China's Tech Giants Unite: A New Era for Smartphones Without Google?
The BBK Group, Huawei, and Xiaomi have apparently entered into a cooperation to break away from Google's services. Xiaomi's Hyper OS3 is based on Android, but will be launched on the market without Gmail, Maps, and Play. However, the risk for manufacturers would be significant.
The rise of China as a global power is met with skepticism in the USA. The US government has been trying to counteract this for some time using various methods. In addition to high tariffs on imports, these include restricted access to technologies developed in the USA. Accordingly, Chinese companies are also trying to reduce dependencies. And this could cause a revolution, especially for smartphones.
According to a rumor, the BBK Group, which is behind the OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo brands, Huawei, and Xiaomi have agreed to cooperate on the joint development of a Google-free version of the Android operating system and other services.
According to this, Xiaomi is already working on a detachment from Google services. Apparently, the upcoming HyperOS 3, an Android fork, will be delivered without Gmail, Maps, Play, and other Google services.
Huawei is Already Developing its Own Ecosystem
Such an agreement is not entirely unexpected. Due to sanctions, the Chinese company Huawei has not been allowed to install any of the US company's services on its smartphones since 2020 and has since sunk into insignificance in the Western hemisphere's markets. Ultimately, the other two companies are also likely to fear such a measure by the US government.
A joint operating system, including the associated services, could avoid this danger. Due to the very large user base, it would also be interesting for app developers. Users would presumably be able to access an offering that is hardly inferior to that of Apple and Google within a short time. Providers could not simply ignore such a large ecosystem, either.
Would Users in the West Follow?
However, for both Xiaomi and the BBK Group, such a move would be playing with fire. Google services have such a high status in the USA and Europe that it is questionable whether users would follow such a step.
With HTC, LG, and Nokia, well-known manufacturers have already existed who, for various reasons, could no longer convince interested parties and have at least stopped producing smartphones.
Would you consider using a smartphone without Google services? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!
