Facebook suspends app pre-installs on Huawei phones
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/06/facebook-suspends-app-pre-installs-on.html
Facebook Inc is no longer allowing pre-installation of its apps on
Huawei phones, the latest blow for the Chinese tech giant as it
struggles to keep its business afloat in the face of a U.S. ban on its
purchase of American parts and software.
Customers who already have Huawei phones will still be able to use
its apps and receive updates, Facebook told Reuters. But new Huawei
phones will no longer be able to have Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram
apps pre-installed.
Smartphone vendors often enter business deals to pre-install popular apps such as Facebook. Apps including Twitter and Booking.com
also come pre-installed on Huawei phones in many markets. Twitter Inc
declined to comment and Booking Holdings did not respond to a request.
The move by Facebook dampens the sales outlook for Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd, whose smartphone business became its biggest
revenue generator last year, powered by strong growth in Europe and
Asia.
Alphabet Inc’s Google said earlier that it would no longer provide
Android software for Huawei phones after a 90-day reprieve granted by
the U.S. government expires in August. But Google’s Playstore and all
Google apps will still be available for current models of Huawei phones
including those which have not yet shipped or even been built.
The Facebook ban, by contrast, applies to any Huawei phone that has
not yet left the factory, according to a person familiar with the
matter. Facebook declined to comment on when the suspension took place.
In May, Washington banned U.S. companies from supplying technology to
Huawei, part of a long-running campaign against the company. The United
States alleges that Huawei is too close to the Chinese government and
that its telecom network gear and other products could be a conduit for
espionage, which Huawei denies.
Reuters