If you've been paying attention to the IT industry for the past two years, you're well aware that Huawei is in serious trouble. The US Government fired the Chinese company in May 2019, which results in the so-called "Huawei ban" ("Huawei prohibition").

The reason behind this was its coziness with the Chinese government and fears that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies.


Huawei's history: Everything you need to know


Huawei is a relatively new firm in the big scheme of things. After being dismissed from the People's Liberation Army in China, Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei in 1987. Huawei was able to get some of its first large contracts because of Zhengfei's military background.

Huawei has been accused of stealing intellectual property from the beginning. In a nutshell, the corporation has been accused of stealing technology from other companies and passing it off as its own on numerous occasions over the years. A few instances have been verified, such as when Cisco https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10485560675556000 filed a case in 2003, but there have also been several instances when accusations have not been confirmed.

Huawei was growing at a rapid speed in the late 2000s. To extend its operations, the corporation began acquiring other businesses. It has attempted to buy non-Chinese enterprises on several occasions, but regulatory organizations have prohibited the sale. This occurred in a variety of locations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Every time, the explanation for the restriction would be Huawei's close ties to China and the potential security risk this represents.

Huawei eventually began producing smartphones. Its phones were initially popular since they were well-designed handsets with low prices. Huawei promised in 2016 that it would become the world's largest smartphone producer in five years. By 2018, it has risen to second place, just behind Apple and ahead of Samsung. This is a remarkable achievement given Huawei's lack of presence in the United States, which is now the world's third-largest market.


The ongoing trade battle between Donald Trump and China


While Huawei's growth was phenomenal in 2018, things were not looking good in its home nation. As President, Donald Trump began to use his authority to challenge China and its "unfair trade practices," as he called it. This sparked the ongoing trade war between the United States and China https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45899310.
Even though the trade war is mostly about politics, tariffs, and international law, it also involves intellectual property theft. Because Huawei has a history of stealing intellectual property, this has put the company in Trump's crosshairs.

However, skeptics at the time pointed out that a complex trade war between the US and China would be disastrous for both countries. As a result, it was anticipated that Trump would try to bully China into making beneficial deals for the US and then be done with it. However, this was not the case.

Even though Donald Trump is closely identified with the trade war, it is one of the few decisions he made during his presidency that had bipartisan approval. Joe Biden, the current US President, has not attempted to lift the Huawei ban or reduce the US-China trade conflict. On the contrary, members of his staff and those he appointed have also expressed support for the ban's continuation.

The Huawei ban will take effect on May 15, 2019.


President Trump signed an executive order on May 15, 2019, prohibiting telecommunications equipment from foreign companies that pose a national security risk. Unfortunately, the decree itself makes no mention of Huawei (or even China). The US Department of Commerce, on the other hand, created an "Entity List" relating to the order that does include Huawei's name.

Because the order didn't expressly mention Huawei, its impact on the corporation and its numerous areas of operation remained unclear. However, the ranking looked to be aimed primarily at Huawei's telecom businesses, which would include its wireless networking equipment, particularly those related to 5G.


Huawei has lost immediate access to Android and Google.


On Sunday, May 19, 2019, Google openly said that it would follow Trump's Huawei ban. However, according to Google's interpretation of the order's terms, the right course of action would be to cut Huawei from Google's digital products.
"For Huawei users' questions regarding our steps to comply w/ the recent US government actions: We assure you while we are complying with all US gov't requirements, services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device." Android official Tweet https://twitter.com/Android/status/1130313848332988421

Huawei would lose access to the core basics of Android handsets as a result of this. For example, Huawei's new products could no longer access Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, or even the Google Play Store.


Huawei tries to fight back.


It wasn't Huawei that was going to take this lying down. Instead, the company issued several strictly worded statements declaring its intention to fight the order only a few days after the lawsuit against the US Department of Commerce lawsuit came into effect.

Interestingly, US firms supported Huawei and, at the same time, cut trade ties. Even Google said it would like to work with Huawei if it had the chance. The prohibition was also criticized by Huawei's greatest telecom rival, Ericsson. Tech industry analysts noted that because Huawei is such a massive enterprise, the Huawei ban also hurts US-based enterprises.


Harmony OS: Android Alternative


Although Huawei cannot use the services and products owned by Google on its phones, this does not mean that it cannot use Android itself. Android is an open-source operating system that allows anyone or company to use it without cost, no matter what they like. But, many of the essential Android features on which users rely are not included in "pure." Because Google owns those particular features.

In theory, Huawei could continue to power its smartphones and tablets with Google-less Android indefinitely. However, Huawei claimed to be working on a so-called "Plan B" operating system in the background. The company released "Plan B" as Harmony OS on August 9, 2019.

Huawei states that Harmony OS is based on Linux, the same open-source platform for Android. This means that Harmony and Android can share compatibilities. So, in theory, if a developer wanted to do the work to make it compatible, any Android app could work within Harmony OS.

Huawei has finally revealed HarmonyOS after years of speculation. This new mobile operating system is far more than just an Android rival, but that will enable Huawei's whole mobile, wearable, and smart device ecosystem to function.

Which new devices support HarmonyOS?

HarmonyOS was only officially launched with smartphone compatibility in version 2.0. Version 1.0 was first seen on smart TVs and AX3 Wi-Fi routers owned by the company. In addition to Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro, Huawei officially introduced an OS on a new MatePad and MatePad Pro tablet trio. The software is also revealed when they are launched on the P50 phones soon.

The Mate 40, Mate 40 E, Mate X2, and Nova 8 Pro versions of HarmonyOS are also available in China, but only in 4G versions. New versions.

The firm hopes that by the end of 2021, HarmonyOS 2.0 will run more than 200 million devices. That's not only a figure of Huawei's products but also the products produced by its partners.