Huawei’s Petal Search app might let you download Android apps banned due to US-China trade war

The report adds that the Petal Search app now allows users to download apps that are blocked due to the US ban. And this also includes Android apps.

Huawei booth. (REUTERS)

Due to the Huawei-US trade war it has become impossible for the Chinese firm to launch smartphones with Google (US) services anywhere around the world. This means, new Huawei smartphones that are out in the market, miss out on apps like Search, Maps, YouTube, Play Store, Drive and Gmail. However, it looks like Huawei might just have created a ‘hack' to get some of those apps via its Petal Search app.

As a part of the ban entity list, Huawei is not supposed to work with US firms including app developers. However, the Petal Search app is reportedly not just limited to company's own AppGallery but also searches for the required app in third-party app stores. If it finds one, the app can be downloaded on to the handset, as reported by Phonearena. The app could already show information like daily weather forecast, top news, live sport scores, video, image and more.

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The report adds that the Petal Search app now allows users to download apps that are blocked due to the US ban. And this also includes Android apps. 

It is worth adding that Huawei just last month introduced HarmonyOS 2.0 during it's developer's conference. At the event, Consumer business CEO Richard Yu mentioned that HarmonyOS 2.0 SDK will available to developers starting today. However, it won't be available for smartphones. Once can get the SDKs for smartwatches, car head units, and TV platforms. The smartphone SDK will be coming around December this year.

With the growing tension between China and the US, Huawei is trying its best to stay self-dependant on the software side of things, which for now is supported by US-based Google's Android. With Harmony OS, the firm has already confirmed that its an alternative to Android.