By Pascal Oparada (Social Media/Tech Reporter)
Millions of Huawei users are fretting over what happens to their devices when the ban by the U.S. government comes into effect.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce extended the ban by 90 days within which U.S. tech firms should cease to provide support for Huawei, especially their smartphone business.
Users of the various devices by Huawei have suddenly become interested in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
Many companies in the U.S. immediately complied with President Donald Trump’s executive order restraining companies like Google, which Huawei uses their Android OS, Intel, and Qualcomm, who provide chipsets for the Chinese tech giant.
Although Google issued a statement saying services like Google Play and security from Google Play Protect will continue to function across all Huawei devices, Intel and Qualcomm immediately enforced the ban.
Although Huawei phones are not that popular in the U.S., it is not the same with African markets, especially Nigeria where it is a status symbol.
Many users who responded to TheNiche’s questions said they are troubled their expensive phones would become ‘useless’ following the ban.
“I don’t know what would become of my device when Google services stop working. It is quite expensive by Nigerian standards,” Anthony Chisoro said on Twitter.
While some consumers asked on social media if they could return their devices, others expressed optimism and said they would stick with the company.
A Bloomberg report says all Huawei phones developed and certified by Google before May 16 will still get access to Google’s Play app store and other pre-loaded apps and services from the internet giant. Updates from Google will continue because these are transactions between Google and end users, not Google and Huawei.
In a statement sent to TheNiche, Huawei said it is ready to work with the U.S. government, and that the U.S. government will be the loser if the ban is allowed to come into effect.
“Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and honor smartphone and tablet products covering those have been sold or still in stock globally,” the company said to its consumers in Nigeria.
As the trade war rages, Huawei users hope that the company would find an alternative to the challenges.
Experts believe Huawei will either seek to resurrect the comatose BlackBerry operating system or, better still, develop their own OS.