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ZTE Exports Ban May Mean No Google Apps, a Death Sentence For Its Smartphones (arstechnica.com)
New submitter krazy1 shares a report from Ars Technica: The U.S. government is going after another Chinese Android device maker. After shutting down Huawei's carrier deals and retail partners, the government is now pursuing ZTE. The U.S. Department of Commerce has banned U.S. companies from selling parts and software to ZTE for seven years. ZTE was caught violating U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea. The company then made things worse by "making false statements and obstructing justice, including through preventing disclosure to and affirmatively misleading the U.S. Government," according to the Department of Commerce.
The latest news from Reuters raises even bigger issues for ZTE, though. A source told Reuters that "The Commerce Department decision means ZTE Corp may not be able to use Google's Android operating system in its mobile devices." Android is free and open source and will probably remain free for ZTE to use without Google's involvement. Reuters' source is probably referring to the Google apps, which aren't sold to device makers but are carefully licensed to them in exchange for other concessions. The Google apps package includes popular services like Gmail and Google Maps, and it also unlocks the Play Store, Google Play Services, and the entire Android app ecosystem. For a market-viable Android device, the Play Store is pretty much mandatory in every country other than China. So while ZTE could conceivably source hardware components from non-U.S. sources, being locked out of the Play Store would devastate ZTE's smartphones worldwide.
The latest news from Reuters raises even bigger issues for ZTE, though. A source told Reuters that "The Commerce Department decision means ZTE Corp may not be able to use Google's Android operating system in its mobile devices." Android is free and open source and will probably remain free for ZTE to use without Google's involvement. Reuters' source is probably referring to the Google apps, which aren't sold to device makers but are carefully licensed to them in exchange for other concessions. The Google apps package includes popular services like Gmail and Google Maps, and it also unlocks the Play Store, Google Play Services, and the entire Android app ecosystem. For a market-viable Android device, the Play Store is pretty much mandatory in every country other than China. So while ZTE could conceivably source hardware components from non-U.S. sources, being locked out of the Play Store would devastate ZTE's smartphones worldwide.
... and whether you agree with them or not they broke them. If you want to trade with the US you don't break US sanctions, its pretty clear, and lying on top of it was just the cherry on the cake. Serves them right frankly.
No Google Apps, a Death Sentence For Its Smartphones
Seriously?
Where can I get a phone that is sentenced to death? I sure as hell wish I could easily replace the too-instrusive and never asked for Google junk for better alternatives. And tell my mom how to do it for her phone as well.
I mean yes, I know that there is lineage OS, but that is not exactly mom-friendly. And installing F-droid is easy, but removing the Google junk is not. And every Android update brings more unwanted Google junk.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
I think the Chinese market is large enough to support a few major telecom equipment makers through domestic sales. Enough western companies are making huge concessions to be allowed to sell there.
So I guess if there is not already a flourishing market for non-Android phones, there will be one eventually. There goes one source of revenue from exports to China. In short, the Chinese can make do without us.
C - the footgun of programming languages
they keep using android, and just add their own store, which just copies over all the apk's from the google play store and done.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
The Lifeline program was established by the Reagan Administration in 1985 to provide discounted phone services to low-income Americans. The program was expanded by the George W. Bush Administration in 2005 to include wireless services. Typically, these involve a modest prepaid service requiring no deposit, which includes a free cell phone, free minutes, and free texting. This program provides a basic need that many low-income individuals would not have access to otherwise.
In 2015 there were 12.6 million households enrolled in the program, most of them on Safelink, part of Tracfone.
Guess what brand phone they give out?
yup, ZTE
Soylent green is poor people!
They can't ship with Google apps installed, but the customer could install them during setup. They could probably include the link in the setup process and legally be compliant.
The US government absolutely gets to decided what countries a Chinese company can sell products to that contain *US* parts. If ZTE didn't like that they should not have used US parts then they would be free to export to whoever they liked, subject to other similar export restrictions.
The U.S. will pay back its debt, otherwise it would go into default and take down the entire world's finances. As of 2017, China held $1.7 Trillion in U.S. out of about $21 Trillion total U.S. debt. Much of that debt is held by entities in the U.S. including the SS account (and I believe Medicare, but I'm unsure about that one). The problem going forward is not the debt owed by China (or Japan), although they could cause problems if they wanted to stick it to the current alleged American administration. The problem going forward is Congress and the alleged president having no problems with further diving into more debt. Sooner or later, those chickens will come home to roost and every budgetary account of the Fed. Gov. will take a hit.
And taxes will necessarily go up.
Unless your phone comes with it - there is no legal way to download the Google Play Store and there is no legal way to download the google apps outside the Play Store. Some custom ROMs ship with the google apps, which is illegal, but Google turns a blind eye on this practice. This will not be the case with ZTE.
Well, 93 million people die EACH DAY from gun violence;
Where did you get that figure from? If it were accurate, then almost 34 billion people die per year from gun violence.
there is no legal way to download the Google Play Store and there is no legal way to download the google apps outside the Play Store.
There no legal ways to download those, yes.
There's a bout a gazillion of (illegal under US law) ways to download those.
Those ways are illegal in the US, but are very unlikely to be illegal in any country (like China) that doesn't give much fucks about anything intellectual-property-related (like copyrights, in this case).
An URL that links to some Chinese website hosting APKs for the above software and sideloads them is all about it takes.
Some custom ROMs ship with the google apps, which is illegal, but Google turns a blind eye on this practice. This will not be the case with ZTE.
But unlike the custom ROMs, ZTE's solution could be hosted outside of any legal reach from google.
A sideloadable APK hosted on a service located in a jurisdiction where Google is unable to file a complaint is all it takes.
And that's completely ignoring legal alternatives like Micro G - an opensource re-implementation of the services that Google provides in closed blobs. (And all the various APK downloaders that could then be used to side-load apps that normally are only hosted on Google Play)
(But let's be serious, ZTE is more likely to take the pirate route and provide an "otherwise considered illegal in the US" installation option of the real Google deal, than to take the route of financially support microG developers and maintain legally compatible services)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Sanctions with actual teeth is why North Korea is in the process of negotiating denuclearization. Supply NK, get the Corporate Death Sentence.