Huawei to continue providing security updates, after sales services post Android license cancellation

Chinese handset maker Huawei Monday said it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to its existing smartphones and tablets, even as the future roadmap of products remain uncertain after the cancellation of its Android license.

Tech giant Google is said to be ending transfer of hardware, software and technical services to Huawei amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China.

Pointing out that it had made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world, Huawei said it has worked closely with Android's open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.

"Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally. We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally," it added.

The company did not elaborate on the impact this development is likely to have on its customers in India.

Huawei is likely to lose access to the Android operating system as well as applications like Maps, Gmail and access to Play Store.

Besides, the latest development is expected to benefit competitors like Samsung and Xiaomi that sell Android phones.

In the latest March quarter, Huawei was the second largest smartphone vendor with global shipment of 59.1 million units and 19 per cent market share, behind Samsung that had 71.9 million units shipment (23.1 per cent share), as per research firm IDC.

Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak said the latest development is going to impact the new device sales for Huawei and Honor.

India is one of their key countries outside China with almost four per cent market share, he added.

About 31 million units smartphones were shipped in India during the January-March 2019 quarter with Xiaomi leading the tally with 29 per cent share and followed by Samsung (23 per cent), Vivo (12 per cent), Realme and Oppo (7 per cent each).

Pathak said Huawei can always look at using the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) but that is unlikely to provide a good consumer experience.

"Huawei always put in a lot of effort in integration of hardware and software for a seamless experience. Using AOSP is unlikely to provide a good consumer experience," he said.

AOSP is a version of the Android operating system available through the open source license.