the ban will also allow companies like Microsoft, ARM, and others to renew their ties with the Chinese telecom giant.