Huawei devices do not have the Google Play Store due to the U.S. trade ban that was imposed on the company in 2019. The U.S. government added Huawei to the Entity List, which means U.S. companies are restricted from doing business with Huawei unless they have a special license. As a result, Google was unable to continue providing its services, including the Google Play Store and Google Mobile Services (GMS), to Huawei devices.
Here’s why this happened in more detail:
- U.S. Trade Ban (Entity List): In May 2019, the U.S. government placed Huawei on the Entity List, which restricts U.S. companies from selling or transferring technology to Huawei. Since Google is an American company, this meant that Huawei could no longer legally use Google services on their devices. This includes essential apps like Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps, and more.
- Impact on Huawei Phones: As a result of this ban, Huawei phones no longer come with Google Play or Google Mobile Services (GMS) pre-installed, even though they still run on Android, the operating system developed by Google. Huawei’s phones can no longer access the Google Play Store, where users can download millions of apps, as well as Google’s cloud-based services.
- Huawei’s Response: In response to the ban, Huawei has developed its own AppGallery as an alternative app store, which is now the primary app marketplace for Huawei devices. They have also worked to develop their own Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) as a replacement for Google services, allowing users to still have a functioning smartphone experience.
- Alternatives to Google Play: Without access to Google Play Store, Huawei has turned to other options to allow users to install apps. Some solutions include:
- AppGallery: Huawei’s official app store.
- Third-party app stores like APKPure or Amazon Appstore.
- Huawei’s Phone Clone app to transfer Google services from other Android devices.
- Gspace and other third-party apps that create a virtual environment to run Google apps on Huawei devices.
What does this mean for users?
While Huawei devices are still very powerful and offer great hardware, the lack of Google services means:
- No Google Play Store and no automatic updates for apps.
- No easy access to Google apps like Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, etc.
- Users might need to use alternative methods or third-party apps to install Google apps.
Huawei has been trying to mitigate this by building its own ecosystem with HMS and AppGallery, but many users still prefer the familiar Google services and Play Store.
In short, Huawei doesn’t have Google Play Store due to restrictions placed on the company by the U.S. trade ban, which prevents Google from offering its services to Huawei devices.