The looming spectre of a ban on US companies dealing with Huawei has claimed another victim.
Google and Huawei reportedly cancelled a plan to launch Google Assistant-based smart speaker at the IFA tech show in Berlin in September, with plans to sell the device in the United States.
The Information‘s sources said the plans to launch a Huawei-branded speaker in the same vein as the Google Home range. However, President Trump’s intervention and blacklisting caused the plans to be abandoned in May.
Also on the agenda, before the companies dropped the plans, were discussions over Android Auto compatibility with Huawei phones, one of the biggest missing links on phones like the Mate 20 Pro.
Because US companies currently aren’t allowed to export tech to Huawei without specific approval from the US government, continuing with the plans would be too much of a risk. Huawei is currently operating in its dealings with US companies thanks to a 90-day temporary license, but it doesn’t appear as if a full reprieve is on the way.
Related: Google Home vs Amazon Echo
The restrictions on Huawei come as part of a wider trade war between China and the United States, which threatens the company’s ability to run the full Android operating system on its popular phones and tablets.
Huawei will always be able to use elements of Android, because of the open source nature of the OS, but they could eventually be denied access to the critical Google Play Services, which brings all of the good stuff like official Google apps, the Play Store, Google Assistant and much, much more. A Google Assistant speaker without the Google Assistant doesn’t sound like much use to anyone now, does it?
Google isn’t the only company to reportedly be cutting ties with Huawei following the ban. Microsoft recently removed the company’s MateBook laptops from its store. Intel, ARM and Qualcomm have also been reportedly forced to instigate bans.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
