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The P20 Pro. People who currently own Huawei smartphones do not need to worry (Image: Huawei)People who currently own Huawei smartphones do not need to worry, according to Ben Wood, Chief of Research at CCS Insight.
“At present any measures would only affect future devices and future updates,” he said.
However, many Huawei phone owners are understandably worried by the news that their devices won’t be receiving future Android or Google app updates.
According to the consumer watchdog Which?, anyone who bought a phone online in the last 14 days can return it under Consumer Contracts Regulations.
SEE ALSO :Users: Newly launched Sh200,000 Samsung Galaxy phone is breaking
If you’ve owned the phone for longer than that, however, you may have difficulty returning it.
“In this situation, your consumer rights are limited as there’s currently nothing faulty with these phones,” said Kate Bevan, Editor of Which? Computing.
“However, if you purchased a phone in recent weeks it may be worth checking the retailer’s returns policy.”
Alternatively, you could trade in your Huawei device for another smartphone brand, if you are concerned about not receiving future updates.
According to tech site musicMagpie, there has been a 25 per cent increase in the number of Huawei trade-ins this morning, compared with an average Monday morning.
SEE ALSO :Huawei P30 Lite series offer users better specs
“This shows that Huawei users are preparing for a potential device change in the event of further restrictions being put in place against the Chinese phone manufacturer,” said Liam Howley, CMO at musicMagpie.
He added that the value of flagship Huawei handsets like the P20 and P30 has depreciated significantly in the last year.
“The P20 has depreciated by a huge 81%, whilst the P30 which was only released last month, has depreciated by 46 per cent already,” he said.
Should you buy a new Huawei phone?
If you were planning to buy a new Huawei or Honor phone, it might be worth holding off for now, until it is clear what the company plans to do.
SEE ALSO :Huawei’s Q1 revenue up 39pc to Sh2.7tr
Tristan Rayner, senior editor at Android Authority warned that buying future Huawei phones would be a “real risk” under the restrictions.
“Future Huawei devices will be significantly affected,” he said.
“We now know that future devices cannot be loaded with the Google Play Store, or those Google apps like Gmail or Google Maps.
“Play Services will also not be available, which is a core set of features responsible for many underlying operations on modern Android devices.
“That makes buying a Huawei phone today a real risk.”
SEE ALSO :Britain urges caution over Huawei role in 5G network
If Google continues to withhold Android updates from future Huawei phones, the Chinese company may be forced to develop its own operating system for the devices, according to Wood.
“Huawei has been working hard on developing its own App Gallery and other software assets in a similar manner to the work it has done on developing its own chipsets for phones,” he said.
“There is little doubt these efforts are part of its desire to control its own destiny.
“Last year, CCS Insight predicted that tensions between the China and the US would present a strong incentive for Chinese companies to create their own operating system for smart devices.
“Given recent developments that seems more likely than ever.”
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