Chinese tech giant Huawei marked a milestone in its ambitions to become the world’s leading smartphone maker this week with the launch of its first device powered by HarmonyOS, an operating system developed in-house.
But Andy Purdy, Huawei USA’s chief security officer, said the company is still hoping for a reunion with Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system.
“Our promise is that we want to go back to Google,” Purdy told Yahoo Finance Live. “But we are doubling down to try to increase our ability to live without US supplies because we have to expect not to get these supplies.”
Huawei has been banned from using Google’s operating system since the US Department of Commerce blacklisted the Chinese company in 2019, banning US companies from selling components, citing concerns about national security. Last year, the Trump administration doubled export controls, preventing Huawei and its suppliers from using US technology and software.
The restrictions were a major blow to Huawei’s consumer-facing company, which relied on Google’s Android operating system to power its devices. In response, the company developed its own operating system and rolled out the software for the first time to power the foldable smartphone Mate X2.
“It’s been a really tough fight,” said Purdy. “But we have a very long-term approach, and it helps us prioritize which products are most important, which components we have.”
US pressure has drastically changed Huawei’s global footprint, both on the consumer side and in its network operations. Once the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world behind Samsung, Huawei’s shipments fell 42% in the last three months of 2020. The company continued to do so behind Samsung, Apple (AAPL) and Xiaomi.
Huawei has acted aggressively to increase its self-reliance to counter US sanctions. Its chip design arm HiSilicon Technologies ramped up production of the high-end Kirin mobile processors in the immediate aftermath of Washington’s restrictions. But a ban on the use of US technology has significantly curtailed those efforts. The company is reportedly in talks with several Chinese chip makers about possible investments that could fill gaps in the semiconductor supply chain.
It has proven even more challenging to fill the software void left by Google’s absence. While Google’s services have been blocked in China, the use of Android has allowed Huawei to attract users in regions such as Europe, ahead of US sanctions. The company’s HarmonyOS works across devices and includes the AppGallery instead of GooglePlay. It has more than 500 million active users, but lacks big names like Facebook (FB) and WhatsApp, which cannot be downloaded directly.
“The sooner we can make decisions to go back to Google, the better,” said Purdy.
Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AkikoFujita