Huawei learned the real lesson: never depend on America again
In the ongoing contest between technological ambition and geopolitical consequence, Huawei's Mate 40 arrived in early 2021 as a device of genuine excellence rendered incomplete by the trade restrictions that had severed it from Google's ecosystem since 2019. The phone stood as a symbol of how national rivalries now shape the tools billions of people carry in their pockets — a premium instrument caught between two competing visions of how the digital world should be governed. Whether the Biden administration would restore what the Trump era had severed remained an open question, though Huawei had already begun building the answer on its own terms.
- A flagship phone matching Samsung's best arrives crippled — no Google Play, no Google Mobile Services, leaving Western buyers with a powerful device missing its most essential layer.
- The wound traces to 2019, when Washington placed Huawei on the Entity List, cutting off American technology partners and triggering a rupture that reshaped the global smartphone market.
- Workarounds exist but demand effort — Chrome, Netflix, and Spotify can be sideloaded through stores like APKPure, yet the friction of manual installs and patchy updates keeps the experience stubbornly second-tier.
- A Biden policy reversal was possible but uncertain, with Microsoft's continued Windows licensing to Huawei suggesting the restrictions had always carried quiet exceptions.
- Huawei is not waiting — its own HMS ecosystem and App Gallery are being built deliberately, transforming a forced vulnerability into a long-term strategic independence from American platforms.
When Huawei launched the Mate 40 series in late 2020, it brought a 5-nanometer processor, boundary-pushing cameras, and the kind of refined hardware that could stand beside Samsung's best. The catch was familiar: no Google Play Store, no Google Mobile Services — the invisible infrastructure that Android users across the world rely on without thinking. The phone was technically impressive. For Western consumers, it was also unfinished.
The cause traced back to 2019, when the Trump administration placed Huawei on the Entity List, barring American companies and their partners from selling to the Chinese manufacturer. Google was cut off. Chip foundries were cut off. Oddly, Microsoft was not — Windows licenses continued flowing to Huawei's MateBook laptops, a carve-out that would later fuel speculation about what a new administration might do.
The phone was not without function. A determined user could still run Chrome, Maps, Netflix, Spotify, and dozens of other apps through alternative stores like APKPure. But the process was clunky, some apps refused to update, and others wouldn't install at all. The gap between this and the seamless Google Play experience was real, even if it wasn't total.
The question hanging over the Mate 40 was whether the Biden administration might reverse course. Biden had signaled a different rhetorical tone toward Beijing, and the Microsoft exception suggested even hard-line restrictions had limits. But Huawei had already drawn its own conclusion: dependence on American platforms was a vulnerability it could not afford. The company was building out Huawei Mobile Services and its App Gallery with the clear intention of never again being held hostage by a policy shift in Washington.
The broader irony was not lost on observers. The US justified its restrictions by citing Chinese laws compelling corporate compliance with government demands — yet American tech giants had their own entanglements with state power, from NSA access to encrypted communications to Apple's removal of apps at Beijing's request. The differences were real and meaningful, but the principle of government leverage over corporations was not uniquely Chinese. Meanwhile, Huawei's phones sat in experience stores, technically formidable and practically constrained, waiting for a policy shift that might never come — or that might, by then, no longer matter.
When Huawei released the Mate 40 series late in 2020, it arrived as a phone that could compete with Samsung's latest flagship on almost every technical measure—a 5-nanometer processor, cameras that pushed the boundaries of what a smartphone could capture, curved screens, all the refinements that define a premium device. The catch was immediate and familiar: no Google Play Store, no Google Mobile Services, the invisible infrastructure that billions of Android users take for granted. The phone was excellent. It was also, for Western consumers, incomplete.
The reason traces back to 2019, when the Trump administration placed Huawei on the Entity List, a trade restriction that prevented American companies—and their partners, including Taiwan's TSMC foundry—from selling to the Chinese manufacturer. Google was barred. Processors were barred. Oddly, Windows was not. Microsoft continued selling licenses to Huawei for its MateBook laptops, a fact that would later become relevant to speculation about what a Biden administration might do.
Before the restrictions, Huawei had been moving faster than Samsung or Apple in certain areas. Its cameras arrived with features others copied later. Its interface design borrowed from iOS swiftly and effectively. The Mate 40 represented the company at its most ambitious—a device that, had the trade war not happened, might have been the world's most popular smartphone. Instead, it became a study in what a phone could do when cut off from the world's largest app ecosystem.
Yet the phone was not useless. An experienced user could still run Chrome, Maps, Netflix, Fortnote, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Google Translate, Waze, Firefox, VLC, NordVPN, and dozens of other applications through alternative app stores like APKPure. Apple Music worked without issue. Spotify functioned. The gaps were real—some apps refused to update, others wouldn't install at all, and the manual authorization process for each APKPure installation felt clunky compared to the seamless automation of Google Play. But for someone willing to work around the friction, the phone remained capable.
The question that hung over the Mate 40's launch was whether the Biden administration might reverse course. Trump had framed his approach as a Cold War against China, with Huawei as a casualty of broader geopolitical tension. The incoming president had signaled a different tone, at least rhetorically. He was, by most accounts, friendlier to Beijing than his predecessor. He had discussed human rights with President Xi. He had not immediately escalated trade tensions. Could Google's access be restored?
The answer mattered less than it once might have. Huawei was already building its own ecosystem—Huawei Mobile Services and the Huawei App Gallery—with the clear intention of never again being held hostage by American policy. The company had learned that relying on Google was a vulnerability. Whether Biden allowed the partnership to resume or not, Huawei would continue developing its independence. The Trump administration had allowed Microsoft to keep selling Windows to Huawei, a carve-out that suggested even hard-line restrictions had limits. But Huawei would not bet its future on American goodwill.
The broader irony was not lost on observers. The United States justified the restrictions by citing concerns that Chinese law compelled companies to comply with government demands. Yet Microsoft had been legally compelled to give the NSA access to encrypted messages. Apple had removed VPN apps from its Chinese store and delisted 46,000 apps deemed improperly licensed by Beijing. The difference was real—the US had courts, constitutional protections, and press freedom that China lacked—but the principle of government leverage over corporations was not uniquely Chinese. In the meantime, Huawei's phones sat in Sydney experience stores, technically impressive and practically constrained, waiting for a policy shift that might never come, or that might no longer matter.
Citas Notables
Huawei is obviously accelerating its efforts to be as self sufficient as possible, because no-one wants to be under the thumb of anyone else— Author's analysis
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter whether Biden restores Google access? Huawei is building its own app store anyway.
Because for the next year or two, while HMS is still catching up, Google Play access would let Huawei phones compete in Western markets without friction. Right now, an ordinary person buying a phone doesn't want to troubleshoot app installations. But you're right—Huawei has learned the real lesson: never depend on America again.
So the trade war actually forced Huawei to become more independent?
Exactly. The restrictions were meant to cripple them. Instead, they've accelerated Huawei's plan to build a parallel ecosystem. If Biden restores access tomorrow, Huawei keeps building HMS anyway. They've already lost the trust.
Is the Mate 40 actually a good phone, or is it just technically impressive?
It's genuinely good—the cameras are exceptional, the processor is cutting-edge. But "good" and "usable" are different things when half the apps you want require Google's infrastructure. For a tech-savvy user, fine. For everyone else, it's a compromise.
What does this say about the US-China tech competition?
That it's not really about technology anymore. Both sides can build excellent hardware and software. It's about control—who gets to decide what runs on your device, and whether you trust them not to change the rules tomorrow.
Will Huawei ever be trusted in the West again?
Not by governments. But consumers? That depends on whether HMS becomes genuinely competitive. Right now, it's a hedge. In five years, it might be a real alternative.