Name: Android Users in China Can't Use Google's Coronavirus Contact Tracing App
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Android Users in China Can't Use Google's Coronavirus Contact Tracing App

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PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.A that is being developed by Apple and Google will reportedly not be available to approximately 750 million Android smartphones in China, nor to any user with a recent Huawei smartphone anywhere in the world.While the specific details are still unclear, the app will use Bluetooth to detect other phones nearby and exchange digital keys with them. Should you contract the coronavirus, the app will be able to use those digital keys collected over a 14-day period to notify everyone who came in contact with you, and vice versa if someone else you were in contact with gets infected. Apple and Google intend to release the app for Android and iOS next month through the Play Store and App Store respectively. reports that Google’s app will be updated through the commercially-available version of Android, specifically through Google Play Services. In China, though, commercial Android is not available and therefore neither is Google Play Services. Instead, those phones use the open-source version of the operating system. For now, that means that millions of users could be losing out on a powerful tool to stop the spread of coronavirus.Moreover, anyone who has purchased a recent Huawei phone will not be able to download the app because of the between the US and China, which . This has resulted in Google’s commercial services being banned from Huawei hardware, so and owners are out of luck. Google has said such action for Huawei customers. Huawei devices make up 10 percent of the British smartphone market and 18 percent in Europe, according to , although it's unclear how much of that percentage is comprised of the affected devices. Huawei’s older devices, such as the , still have access to Google’s commercial services.&nbsp;Google says it will be publishing a framework for unsupported Android devices, which will mimic the official system. No timeline for that framework has been stated, though. It's also unclear if other similar apps, such as the upcoming app developed by the , will be available on those phones. China, meanwhile, has its own "" app, which uses an individual's name and ID number to track those who have come in contact with the coronavirusHow to Keep Your Phone Clean and Safe From Carrying CoronavirusSign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our and . You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!AdvertisementEditors' Choice

PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.A that is being developed by Apple and Google will reportedly not be available to approximately 750 million Android smartphones in China, nor to any user with a recent Huawei smartphone anywhere in the world.While the specific details are still unclear, the app will use Bluetooth to detect other phones nearby and exchange digital keys with them. Should you contract the coronavirus, the app will be able to use those digital keys collected over a 14-day period...

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Android Users in China Can't Use Google's Coronavirus Contact Tracing App

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