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Huawei smartphone sales plunge 60 percent after Google ban
Since the news broke out, Huawei’s sales in the country plummeted within a week![Huawei smartphone sales plunge 60 percent after Google ban](https://assets-api.kathmandupost.com/thumb.php?src=https://assets-cdn.kathmandupost.com/uploads/source/news/2019/miscellaneous/p4-huawei-29052019083042.jpg&w=900&height=601)
Krishana Prasain
Sales of Huawei smartphones in Nepal plunged 60 percent following reports that Google had barred the Chinese multinational’s access to updates for the Android operating system last week.
Holding a press meet to update customers about the impact of Google’s suspension and its future plans, Huawei Technologies Nepal said that prices of its smartphones would not be reduced due to the dispute. “We will not reduce the prices on any models based on the current situation,” said Joyas Zhu, country director of Huawei Technologies Nepal.
Zhu also addressed rumours about Huawei launching its own operating system for its smartphones saying “We have bigger plans.” The Google suspension will not affect the existing phones available in the market, only future models, Zhu said. “And future Huawei smartphones will feature the company’s own operating system in order to provide customers with the best experience.”
According to Zhu, 80 percent of Huawei users said that they had not faced any problems in their phones following Google’s decision. The company has gone into a wait and watch mode before launching new models. It reiterated that it was not taking any of its existing models off the market.
“We opened Huawei Technologies Nepal to do long-term business here,” said Zhu. Huawei sold 200 million units of its smartphones globally last year, he said. Chinese brands account for 60 percent of the smartphones sold worldwide. Google decided to cut off Huawei after the US government added the Shenzhen-based company to a trade blacklist last week.
Since the news broke out, Huawei’s sales in the country plummeted within a week. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer holds a 15-20 percent share of the domestic smartphone market. Domestic smartphone retailers said that sales had dropped sharply. Retailers have been recommending buyers to choose from other smartphone brands to avoid problems in the coming days.
According to Pulkit Bhimsaria, director of Call Mobility, an authorised distributor of Huawei smartphones in Nepal, the company was selling 300-350 sets of Huawei smartphones daily before the Google suspension. Since then, the number has dropped to 75-250 a day.
Analysts told Reuters last week that the uncertainty over the duration of the trade blacklist could see Huawei’s international shipments decline by as much as a quarter this year, and the company faces the possibility that its smartphones will disappear from international markets.
Huawei devices will lose all access to the Google Play Store including all Google services. Although Huawei will still have access to the Android operating system—as it is available through open source licensing—it will not have any technical support and collaboration for Android and services from Google. Following the suspension of services, Huawei received a 90-day temporary reprieve from the trade ban, allowing it to issue updates to existing smartphones.
Following the ban on Huawei by the US government, other Chinese technology companies could be next, reports Bloomberg.