
How a US ban on Huawei could affect consumers
Chinese phone maker and telecom equipment giant probed for allegedly violating Iran sanctions

The ban means ZTE won’t be able to use Snapdragon CPUs from Qualcomm, and could mean it can’t use Google’s version of Android -- which would mean no Gmail, no Google Maps, and no Google Play app store.
If a similar ban were to hit Huawei, it could potentially have a huge impact because it has leaned heavily on software from US companies.
Huawei’s phones outside of China also run Google’s version of Android. (Huawei does have its own app store, which also hosts some Google apps -- but it’s unclear how those would be affected.)
Unlike ZTE, Huawei hasn’t found much success trying to sell smartphones in the US. While ZTE is currently the fourth biggest smartphone brand in the country, Huawei has so far failed to secure a carrier partner -- in a country where 90% of all handset sales are through carriers.
No matter what the result of the US probe on Huawei, these carriers -- which often receive government funding -- may need to start looking for new suppliers.
Both Huawei and ZTE have denied those claims.
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