back to article Huawei smartphone sales up but only thanks to China as US trade ban gives punters the jitters

Huawei reported very little smartphone shipment growth outside Greater China in Q2 due to uncertainty over the US government's trade shenanigans, Gartner has claimed. The world's second largest handset producer reported unit sales of little more than 58 million to retailers and distributors, up 16.3 per cent year-on-year, but …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd happily buy a Huawei .... if:

    1) No network cruft

    2) unlocked

    3) able to receive OS updates (whether Android or not)

    4) dual SIM.

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: I'd happily buy a Huawei .... if:

      Mine have no network cruft, they are unlocked, they receive monthly updates and they are dual SIM.

    2. Ian Watkinson

      Re: I'd happily buy a Huawei .... if:

      You might have missed the most important one.

      5) Get support for them.

      So far my P20 pro has had random crashes.

      Pointed to forum - "Development are looking into it"

      Huawei Health app has stopped syncing with Myfitnesspal and google fit.

      Pointed to forum - "Development are looking into it"

      GT Watch not working properly after an update.

      Pointed to forum - "Development are looking into it"

      Are we seeing a pattern here?

      I'm not convinced that Huawei has any non-chinese support outside it's telco switch team.

      1. JimmyPage Silver badge
        Stop

        Re: 5) Get support for them.

        To be honest, it sounds like you need support less than you need a refund as Not Fit For Purpose. Certainly while UK law allows it.

        1. big_D Silver badge

          Re: 5) Get support for them.

          It certainly sounds like he has a duff phone. My P20 runs flawlessly and I've never had problems with my Watch GT either.

          I'd push for them to replace it. When the camera on my daughters Mate 9 Pro got a "dark spot" (heat damage to the sensor from the processor running hot), they simply swapped it out.

          On the other hand, when I had an iPhone, it stopped working after 2 days, was sent back to Apple for repair, 2 weeks later it was returned no fault found, stopped working after 2 days, sent back to Apple, 2 weeks later it was returned no fault found, stopped working as I was still in the shop, returned to Apple, 2 weeks later I got a new iPhone. 6 of the first 7 weeks of ownership the phone was by Apple / its repair partner.

          Every manufacturer can make duff units, you need to stand firm and get them to sort it out.

  2. AIBailey

    Our household has had a few Huawei phones in the past. I've always been impressed with them, though admittedly not so with the short duration of software update support. I even became quite fond of EMUI.

    This whole "Huawei ban" from the US still seems like nothing more than protectionism of US businesses (hello, Apple), an attempt to stifle competition by making them out to be the bogeyman whilst providing little in terms of actual evidence.

    I'm not due for a change of phone for a while, but when I am, I'll still be looking at Huawei with interest.

    1. lybad

      The software update depends on the handset - the Honor 9 recently got an update to EMUI 9.1, with July 2019 security patches. That handest has now been out for 2 years.

      I'm sure they announced a while back that handsets would get software updates for two years, and security patches for 3 - but can't find the information

      1. alain williams Silver badge

        s/ware updates 2 or 3 years

        that is nothing like long enough, especially when the clock starts ticking when the model is first released, not when the last handset is sold.

        Updates should be mandatory for 6 years after the last one is sold retail.

        For my next 'phone I'm looking at the cosmo communicator that will run Debian. Secure, no spy-ware and software supported forever.

        1. big_D Silver badge

          Re: s/ware updates 2 or 3 years

          Unfortunately the 2 years upgrade, 3 years security updates is standard for pretty much all Android devices, starting with Google themselves.

          I agree, security updates should be mandatory for 5 - 6 years.

      2. big_D Silver badge

        Same here, Mate 10 Pro (coming up for 2 years old), P-Smart (18 months) and P20 (1 year) all on current Android 9.1, with either June or July patches.

        1. Ryan Clark

          Same here too. My P10, over 2 years old, just got updated two weeks ago.

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Good going Google

    Way to encourage Huawei to build its own store and do away with you entirely.

    You do realize that Huawei does not need you, long term ? I know you're used to everyone coming to you, but you see, in China they have a peculiarity that exists nowhere else : they speak Chinese. Everyone else in the world has some knowledge of English, and you provide translation services to be sure, but China is the one country in the world that will have no trouble writing you off and going their own way.

    So you might want to think again before actually giving them a push in that direction.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good going Google

      Huawei already has their own store and has NEVER used any Google services in their phones sold in China.

      No Chinese Android OEM is using Google Play, Google Maps, or other Google services. They use AOSP, add their own app store, and use Baidu, WeChat, etc. instead of Google services. Chinese buyers have never been invested in Google services, and no matter what the US does or doesn't do to Huawei that won't change. Google lost that market over half a decade ago.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good going Google

        Actually, until the Chinese government banned and blocked Google, local phones did have some Google services.

        And the international versions of all the Chinese OEMs I know of DO use all the Google services.

        Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi, being the big three; owned phones from all three, and each had Google installed.

    2. Foggy John

      Re: Good going Google

      Well necessity is the mother of invention. The more you push a massive company like Huawei, the more likely they are to build something new to compete and potentially beat you. It's a shame these big tech companies can't pool their resources for the greater good really.

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