Huawei took the wraps off its new P40 series last week that comes in three models: the P40, P40 Pro and P40 Pro+. Although each handset arrives with some of the best hardware on a smartphone, especially in the camera department, they all have a gaping software void.
Every member of the P40 series, and the Mate 30 series for that matter, all come without any Google apps or services pre-installed. Worse still, you can’t get Google on the devices in question unless you’re willing to start sideloading. And even then, things don’t work flawlessly, as we noted in our review of the Mate 30 Pro.
Since last year, Google has been unable to licence its Android operating system to Huawei because of a US trade ban effectively prohibiting domestic companies from dealing with the Chinese tech giant.
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In response to the US move, Huawei has ramped-up efforts to develop its own mobile services offering. In fact, the firm’s own app store, the AppGallery, acts as the primary method of installing new applications on the likes of the Mate 30 Pro and P40 Pro.
And it seems Huawei is thinking of using the AppGallery as a new potential method of getting Google apps and services on its latest devices. In a recent interview with CNBC, Huawei’s rotating chairman Eric Xu expressed hope that Google could distribute its constellation of popular apps on the AppGallery.
That’s not a completely alien concept. After all, Google offers its apps on Apple’s App Store and optimises its apps to run smoothly on iOS.
Xu said: “We hope Google services can be available through our AppGallery, just like how Google services are available through Apple’s App Store.”
The Huawei chairman’s idea is certainly interesting and, if possible, would allow fans of the Chinese tech giant’s phones outside of China to access Google apps that are fundamental to the Android experience.
Of course, while Xu’s suggestion sounds great on paper, it may be much harder to achieve in practice. After all, if Google is unable to licence Android to Huawei, who’s to say it will be allowed to publish its apps on Huawei’s AppGallery.
And, as noted by Android Police, Google’s apps rely pretty heavily on its Play Services framework, suggesting the Moutain View firm would have to drastically alter its software to get them on the AppGallery.
Back in February, it was reported Google had applied to the US government for a licence to continue dealing with Huawei. However, since then there has been no word on a decision made by the Trump administration.
But with the P40 series launching last month without any Google apps, it’s safe to assume Huawei phones will have a pretty seismic software problem for the time being.
Hope isn’t completely lost though. Last year Microsoft was given the green light to continue business with Huawei. That’s why new laptops from the Chinese tech giant and its subsidiary Honor still run Windows 10.
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