Huawei and Honor phones. Buy? / Don't buy!?

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

Is this a bad time to buy (or own or just have purchased) a Huawei or Honor phone.

Will prices drop dramatically?

Is Google getting ready to completely say bye bye to Huawei, or stopping updates is the most they can do?

Should someone be warning people about investing in a Huawei phone?

Is it just the same here in the UK now as in the States?

Is it not so bad at all?

If you fail to answer every question my butt might hurt

I need a phone as the one I have is heading for life support.

I like their phones, their low mid range phones are where I would head.

I also like Motorola and Nokia, but the G7 Plus I'm getting meh about, the Nokia 7 Plus would have been for me, but they sold out at a great £200, and I'm looking at the Nokia 8.1 down to 269 ish.

Lots of Huawei and Honor to chose from, but this Google news is bad, huh?

Unforgiven · May 20, 2019

tonymddn said:
Is this a bad time to buy (or own or just have purchased) a Huawei or Honor phone.

Sounds like it is.

tonymddn said:
Will prices drop dramatically?

I guess that depends on what Huawei does.

tonymddn said:
Is Google getting ready to completely say bye bye to Huawei, or stopping updates is the most they can do?

The big hammer is gapps, or more specifically, Google Play. Huawei can still use AOSP, so they can still ship phones with unlicensed Android, but without a licence they can't include any of the GAPPS apps. They could operate like custom roms, but I believe they would need to be shipped with unlocked bootloaders and root so GAPPS could be flashed. Or, they could bake in their own apps and partner with another app store. Amazon???

tonymddn said:
Should someone be warning people about investing in a Huawei phone?

Probably. I guess that's what the news is for. Right now this seems to be in the FUD (i.e. Fear, Uncertaintly, & Doubt) stage where folks are jumping to conclusions without knowing or understanding everything. My own answers here are somewhat speculation based on what I've read.

tonymddn said:
Is it just the same here in the UK now as in the States?

Sounds global to me.

tonymddn said:
Is it not so bad at all?

See the part about AOSP for my speculation. Also, we don't know what Huawei's response will be. Remember, they existed solely in China for a long time.

tonymddn said:
(If you fail to answer every question my butt will hurt)

How did it do?

tonymddn said:
I need a phone as the one I have is heading for life support.

I like their phones, their low mid range phones are where I would head.

I also like Motorola and Nokia, but the G7 Plus I'm getting meh about, the Nokia 7 Plus would have been for me, but they sold out at a great £200, and I'm looking at the Nokia 8.1 down to 269 ish.

Lots of Huawei and Honor to chose from, but this Google news is bad, huh?

I've been hesitant to buy Huawei / Honor phones because or Phone Manager messing with apps and phoning home. If I was in the market, and I actually have two on order, I'd go for the Pixel 3a. A lot of the Pixel 3 features for $399 and 3 years of updates.

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

Sorry @tonymddn , idlook at near any mfgr besides ZTE & Huawei devices.. Motorola been holding strong with midrange devices, plus you're very likely capable of Root & custom ROMs (so long as it's not from/with VZW and their horribly locked devices)

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

c

Unforgiven said:
Sounds like it is.

I guess that depends on what Huawei does.

The big hammer is gapps, or more specifically, Google Play. Huawei can still use AOSP, so they can still ship phones with unlicensed Android, but without a licence they can't include any of the GAPPS apps. They could operate like custom roms, but I believe they would need to be shipped with unlocked bootloaders and root so GAPPS could be flashed. Or, they could bake in their own apps and partner with another app store. Amazon???

Probably. I guess that's what the news is for. Right now this seems to be in the FUD (i.e. Fear, Uncertaintly, & Doubt) stage where folks are jumping to conclusions without knowing or understanding everything. My own answers here are somewhat speculation based on what I've read.

Sounds global to me.

See the part about AOSP for my speculation. Also, we don't know what Huawei's response will be. Remember, they existed solely in China for a long time.

How did it do?

I've been hesitant to buy Huawei / Honor phones because or Phone Manager messing with apps and phoning home. If I was in the market, and I actually have two on order, I'd go for the Pixel 3a. A lot of the Pixel 3 features for $399 and 3 years of updates.

You're a gent.
Yes. Play apps. Very few buyers will obviously want to mess around without Play access. Will Google do that / is that where we are now. I know Chinese phones have sold without them in the past.

Its like buying a car but not being able to use public roads.

To continue this silly car analogy, isn't it currently like a Government saying any Kia or Hyundai car (different country but..) will be programmed to stop in 6 weeks, but dealerships continue to sell them as if nothing is wrong.

Huawei and Honor are particularly big in the UK at the moment. Consumer advice should get on top of this, or advise of any refunds due now this is in the open.
(I was offered a job as a chauffeur with Huawei at new headquarters in Reading by an avency in Germany several months ago).

My butt is fine. Thanks. Good points.

The Pixel 3a would be on my radar if I could stretch further, but it's almost twice what I think I can spend and then I would want the XL. At 379 I'm keen on the new A70 (SD665 6/128GB), but recently Amazon were doing a Note 8 nib @ 400. The recent Nokia 8.1 with an SD710 dropped from 379 to 269 ish.
So many good deals if you look at specs only (man that 7 plus Nokia was a steal at 199 and a lovely body)
c. £180 - 270 is my comfortable sweet spot atm until things get better and there are a lot of Huawei models there with seemingly decent SoC.

hknoisyboy said:
I read it "
Huawei's $229 smartphone: US government says don't buy it
"

First warning I heard of (though I haven't searched. I guess advice will increase in the coming days. Thanks!

mikedt · May 20, 2019

bcrichster said:
Sorry @tonymddn , idlook at near any mfgr besides ZTE & Huawei devices.. Motorola been holding strong with midrange devices, plus you're very likely capable of Root & custom ROMs (so long as it's not from/with VZW and their horribly locked devices)

Unless Lenovo is Trump's next target?

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

mikedt said:
Unless Lenovo is Trump's next target?

Unforgiven · May 20, 2019

mikedt said:
Unless Lenovo is Trump's next target?

I think this is related to Huawei's 5G telecom equipment phoning home.

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

OT and related to Trump, is this still true?

https://qz.com/519388/this-saudi-prince-now-owns-more-of-twitter-than-jack-dorsey-does/

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

Unforgiven said:
I think this is related to Huawei's 5G telecom equipment phoning home.

I think Huawei been "phoning home" well before 5G came to play..??

Unforgiven · May 20, 2019

bcrichster said:
I think Huawei been "phoning home" well before 5G came to play..??

Yes, the phones always have. I beta tested some of their earliest devices they released in the US and they phoned home then. That's bad enough, but it is a user by user problem. The beef now is national security as the infrastructure everyone is using that is phoning home.

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

So I could buy a c. £240 Huawei / Honor now and it will continue to work for the minimum of 2 years that I would want, at least on OS 9 / EMUI 9.1 / Magic 9x.
Whether I would want to, I'm now less sure. At the moment, it doesn't feel ethically wrong, here in the UK, but things might escalate.

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

tonymddn said:
So I could buy a c. £240 Huawei / Honor now and it will continue to work for the minimum of 2 years that I would want, at least on OS 9 / EMUI 9.1 / Magic 9x.
Whether I would want to, I'm now less sure. At the moment, it doesn't feel ethically wrong, here in the UK, but things might escalate.

I'm expecting it to just be a matter of time.. They may stay afloat as a company just by supplying terrorists with devices in the immediate future. Huawei IS China & China IS Huawei, they're probably just biding their time for the right opportunity and options to present themselves for their salvation.. But I kinda doubt positive ethics will be a factor

Hadron · May 20, 2019

tonymddn said:
At the moment, it doesn't feel ethically wrong, here in the UK, but things might escalate.

Ethics depend on where you are? Laws can, but I can't see that ethics do. And of course one can easily point out major ethical problems with other leading players in the Android market too.

I'll be honest, I'm not wholly convinced by the national security argument: given Huawei's ties to China's governing party some serious caution does seem sensible, but the actual evidence against them seems weak and this move coming in the middle of an escalating trade dispute certainly raises the possibility of commercial/political motivations too. Of course there does not have to be a single motivation for such actions either: a mix of caution and opportunism is perfectly possible.

Would I buy one myself? Probably not, but that would have been my answer before any of this blew up as well.

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

Well. It's now official. No Google on any future Huawei phones.

I'm with @Hadron that's it's possibly just opportune for Trump, and may not be dastardly in intent or effect on the part of the Chinese manufacturer (even on the 5G equipment) but I don't know enough and I was querying the future viability of their phone brands.

... and yes, Lenovo may get thrown into the mix without due cause - - Who knows.

-----------
Added : Yeh, I think this is a temporary slap on the wrist. Google will back down to keep users.

BBC News - Huawei's Android loss: How it affects you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48334739

Hadron · May 20, 2019

Well I'm not saying it's necessarily just opportunism, just that there are plenty of non-security-related motives available too - though the security discussion is centred on network infrastructure rather than personal handsets.

For what little it's worth my understanding is that the UK military intelligence assessment of Huawei network kit is that it had vulnerabilities which made it a risk, but these looked like poor coding rather than hidden back doors.

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

Hadron said:
For what little it's worth my understanding is that the UK military intelligence assessment of Huawei network kit is that it had vulnerabilities which made it a risk, but these looked like poor coding rather than hidden back doors.

Yes. I shouldn't have misquoted, or misdirected, what you were saying, I had already been thinking

Your second paragraph is interesting. Poor coding leads to vulnerabilities.

Take it that I'll always agree with what you say anyway, even if you change your mind

Remember the pub character in The Fast Show?

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

tonymddn said:
Well. It's now official. No Google on any future Huawei phones.

I'm with @Hadron that's it's possibly just opportune for Trump, and may not be dastardly in intent or effect on the part of the Chinese manufacturer (even on the 5G equipment) but I don't know enough and I was querying the future viability of their phone brands.

... and yes, Lenovo may get thrown into the mix without due cause - - Who knows.

-----------
Added : Yeh, I think this is a temporary slap on the wrist. Google will back down to keep users.

BBC News - Huawei's Android loss: How it affects you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48334739

I remember this article, for one..

The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies
The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon and Apple, by compromising America’s technology supply chain, according to extensive interviews with government and corporate sources...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...ny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies

Member2095118 · May 20, 2019

bcrichster said:
I remember this article, for one..

The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies
The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon and Apple, by compromising America’s technology supply chain, according to extensive interviews with government and corporate sources...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...ny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies

OK. That's showing deeper intent. Perhaps Huawei are finished in the West.

I'll stick to phone purchase choices but this thread came at the right time for others to discuss further.

This is me - - - >
"Indecisive Dave" :

MoodyBlues · May 20, 2019

mikedt said:
Unless Lenovo is Trump's next target?

Let's hope not. I've owned nothing but Motorola smartphones and have loved every one of them. I don't want to be forced to switch.

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

Motorola has my got my vote for continuance, they're one of the few companies with a bootloader unlock program and I find them to be more "Developer friendly" than most. Thankfully, the Moto company has been mostly separate from the new parent, Lenovo.. Hope it helps keep them continue to deliver for everyone

Unforgiven · May 20, 2019

bcrichster said:
Motorola has my got my vote for continuance, they're one of the few companies with a bootloader unlock program and I find them to be more "Developer friendly" than most. Thankfully, the Moto company has been mostly separate from the new parent, Lenovo.. Hope it helps keep them continue to deliver for everyone

^^^that. I'm soon to retire my Moto X4, but I've been very happy with it.

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

Unforgiven said:
^^^that. I'm soon to retire my Moto X4, but I've been very happy with it.

Oh yeah.. Thanks for reminding me, gotta get back to trying to build payton some BlissPie! Been having difficulties getting proper data function even tho I added the qti-telephony stuffs to the tree, Lol

Hadron · May 20, 2019

I remember the "little spy chip" story but I also remember doubts being expressed about it. So I'm unsure what the final verdict is, except that if it were confirmed I'm sure the security opinion would be firmly against Huawei kit in other countries as well. It's that last that makes me lean towards it not being correct.

For sure China regards Huawei as a strategic asset and wants them to be leading network technology in future. Whether they have other motives for that I can't say,though it would be reasonable to be vigilant. If I were China or Russia I'd probably be cautious about American electronics for the same reason (anyone believe that the NSA doesn't want backdoors in all comms kit everywhere in the world?).

BTW never take anything I say for granted! I know how often I get stuff wrong.

bcrichster · May 20, 2019

Hadron said:
I remember the "little spy chip" story but I also remember doubts being expressed about it. So I'm unsure what the final verdict is, except that if it were confirmed I'm sure the security opinion would be firmly against Huawei kit in other countries as well. It's that last that makes me lean towards it not being correct.

For sure China regards Huawei as a strategic asset and wants them to be leading network technology in future. Whether they have other motives for that I can't say,though it would be reasonable to be vigilant. If I were China or Russia I'd probably be cautious about American electronics for the same reason (anyone believe that the NSA doesn't want backdoors in all comms kit everywhere in the world?).

BTW never take anything I say for granted! I know how often I get stuff wrong.

Yeah.. Snowden said something about how NSA uses different pokemon names for each Android version tool they made, Lol.

mikedt · May 22, 2019

Another happy customer. :thumbsupdroid:

Huawei and Honor phones. Buy? / Don't buy!?

Member2095118

Guest

...eschew obfuscation...

ROMinator

Member2095118

Guest

你好

Member2095118

Guest

...eschew obfuscation...

Member2095118

Guest

ROMinator

...eschew obfuscation...

Member2095118

Guest

ROMinator

Spacecorp test pilot

Member2095118

Guest

Spacecorp test pilot

Member2095118

Guest

ROMinator

Member2095118

Guest

Compassion is cool!

ROMinator

...eschew obfuscation...

ROMinator

Spacecorp test pilot

ROMinator

你好

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads