Of course, Chinese people don't mind a Huawei phone without Google. What about international users? Google is indispensable for international users.

Here's what an American user called Turbofrog said:

I am really disappointed with the way that whole thing played out.

I have an Honor 8 which I had initially picked up in a hurry as a super cheap replacement phone after my last one died, and I have been extremely impressed with it overall. But like you, I have no interest in spending anywhere near what Huawei is asking for their new phones without Google Play, no matter how impressive and well executed the hardware is.

It's a real pity.

Why international users cannot do without Google?

Not to mention in Android smartphones, just to say that in the overall Internet ecosystem, Google has built a huge Google service ecosystem with its rich software and Internet products.

Among them, Google search engine (78.23% global share) is its foundation, as well as Google Chrome browser (67.15% global share), Google Maps maps, YouTube videos, Gmail mailbox, Google Photos picture management service, Google Drive cloud disk, etc. The number of active users has already exceeded 1 billion products, and Google can be said to have built the Internet service infrastructure for the entire international market.

Even though there are many voices like "Live Without Google" in the Internet space of the international market, and there are indeed alternatives to Google's many products, these voices are like insignificant waves that occasionally arouse in the vast sea.

One of them, an editor from Gizmodo, said: I took Google out of my life, and then everything messed up.

Of course, Google ’s influence on users in the international market is also reflected in smartphones, regardless of whether the operating system is Android or iOS-not only that, if iOS is left out, then in the entire Android world, Google can be said to be aggravating.

It can be said that almost every Android user in the international market is inseparable from the Google family bucket.

The so-called Google family bucket is actually Google Mobile Services (GMS for short); it is a series of applications and services built by Google specifically for the Android operating system. It is mainly divided into two parts:

 The first part is the basic services supporting many applications of Google, including Google service framework, Google account, Google Play app store, Google security authentication service, etc.-Of course, it also includes various Kits;

 The second part is a number of Google-owned apps based on the above basic services, including Google Search, Google Photos, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive, etc.

It should be noted that in the absence of the first part of GMS, the second part cannot be installed and operated perfectly. The two are essentially a binding relationship under a unified service ecosystem.

In other words, if a international user wants to use Google ’s series of apps normally, they must have a full GMS on their Android phone.

With the support of GMS, the international market user group has entered the Google ecosystem from the moment they received the Android phone.

They can habitually search for information, watch videos, save files, write documents, send emails, check maps ...

Obviously, GMS is a mobile service ecosystem that is very familiar and heavily dependent on users in the international market, which is what Google hopes to provide in every Android device.

After all, GMS is also at the core of Google ’s advertising profits on mobile devices.

When GMS no longer exists in Huawei phones

Originally, as one of the core members of the Android camp, Huawei's smartphones sold in overseas markets are pre-installed with GMS.

However, on May 16, 2019, with a US government ban, Huawei could no longer obtain Google's GMS authorization.

In the following months, Huawei launched the HMS mobile service and App Gallery application store overseas, and it has been pre-installed in the latest Mate 30 series and has been sold to overseas markets.

Huawei also plans to launch $1 billion to attract global developers to participate.

It seems that Huawei intends to replace GMS with HMS, but what is the actual effect?

If you are an ordinary white user, naturally you can only download apps in the App Gallery built into Huawei phones.

However, if he opens the App Gallery, he will find that he cannot download any application from Google directly in the App Gallery, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Photos, etc.

Even social applications, such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc., which are absolutely indispensable to billions of international user groups, do not exist in the App Gallery.

The lack of Google-owned apps and Facebook-owned apps makes Huawei App Gallery basically unattractive to ordinary users in the international market. After all, Facebook and Google occupy half of the world ’s most popular app lists.

Regarding the extent to which the Huawei App Gallery can meet the needs of users in the international market, TechRadar has recently compiled a number of data. Of the 15 most popular 15 apps in the UK version of the Google Play App Store, only 4 can be found in Download from Huawei App Gallery.

Of course, in addition to ordinary white users, a few geek users in the international market can also choose to download the corresponding APK installation package using the Huawei phone in their hands and then use it directly on the basis of the Android system-this is a feasible approach But obviously also a big compromise.

An editor from Android Police conducted such a test using the Chinese version of Honor 9X Pro mobile phone (naturally without GMS) in his hand. The apps he tested were the most commonly used apps by himself. The results are as follows:

• Installable & fully available: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram;
• Installable & partially available: Google Gboard, Google Chrome, Google Maps;
• Installable & inoperable: Google Photos, Uber, Lyft, Netflix;

He eventually gave up and explained that, of course, you can use Dropbox instead of Google Drive and Google Photos, use Snapseed to edit ... and Spotify is definitely more popular than Google Play Music.

But without Netflix, Lyft, or Uber, you can barely do anything-not even the dozens of other apps I try every day, many of which may rely on Google Play services like notifications, in-app mappings, and device authentication and other basic functions.

So in the end, for anyone with unlimited Internet access, using an Android phone without GMS is unrealistic (or even unreasonable), whether you are a Google user or not.

This (referred to here as installing the app by downloading an APK) is a stupid and impractical effort, best left to those who like to tinker and experiment. In other words: Good luck.

I ended up turning on GMS on my Honor 9x Pro phone, and I didn't look back-since then, the experience has been awesome.

And to be clear, this story is not about a particular phone, but about the importance of GMS to Huawei's future.

This passage more representatively reveals the attitude of users in the international market towards Huawei phones lacking HMS.

Conclusion

Of course, considering that HMS and App Gallery are not getting rid of the Android ecosystem, but just setting up a new stove outside of the Google family bucket, the application ecological problems facing Huawei mobile phones overseas are not completely irresolvable, it just needs more. Work hard.

In fact, these efforts are not only a matter of technical strength and funding, but also a matter of time.

In fact, just recently, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business, stated clearly in an interview that Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and other apps will be launched in the Huawei App Gallery app store.

This is indeed good news. But for Huawei, this is far from its goal of "to completely open Google from the application ecological level".