Service to install Google apps on Mate 30 taken down
What's the story
Just recently, Huawei launched its latest flagships, Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro, without any Google services, not even Play Store. The move, prompted by America's trade ban on the Chinese giant, devastated Huawei fans but they came up with a crafty workaround for the problem. Now, in another shocker, that workaround has also been taken down. Here's what happened.
Ban
Ban preventing Google to conduct business with Huawei
Back in May, US imposed a trade ban on Huawei over national security concerns stemming from its telecom equipment. The restrictions stopped every American company, including Google, from conducting business with Huawei. Now, this meant, the search giant couldn't allow Huawei smartphones to use any of its apps and services, except Android, which happens to be open-source.
Workaround
LZ Play: The workaround to access Google services
Owing to the restriction from Google, Huawei launched the new Mate 30 family with its own App Gallery instead of the Play Store. The company hoped that the platform would mature and draw developers, but Google lovers came up with LZ Play, an app that served as a workaround to access the Google Play Store and download any app from it.
Issue
But then, a security researched flagged LZ Play
LZ Play remained under the radar for a while. But, then, a developer going by the name of John Wu noted its capability and informed the world about it. He said that the app used undocumented APIs in Huawei's OS to trick Google's servers into allowing access to the Play Store and the apps it hosts.
Removal
Then, the app was taken down
Soon after Wu's report, the website to download and use LZ Play went offline. There was no statement on the action but Android Police speculates that one of the parties behind the platform or the site might have recognized the consequences of their action. Notably, Google also removed Mate 30 from SafetyNet, a list of phones secure enough to run its services.
Huawei's response
What Huawei said about LZ Play's departure?
While Wu indicated that Huawei may have a hand in bringing LZ Play to its new flagships, the phone maker has clearly refuted those claims. "Huawei has had no involvement with LZ Play," a spokesperson from the company told Engadget. However, it didn't say anything about Google's action to revoke the SafetyNet status of the flagships.