Huawei Ban in South Africa

Does Huawei work in South Africa?

Huawei is one of the major information and communications technology players in South Africa, selling a wide range of products from mobile phones, smart devices, television sets and telecom equipment to solutions in cloud computing and data storage.

Can Huawei use Google in South Africa?

Huawei’s handset market share grew to 24% in South Africa since US sanctions in 2019. However, Huawei says the loss of access to Google services on Huawei phones had a smaller impact in the South African market than elsewhere in the world.

What’s happening with Huawei phones?

Provided you own a Google-less Huawei device launched after June 2019. Not to worry,  you will continue to see Android upgrades and security patches as usual. In fact, Huawei has a roadmap for the rollout of EMUI 11 (based on Android 10). Eventually, those phones will receive Harmony OS and get even more updates, supposedly.

Why was Huawei banned by Google?

In 2019, the Trump administration imposed a trade ban on Huawei, citing national security, which barred the company from using Alphabet Inc’s Android operating system for its new smartphones, among other critical US technology, resulting in a major setback for what was then the world’s second largest smartphone seller.

Is it worth getting a Huawei phone in South Africa?

Although,  Huawei phones will continue to receive security and application updates within the short run, they will face greater uncertainty over the long run. It’s difficult to recommend buying Huawei devices at this point, especially those with higher prices.