Huawei ban causes trade-ins to surge as news breaks of Android block

Google Huawei Android ban
The Huawei P20 was one of the most traded-in devices. Image credit: TechRadar

Update: The US Commerce Department has granted a temporary lifting of the trade ban with Huawei, allowing Google to resume working with the brand. Full story here.

It seems that the news of Google's ban on Android services for Huawei phones is causing worry among users, as a large surge in trade-ins began as soon as the situation was confirmed.

UK trade-in site Music Magpie told TechRadar that it saw 154% more Huawei devices offered than a regular Monday, picking up pace throughout the day, after Google blocked Huawei's access to future Android systems, following the decision by the US to place the brand on the 'Entity List', effectively stopping American companies working with Huawei.

The trade-ins peaked at 1PM BST, where more Huawei devices were being traded in than any other brand - and with the news affecting devices worldwide, it's likely we could see a similar trend in other countries too.

The fervor was driven by the fact that consumers were unable to work out if their devices would be supported with key parts of the Android system in the future, meaning access to security updates and the Google Play Store, which distributes the broad range of apps that make Android so popular.

The Huawei P20 was one of the most traded-in models, which saw thousands of said device being offered to Music Magpie, and phones from the more powerful Mate range also landed in the top 10 for the day.

What does the future hold for Huawei?

Google Huawei Android ban

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of the more popular handsets from the brand. Image credit: Huawei

The uptick in trade-in traffic is hardly surprising as consumers scrabble to understand whether they'll be holding onto a phone that can't do the key things they need, although both Google and Huawei have confirmed they will still support devices on the market with apps and security updates.

It's interesting to note that users who bought the Huawei P20 at launch are getting only 20% of the price they paid for the phone, which is a huge drop for a phone only just a year old. It highlights the worry that the news of the ban has caused, if users are willing to accept such a decline in value.

We're still waiting for long-term confirmation of what Google's suspension of the Android elements means for its cooperation with Huawei, but if nothing changes then it looks like the world's second-largest smartphone brand could have real issues convincing users to buy its future handsets.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.