Huawei has reportedly been blocked from using Google apps on its phones.
It's another blow for the tech giant, already facing accusations of espionage on behalf of the Chinese government.
"Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google," a source within Google told Reuters. The ban was later independently confirmed by tech news site The Verge.
This means while Huawei can use the publicly available and free version of Android on its phones and tablets, they won't have crucial Google services like the Play Store, YouTube, Gmail or Chrome.
Existing Huawei devices with Google apps on them will still function, and apps will still be kept up-to-date as they update through the Play Store. But the Android operating system itself on Huawei devices might not get updated anymore, leaving users open to attack.
The ban is reportedly effective immediately.
Phones sold inside China won't be affected because most Google apps there are banned, Reuters reported. Chinese consumers generally use homegrown equivalents.
Huawei expected something like this might happen, and has reportedly been working on its own operating system technology for a few years now.
The company was added to a US blacklist by the White House last week.
Google told Newshub it was "complying with the order and reviewing the implications" of the White House's blacklist.
Newshub has contacted Huawei to ask how its Kiwi customers might be affected.
Last year Spark was warned by spy agency the GCSB not to use Huawei technology in its 5G mobile network rollout. Earlier this month, the boss of the company's New Zealand division said they had nothing to hide.
"We have never, ever been asked to do anything by the Chinese government. We've never been asked to spy," Andrew Bowater said.
"There's never been any evidence of anything malicious going on behind the scenes."
Newshub.
