Huawei says existing devices will continue receiving Android updates
Huawei has confirmed that its devices will continue to receive software and security updates, reports Huawei Central.
Hi there, thank you for your message. There is no impact on existing devices. We will continue to share security and software updates to our devices, as we always have. If you have any questions, please let us know via DM.
— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) August 17, 2020
The company was provided a temporary relief which allowed it to provide software updates to its existing phones. Handsets launched after the trade ban come with an open-source version of Android and lack key services and apps.
The temporary general license expired recently and this raised speculations that older Huawei and Honor phones would stop receiving Android updates from Google.
Huawei says that phones that were released before it was put on the entity list have not been impacted and will keep getting updates.
As for the new devices which do not feature Google Mobile Services (GMS), updates will be managed through Huawei's AppGallery.
Google is yet to corroborate Huawei's claim
Google had previously said it would keep providing updates as long as the government lets it do so. There is no indication from its side that it will continue sending out updates now that the temporary general license has expired.
The US shows no intention of letting Huawei off easily as is evident by a recent move that aims to make it even harder for the company to source chips. The company recently said it could no longer make its own chips because of restrictions imposed by the US government and that the Mate 40 will be its last phone to have a Kirin chip.
Later this year, the manufacturer is expected to launch its first phone with Harmony OS, its own operating system.
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