Huawei Google ban: What does it mean for your Android phone?

International fallout could have huge impacts for the tiny device in your pocket

A fallout between China and the US, and between Google and Huawei, takes in many of the world's biggest and most powerful organisations. But it could also have a substantial impact on something very small indeed: the phone sitting in your pocket.

Anyone who has a Huawei phone or might buy one in the future could be hit by the argument. And it could make vast differences to the rest of the Android market, too.

The current issues have come about because of a US ruling that told companies in the country that they could no longer work with Huawei, because of the ongoing dispute between the two countries.

One of those companies is Google. Their Android operating system is a central part of Huawei phones – leading to confusion and concern about whether those phones will keep working as the two companies are forced to cut off contact.

So here's everything you need to know – whether you already have a phone, or were looking forward to buying one in the future.

I have my Huawei phone already. What now?

For now, not much will change and there's no reason to panic. (Besides, there's very little us normal people can do; customers are largely powerless in this entire argument.)

Existing devices are for the time being unaffected. Both Google and Huawei have stressed that there is not anything to worry about for at the moment.

"For Huawei users' questions regarding our steps to comply with the recent US government actions: We assure you while we are complying with all US gov't requirements, services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device," Google tweeted from the official Android account.

Similarly, Huawei has promised that it "will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products covering those which have been sold or are still in stock globally".

But it's important to stress all of this is very much about the present. With time, you might start to see some differences in the way your phone works, when compared with other Android phones.

Huawei's statement specifically refers to "security updates" – not, notably, operating system updates. Google updates Android every year or so, often bringing breakthrough new features, and there has been some suggestion that these might not come to Huawei devices.

Should I buy a Huawei phone?

There are, obviously, a whole host of considerations to make when buying a new phone. But the fallout between the two companies complicates the entire process, and so is definitely worth thinking about before buying a new handset.

There can hardly have been a worse time to think about getting a Huawei phone. As well as the worry for the future caused by the current problems, there has been issues in the supply of new phones, meaning that there might not be the latest and up-to-date models you expect when you go to buy one.

But ultimately the same considerations apply for new phones as they do for anyone who currently has one. The phones are likely to be OK for now, but might not be in the future.

Whether you opt to buy one will be a question of whether the various things that have led people to like Huawei handsets – their relatively cheap price and new features, primarily – is enough to make up for that worry.

Should I look forward to new Huawei phones in the future?

This is likely to be the most significant difference that the fallout will make. While there have been a whole host of assurances about current phones – which have probably been required to avoid mass concern – much less has been said about those that are coming in the future.

As such, it's harder to work out how much of a change there will be. But it's almost certain to be substantial.

Huawei is no longer able to easily work with Google on future updates, so it will be somewhere between difficult and impossible for those phones to come out with proper versions of Android. Those phones are likely to be delayed or cancelled.

New phones have been pulled from announcements, too, suggesting this is already making a difference. EE and Vodafone both said that they will be launching their 5G networks without the phone Huawei specifically made for 5G, for instance.

Some of these phones might eventually make it to market with an open source version of Android. A version of the operating system is actually available for anyone to use, and so Huawei might opt to do that – but it comes without a whole host of features and apps that are in the usual build.

In the long term, Huawei will probably release its own operating system and software, and comments from the company about being ready for this possibility suggest that work might already have begun. So with time there may be entirely new Huawei handsets, with no Android at all – but we are unlikely to see those immediately.