Huawei's next phone won't have Google apps

[wjwren]

Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere but Google are not putting their apps on the new Mate 30. This makes the phone practically useless. Shame as they are pretty good value phones.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49508121

[buggalugs]

Practically Useless is a bit strong? Be interesting to see the detail of what apps it will come with and which app stores it has access to.

[Some Gump]

I must admit I'm a bit baffled by this..

Is Facebook not now a US company? BBC says that Huawai will need to make an app store to get faceboook, but surely the facebook app is just as embargoed as a Google app?

[wjwren]

Well if it hasnt got google apps it wont be allowed the playstore - am I correct in thinking this. If that's the case then yes it's no different to a Nokia 3210

[Dave.]

There are many places to download legitimate APK files from.

https://www.androidauthority.com/best-app-stores-9...

[eharding]

Some Gump said:

I must admit I'm a bit baffled by this..

Is Facebook not now a US company? BBC says that Huawai will need to make an app store to get faceboook, but surely the facebook app is just as embargoed as a Google app?

Nothing to stop Huawai building apps which are essentially just browser bookmarks to be mobile web version sites like of Facebook - it isn't a Facebook App as such, and Facebook would have no part in producing it, doing the same for other sites and then have some portal where users can 'download' such bookmarks, along with genuine native Android apps commissioned by Huawai, the whole thing being dressed up as an 'App Store'.

I don't think the embargo goes as far as banning US companies from allowing their websites to be displayed on browsers running on Huawai products.

Whether Huawai would ever be able to convince third party developers to support a home-spun App Store it is doubtful though.

[Harpoon]

Dave. said:

There are many places to download legitimate APK files from.

https://www.androidauthority.com/best-app-stores-9...

I would venture that's not going to be attractive to many (most?) users.

Average phone user is stood in a CPW or a network shop looking at phones:

"You could have a Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG, OnePlus etc etc which all have the apps you are using now and easy access to the Play store for more"
"Or you could have a Huawei which doesn't have those out of the box apps and you have to faff round finding sources for apps and then load manually"
"Hmm - I'll take anything but the Huawei then please"

[anonymous-user]

eharding said:

Some Gump said:

I must admit I'm a bit baffled by this..

Is Facebook not now a US company? BBC says that Huawai will need to make an app store to get faceboook, but surely the facebook app is just as embargoed as a Google app?

Nothing to stop Huawai building apps which are essentially just browser bookmarks to be mobile web version sites like of Facebook - it isn't a Facebook App as such, and Facebook would have no part in producing it, doing the same for other sites and then have some portal where users can 'download' such bookmarks, along with genuine native Android apps commissioned by Huawai, the whole thing being dressed up as an 'App Store'.

I don't think the embargo goes as far as banning US companies from allowing their websites to be displayed on browsers running on Huawai products.

Whether Huawai would ever be able to convince third party developers to support a home-spun App Store it is doubtful though.

Quite.

Won’t it be like when amazon and google fell out so you couldn’t get YouTube etc on amazon fire tv or echo show or spot. Suddenly loads of apps appeared which allowed you to do it.

[Dave.]

Harpoon said:

I would venture that's not going to be attractive to many (most?) users.

Average phone user is stood in a CPW or a network shop looking at phones:

"You could have a Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG, OnePlus etc etc which all have the apps you are using now and easy access to the Play store for more"
"Or you could have a Huawei which doesn't have those out of the box apps and you have to faff round finding sources for apps and then load manually"
"Hmm - I'll take anything but the Huawei then please"

Not really, just install the Amazon App Store, then install every app you need from there.

[Kermit power]

Dave. said:

Harpoon said:

I would venture that's not going to be attractive to many (most?) users.

Average phone user is stood in a CPW or a network shop looking at phones:

"You could have a Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG, OnePlus etc etc which all have the apps you are using now and easy access to the Play store for more"
"Or you could have a Huawei which doesn't have those out of the box apps and you have to faff round finding sources for apps and then load manually"
"Hmm - I'll take anything but the Huawei then please"

Not really, just install the Amazon App Store, then install every app you need from there.

Does the Amazon App Store have Google Maps? I'm on my second Honor phone and also have a Huawei watch. I really like their products, but not being able to get Google Maps on one would be an immediate show-stopper for me. There are just too many good Android handsets in the £300-500 space to even think about making that sort of compromise.

[MRichards99]

I own a Huawei device (Honor 7X) and they do have their own app store, called 'AppGallery'. I've just done a search for some of my most used apps, and they do have some of them (Facebook, BBC News etc), but a lot of apps are missing, eBay for one. My guess is there'd promote this app store, but as above, it seems like those people who want apps like eBay, Netflix, Spotify, will have to look for apk files out on the internet.

[Dave.]

Kermit power said:

Does the Amazon App Store have Google Maps? I'm on my second Honor phone and also have a Huawei watch. I really like their products, but not being able to get Google Maps on one would be an immediate show-stopper for me. There are just too many good Android handsets in the £300-500 space to even think about making that sort of compromise.

I think it does, surprisingly....

https://www.amazon.com/maps-google-com-Google-Maps...

ETA - unless it's just a shortcut to the web version, not tried it....

[ambuletz]

MRichards99 said:

I own a Huawei device (Honor 7X) and they do have their own app store, called 'AppGallery'. I've just done a search for some of my most used apps, and they do have some of them (Facebook, BBC News etc), but a lot of apps are missing, eBay for one. My guess is there'd promote this app store, but as above, it seems like those people who want apps like eBay, Netflix, Spotify, will have to look for apk files out on the internet.

only someone who knows what they're doing will consider one of their phones. as others have mentioned the vast majority of ppl don't know anything about tech, tech has been made simple for them. its why many people buy an apple phone because 'they just work'.

[Dave.]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yeah, because no app downloaded from the Play store has ever been found to be dodgy has it?

The Amazon app store isn't "the Wild West of the internet".

[Dave.]

You don't have to search & download random apk files from dodgy sources who may well manipulate them for their own gain.

APKmirror for example, downloads the apk direct from Google's servers.

Most (if not all) custom ROMs come without Google services, guess what, you just install them.

[mickytruelove]

if people cant click a button and install facebook/instagram/snapchat ect they simply will not by the phone. If there is any chance they can't install them apps they will play it safe and buy a samsung or whatever the cheapest contract is.

Im from a tech background and i quite wonder if i have super power sometimes or if "normal" people were dropped on their heads as a child. Then i remember the normal people have a life and dont give a st what an APK is.

[Dave.]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Apologies, i skim read the FAQ & got the wrong end of the stick.

---
If I install an APK from this website, will I be able to update the app from the Play Store?
Yes, absolutely. The Play Store installs APKs it downloads from Google’s servers, and sideloading from a site like APKMirror.com goes through a very similar process, except you’re the one performing the downloading and initiating the installation (sideloading).

As soon as the Play Store finds a version of the app newer than the one you’ve sideloaded, it will commence an update.
---

Although it goes on to say....

Security: What measures do you take to make sure all uploaded APKs are real and created by the respective developers?
All APKMirror.com uploads are verified prior to publishing.
We make sure that the cryptographic signatures for new versions of all previously published apps match the original ones, which means we know if uploaded APKs were signed by the real devs or someone pretending to be them.
Note: APKMirror.com has been protected from the Janus vulnerability in Android from day one.
a. For new apps that have never been uploaded to APKMirror.com, we try to match the signatures to other existing apps by the same developer. If there’s a match, it means that the same key was used to sign a previously known legitimate app, therefore validating the new upload.
b. If we see no matches, we try to obtain and compare to a version of the same app from the Play Store or another verified location. If it’s a beta, we will try to get into it. If we can’t, we will attempt to contact the developer.
c. If we’re unable to verify the legitimacy of a new APK, we will simply not publish it.

---

There's plenty more where that came from, & I guess you're putting faith in them adhering to their own rule, etc.

https://www.apkmirror.com/faq/

[Dave.]

mickytruelove said:

.....normal people have a life and dont give a st what an APK is.

Ignorance is bliss, eh?

[Dave.]

No worries with the smart-arse, it was a bit flippant.

Just been on XDA to see what they're saying, but i didn't get that far as this caught my eye -

https://www.xda-developers.com/camscanner-app-inje...

That app's been around for years, & since June has been running amok.

bds everywhere!

I'm just saying there's more to Android that the Play store, & let's face it, Android has always been for nerdy fkers with no life...

I'm off to bed now, with a woman, who is there voluntarily, & we're not related!

[Kermit power]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

...I guess you're putting faith in them adhering to their own rule, etc.

And that's my point. You're putting a lot of faith in a resource that has no official backing / affiliation to the "source" platform, in this case Google. Anyone can submit an APK to APK mirror. Sure they may have some verification process but it's a bit of leap.

I'm not trying to be a dick (smartarse comment aside - apologies) but it's not as simple as saying "just grab the APK" and even if it were, 99.99% users simply will not be interested in that sort of hassle. Not when there are viable alternatives that continue to be well supported in a "safe" / well-known ecosystem at virtually every price point.

I would be absolutely stunned if Huawei managed to sustain a market in the West if they effectively lose official and supported access to GPS / Play Store etc.

And that's just for personally purchased/used handsets. I purchased mine but use it as a BYOD for work stuff to avoid having to use the Apple ste which is the paid default. I simply would not, under our corporate security guidelines, be able to use an Android handset which didn't have Google Play on it.