Google warns of security risks in sideloading its apps on Huawei’s smartphones
- Huawei’s AppGallery has more than 390 million active users worldwide, compared with 2 billion for Google Play
- Huawei has stepped up efforts in the Chinese smartphone market, where it had a 42 per cent share in the third quarter
Google has warned of security risks if Huawei smartphone users try to sideload apps, such as Gmail and YouTube, just as the Chinese tech giant is set to unveil new models.
Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment company, is prohibited from using Google apps and services, including Gmail, Maps, YouTube and the Play Store, under a US government ban that went into effect in May last year.
Huawei had planned to unveil new smartphones, PCs, tablets and Internet of Things products at MWC Barcelona, but show organisers cancelled the event, the world’s biggest for the mobile industry, after several major exhibitors pulled out over coronavirus fears.
Instead, Huawei has scheduled a webcast on Monday to announce a new Honor-brand V-30 series smartphone, an updated Huawei Mate X model, as well as wearable devices.
The ban on Huawei using Google core apps was seen as damaging to the Chinese company, as it undercut its ability to compete in smartphone markets outside China, where Google apps have become an indispensable part of many users' lives.
When Huawei’s Mate 30 became its first flagship phone to ship without Google apps built-in, users quickly found ways to work around the ban by downloading the apps themselves.