Huawei has admitted that US sanctions are hurting its business. According to a report by Financial Times, that confirmation came from “company’s executives”.

US sanctions prevent Huawei from using Google's services, and that hurts the most

They said that Huawei is struggling to replace Google applications on its mobile phones, following US sanctions. The company’s executives said that it could take Huawei years before they provide their very own alternatives.

The company’s executive, Joy Tan, said that Huawei was able to find replacements for key equipment they used to get from the US. The same cannot be said for Google’s software, though.


Ms. Tan, who is Huawei’s vice-president of public affairs at Huawei US, also mentioned that Huawei is free to continue using Android. Android is an open-source platform, as many of you know. Huawei is, however, prevented from using Google’s services that make Android what it is on phones.

Unfortunately for Huawei, it ended up in the middle of a trade war between China and the US. All of this will hurt Huawei quite a bit, at least that’s what’s expected to happen. The company did continue to grow, though, according to the latest numbers.

Huawei grew quite a bit YoY

The company’s sales surged 27-percent year-over-year (YoY), though those numbers will probably be considerably different in a year. It will be interesting to see Huawei’s numbers for 2019 as well, at the end of the year.


Huawei has been developing its very own operating system called Harmony. Ms. Tan said that it’s nowhere near ready to replace software offerings from Google, and become Huawei’s player in the mobile space.

She said that it could take years for Harmony OS to replace everything Google has to offer. Ms. Tan said that it will take Huawei quite a bit of time to find alternative solutions for Google’s ecosystem.

Many Huawei users depend on Google's apps and services

That is not surprising, as there are tons of Android users in Europe and south-east Asia, who depend on Google’s services. That will be quite a challenge for Huawei.


Huawei has been trying to get a hearing in Washington, to improve its position. Huawei wants to be allowed to continue to buy equipment from US companies that is not essential for national security. It also wants to continue servicing its existing telecom customers.

As a side note, Google’s services are still available on the company’s existing phones, that consumers are using. Huawei has been granted a grace period in that regard, but it remains to be seen how long will that take.

Ms. Tan also said that many of Huawei’s suppliers are talking or trying to talk with the US government on Huawei’s behalf. That includes Google, as it’s not in its interest to exclude Huawei and its huge userbase.