By now you would have probably heard that Google has banned future Huawei devices (this includes its sub brand Honor too) from accessing Google services including the Google Play app store as well as critical apps like Gmail, YouTube among many others.

The decision came as a result of a US government ban on the emerging Chinese telecom as it made huge strides in areas concerning next generation 5G networks.

So how does the ban affect the many Huawei smartphones users? Don’t discard your handsets just yet because here are 3 reasons not to panic.

1. Existing Huawei and Honor smartphones are not affected

When it was mentioned that Google would block access of its apps to Huawei phones it sounds like it is Game Over.

But in reality, Huawei’s core EMUI code will largely be unaffected as it is based on the Android Open Source Project, allowing phones running on it to be usable still. This extends to Honor’s Magic UI by definition of it being very similar to EMUI.

So yes, if you own Huawei or Honor smartphone you will still enjoy access to the Play Store and other Google services as you did before.

The ban’s real impact likely to be felt by Huawei and Honor’s future phones. At this stage it is hard to say what is shaping to be in their collected future.

2. The US has lifted the ban temporarily and limited the scope

According to Reuters, the US has given Huawei a temporary license to maintain its current products.  This is no doubt a move to give US companies to adapt and adjust to the hastily issued banned.

Thanks to this Huawei will still be able to send software updates to its phones and support its other customers for the next three months. The temporary license is set to expire on Aug 19.

In a press statement Huawei said, “We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.”

3. Huawei is likely to come up with an alternative solution

It is no secret that the US government has set its laser sights on Huawei for sometime now. After all, a similar ban to fellow Chinese tech firm ZTE last year almost brought that company to its knees.

Huawei has wisely noted this increased scrutiny and they have taken measures to create their own operating system just in case they were blocked from using Android.

The platform called “HongMeng” is currently undergoing trials and could replace the Android system so claims the company.

Realistically, this may not be the most ideal solution given the fragmentation of the app ecosystem but it is better than nothing. Besides, Android has a long list of competing mobile OSs it has killed off in the past from MeeGo, Symbian and the list goes on.